Coming Up with an idea:

I have a couple of skills that I could use - one is DJ-ing but that needs advertising and events to perform at. The other is my drawing skill, which I thought I could use to produce greetings cards in a range for different occasions either by creating a character to use (like Forever Friends but less cutesy) or doing something graphic-y. I also talked to my sister who works for a greetings card company and my brother, who is studying business and marketing, to get their input and advice. SAY WHAT YOUR SISTER SAID HERE. My brother told me that when starting your own business the first step is coming up with the concept of what sort of business it is and why I want to do it. I need to consider my USP, what would make me stand out from the rest? What makes me exclusive?
Regarding the strategy plan he then explained the differences between long term and short term schemes. The short term scheme will take off quickly and make money but it does not last. The long term scheme is the one that takes a while to get started but has more chance of lasting long term.
I need to estimate the number of employees that I need to start with and to consider increasing this number as the business gets established. Depending on the product, if it is something that is man-made you would have to consider the parts/materials/suppliers and consider costs. I would need to do business with other people in order to make mine successful.
If I want to sell this product I would have to consider location/supplier/distribution and naturally costs. Where will I be selling my products? I need to do research the most lucrative locations and this all depends on the product - think time and place. The research needs to be based on the product and the public's demands.
I would need to think about how I am going to advertise my business and he suggested that by going through a charitable organisation I could make a name for myself. You need to spend money in order to make money. By giving a product to a charity you are benefitting the people behind the charity while at the same time my business could get good press coverage and free advertising.
Another way of pitching my product would be to call the press and invite them to an event, give an interview and have a professional spokesperson to 'sell' my product.
Regarding being exclusive, I need to do research on companies that are already doing a similar concept to my idea and look into how I can make mine better than the existing ones, find that USP.
My brother recommended that I do worldwide research and not limit myself just to the UK, this will help expand the business in the future. Other cultures may have very different tastes and so the product may have to be adapted accordingly.