“But, where do I find an idea?”
Many aspiring entrepreneurs may have the passion to strike off on their own, but they sometimes lack the business idea to make it happen. Most of the time they are trying too hard to find the “next Microsoft” or invent the “next iPod.”
The best business opportunities I typically see come from things people know something about. It is like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz discovering how to get back to Kansas; the answer was right in front of her all along.
StartupJournal provides a couple of good examples in recent articles posted at their site. The first is a woman who turned a grocery shopping annoyance into a business:
Missy Cohen-Fyffe’s business began when other moms gave her unsolicited feedback as she strolled down grocery-store aisles with her son riding in blanket-like protection in the shopping cart.
“I just didn’t want my son biting on the gross, grimy metal,” she said of her Clean Shopper invention.
Seven years and four employees later, Cohen-Fyffe has turned her crafty idea into a full-time career: selling the Clean Shopper and other baby products from her New Hampshire home base.
The second example is of a woman who turned her hobby of tennis into a new business and a new career:
Ms. Parker targeted a tiny but lucrative market: the sticky “overgrips” that some tennis players wrap around their racket handles. Overgrips cost a few cents to make, yet they retail for about $2 each. Full of naive optimism about her prospects, Ms. Parker hoped to turn a drab-looking product into a fashion accessory that might catch the public’s fancy.
Don’t over think of ideas for new businesses. The best ideas come from our work experiences, our hobbies, or our everyday lives. Find something from your experiences that is also a need for others. There may be competition, but they just do not quite take care of the need. Or if you are lucky, it may be a niche that nobody has discovered. Either way, solving everyday problems that you understand is the best path to your first business venture.
I agree with this bloq. Entrepreneurial ideas are not “new inventions”. They are opportunities that people recognize and try to take advantage of. Often people think too long and too hard for a creative new idea. Often times, an entrepreneur can be successful doing something that they are good at and have experience in. Entrepreneurs should thoroughly research the opportunities they have with any new business venture. Many new businesses fail because the entrepreneur did not do his or her due diligence.