Great business ideas can be found anywhere and everywhere, but the best ideas often come from a very familiar source -- you. Sure you can find “Good Business Idea Lists” out there with 100s of pre-canned business ideas, and often they work just fine. Sure, you can, and should, talk with family, friends, and co-workers. But let’s explore the best source for successful business ideas and how to tap into the wealth of opportunity at your fingertips.
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
- Confucius
You spend so much time at work, why not do something you love
Start your journey by looking at your current interests and hobbies. Is there a viable business idea to pursue simply by stepping up your game around something you already do for fun? You’d be surprised if you give it a think. I say do more than that. Make a list.
Tim and Nina Zagat started the Zagat Survey by doing just exactly this. The attorneys at the time had a passion for dining. This led them on a constant journey to find new and exciting places to dine. For fun, and to support their dining adventures, they put together a newsletter and asked their friends for input by having them rank restaurants. Over time this practice grew and got so time consuming that the Zagats began to charge for their newsletter. Zagat Survey grew to become a multi-million dollar brand before being acquired by Google (now Alphabet) for a reported $125 Million.
Solve a problem that you know
The world is a big place and rarely does a problem apply to only one person. Odds are if you are experiencing a problem, there are others. Look back at every aspect of your life and identify problems you’ve experienced and how they might have been made better if there were some product or service to address them.
Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Biecharczyk executed this to perfection. What started as way to make a little extra money by allowing people to rent an air mattress in their San Francisco loft turned into a $30+ Billion business within 10 years. If you haven’t guessed it by now, the company is Airbnb and needless to say the guys weren’t the only people interested in making some extra money by renting out their place.
Don’t get hung up if your idea isn’t original
There are very few original ideas out there and it is OK if your business idea isn’t one of them. In fact, research shows that new ideas and consequently businesses are best received if they are a mix of innovation and common practice.
The founding team at Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll) is a great example of just his. Payroll services have been dominated by ADP and Paychex for years, but they failed to recognize how large and complex they had become. This left an opportunity for the Gusto team to build a better mousetrap and disrupt the payroll market for the 6 million businesses that managed their own payroll - much still with pencil and paper. Gusto nailed it and now sports a valuation over $1 Billion.
Please don’t start with someone else’s idea for a business
I beg you to search within before turning to a top ten list for YOUR great business idea. Not only will you find a business worth building, you’ll find happiness and fulfillment. You’ll also be better poised to find success as an entrepreneur.
