So where do you come up with your ideas to consider?
Here are some points of reference to get you started:
- Look around your community. Are people talking about a business they wish somebody would open that fills your skill set?
- Look at the current trends. Are people always complaining that they have to wait weeks to get service or products?
- Look at the other businesses in your area. Maybe you have a complementary skill that would allow you to partner with one of them. For instance, a home delivery service for restaurants that don't want to bother setting one up themselves.
- Look around the world. Have you seen a great business idea during your travels that hasn't made it to your community yet?
- Traditional media (newspapers, magazines), new media (Internet) or Pop Culture may provide ideas for you. Be careful to stay away from fads though. An experienced businessperson may be able to throw together a business overnight to capitalize on them, but it is usually a money loser for those starting out.
- Trade magazines and research reports can be a great source for ideas. There are dozens published for all sectors of the economy.
- The Yellow Pages. This book is full of displays ads that could jog your memory to what's available, what's missing, or what a complementary business might be.
- The Internet. This can be either a help or a hindrance, because of the sheer volume of information out there. It can easily become one of the biggest time wasters there is.
- If you are comfortable doing due diligence and have business experience, you may want to visit a business broker to see what is available for sale in your area.
Once you have your idea, you need to choose the starting date. You will then need to work backwards and forwards from that starting date to set up a task list for the first four to five months. This will include tasks needed to get the business started ( such as designing the business, contacting mentors, doing revenue projects, building your team, and creating your legal structure)and tasks that you will be responsible after your business opens (such as marketing/sales and generating leads). We will delve into each of these in the coming sections and courses.
At this point, we would recommend that you stop and go find your business idea. Don't spend forever trying to analyze every aspect of an idea. That is why it is important to get help with this process so that you can quickly throw the bad ideas out the window. After all, we want to be up and running to create cash flow as soon as possible.