Up until now I have thought about ideas in the following ways: -what pain points do I experience? What are the potential solutions? -what software is horrible to use? How can I improve it? -what is an old industry that needs disrupting or a market that most people aren't thinking about? -what would be a 'cool' idea or product? Something I would love to use? -what am I most passionate about in life? ...the list goes on and on. Bottom line, I keep searching and searching, but I can't find the right idea that I would feel excited about working on for the next 5 years. A lot of people say "it's not the idea, it's the execution". I agree 100%, however I'm afraid if I pick the wrong idea my efforts will yield a much smaller result. Whereas, if I focused on a good idea the whole process of driving success would be easier. Sometimes I wish God would just slap me in the face with a good idea to work on. I know once I get started on an idea that I am passionate about I'll make sure wholeheartedly that the business is successful. However, getting off the ground just seems like an eternity. Any suggestions on how I should be thinking about the idea generation process? Or better yet, do you have any ideas that you would like to work on, but don't have time and you think I should work on? Your help / advice is greatly appreciated.
Start with asking yourself why you want to get into business. Are you wanting to create a job? Meaning, are you wanting to be self-employed working more than full time to take home a paycheck of less than what you might be used to earning? That would be the typical plight of what Michael Gerber coined the Technician entrepreneur.
Or, are you looking to build a self-sustaining, lifestyle empowering enterprise that builds equity and can survive beyon your presence? I gather this might be the case for you.
Next, determine in which areas you have expertise. This might be the most natural path to building an empire. Passion has more to do with the technician developing a business where they will be the owner operator.
I once purchased a struggling hair and nail salon with 5 chairs, 3 nail stations, a massage room and tanning bed. I was not the least bit passionate about it. In this I was also not an expert and had no experience in the industry. One year later I more than doubled my investment when I sold it. Which leads to the next question, do you want to start from ground up? Maybe you should consider buying a business or a franchise?
These are foundational questions that should be asked even before your insightful questions above. When you answer the why and the what of getting into business, sometimes the path becomes more clear.
Finally, your offer to invest the time in someone else's dream? As I always say to my surrounding team, we're never at a shortage for great ideas. If you would like to brainstorm ideas, give me a call - the first one is free with the link below.
https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult
Best regards,
Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com
P.s. If in fact all roads still lead you to the enterprise software space, I have developed and sold one saas business. I've developed two others and still hold shares in one of them.
Answered 10 years ago
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