Many people consider starting a business an unfathomable notion; a stuff of dreams you may say. They all know that they need to start a business, but for some reason, they don’t know how to come up with a smart idea. Well, good news people. In this blog, I will be sharing some life-altering ideas which can help you realize your aspirations.
According to Moya K. Mason, 137,000 startups are launched each day, which adds up to 50 million new firms every year. Now, this is a huge number. And since you’re fed-up with the tediousness of your 9-5 job, and the fact of the matter that you’re still reading the blog post, you are looking for a way out. You want to start your own business, but you don’t have the slightest idea where to begin.
Let us delve deeper into your deepest fears. An apprehension of failure. A trepidation of losing all your eggs? What if your idea doesn’t click? What if the idea that you have planned doesn’t seduce people into taking action and buying from you? Well, fret not. If you already have a great idea, you can just validate your startup idea without squandering a fortune.
Starting a new business is less about making money and more about the mindset that you possess. If you cannot envisage yourself being already successful, you won’t take the necessary steps and the inevitable risks to achieve success.
Consider these three examples:
- The boxing legend saw himself victorious even before the actual fight.
- Jim Carry wrote out a check for himself and pictured himself getting paid for it.
- Michael Jordan used to take a perfect shot in his mind every time before scoring it in real life.
Unless you are a genius like Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or are the next Mark Zuckerberg trying to reinvent the wheel, you will have to come up with a stellar idea that can help you set yourself a head and shoulder above the rest.
Before you start working on your dream idea, you need to be very clear on “how can your idea help other people?” Is your idea something unheard of in the market, or are you planning to improve upon an already established niche?
Here are some strategies which can help you come up with an idea that you can transform into a vision.
Clear Your Mind & Jot it Down
Julia Cameron in her best-selling book “The Artist’s Way” talks about the morning pages journal.
In the morning, your brain is at its most creative state. At that moment, you need to jot down your ideas. No need to edit those ideas. Just write down everything that comes to your mind. Do three morning-pages each day…
Every weekend, take some time to evaluate your ideas. Pick the ones that you feel the most passionate about. Pen down any qualities that will complement those ideas. Also, jot down your weaknesses on one side. But focus mostly on your strengths.
Don’t overthink your ideas. Pick a few that you think can turn your life around and go do that. If you have five ideas, go and master the qualities that are required to accomplish those ideas. If you want to sell a product or your craft, go on and read everything that you can on how to boost your sales, social media marketing, and habits of highly successful Entrepreneurs.
Look For Inspiration
Good ideas can come from anywhere. Neflix.com stemmed from a gentle musing of “Why can’t movies be rented just like your health club, where you will be charged based on your usage of the service?” Now, Netflix is making $1.3 billion in revenue.
Kristen Hadeed founded Student Maid service while she was at her friend’s home and her maid was on vacation. Kristen, along with her friend, did all the work & came up with a brilliant business idea.
The same goes for Chris Guillebeau. In his book, the “$100 Startup”, Guillebeau talks about how he came up with a business idea when he was busy working with his father on their family farm.
If you are waiting for an idea to show up, it won’t. You need to be prepared for the right dose of inspiration. You need to read books, network with people, and sit with friends to find out something that is not right and figure out what you can do about it.
Sell Your Craft
If you are still confused about what you can do, you can start selling your craft and earn with that. You can start a business by selling something you are good at. This can include cooking, baking, designing websites, mobile app development, or even delving into affiliate marketing.
For instance, my friend loves to read books. And by love, I mean he eats, drinks, and even dreams books. You can find books in every nook and cranny of his home. So, one day, while we were talking, he came up with this book rental service. He purchased the domain and the very next day he was talking about books, attracting customers, and connecting with fellow readers.
Be a Co-founder
You don’t always need to start your own business. You can leverage your technical expertise to help your friend establish a business. Be the co-founder of a business. You can help your partner achieve his dream. But it is not just about his dream, you need to embrace their dream as your own.
Find something from a business that intrigues you. If there isn’t something already, create something new. Being passionate about the business is a must for the brand. People don’t just buy services or products, they buy the dreams of the founders. And if as a founder, you can make that dream truly intriguing, you’ll be able to create a lasting impact.
Stop Reading & Execute
Determining what you want to do is only the first step in the process. Being a startup takes a lot of time and effort. You can ramble all that you want, but if you are not willing to take action & execute fast, you won’t be able to create a sustainable business.
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