Thread: Progress

Some internal reflection coming up - had a bunch of thoughts going through my mind and I figured writing it down would help.. and who knows, maybe it can help someone here with similar issues.

Finding an idea.

Integral for starting a business. Period. You have to have an idea, a need to fill, in order to get started.

So why is this so hard for me? I feel like there is a big wall in my mind that I haven't been able to get over. I've wanted to be an entrepreneur for years, the thought of entrepreneurship is nothing new to me.

The last couple weeks, I've been renewing my efforts to think of something. I've written brainstorm lists, gone to Twitter and did searches based on the keywords "I hate" and "Wouldn't it be cool", bugged friends and family about things they'd love to have - and everything has come up either totally unreasonable or in violation of the NECST principles.

I know there are millions of opportunities out there. I really do. I know I'm staring them right in the face, and I don't even realize it.

I spend most my day feeling hazy. My day is dictated by my son - I sleep when he sleeps (and not that soundly either), eat when he eats, and exercise and work on my business when my family can take him for a couple hours or when he's happily playing. This doesn't make for an ideal business environment, but that's no excuse. Many people have had much worse situations to deal with than I do. I have a healthy, happy family. We are doing alright financially. We live comfortably.

But I have this block.

Is it because I'm exhausted? Bad sleep and not enough exercise makes for a uncreative mind?
Am I just too comfortable?
Is it because I just don't have the right mindset yet?

Could be all 3.

I think it's probably mostly the mindset that is giving me the most issues. I find myself thinking like a consumer, rather than a producer. I'm a sponge, I take all of this stuff in, but I don't turn around and look at it like a creator, a producer.

So, finding a good idea is the first step I need to take. How will I find a good idea? More of the same isn't going to be the answer. I know the ideas are there, I just don't see them in the right way.

So, finding an idea really isn't the first step. It's changing my mindset. Looking at things the right way so I can recognize business opportunities when I come across them.

Links that Helped Me
I don't have a plan, I can't do it, I don't know how... FIX IT!
Developing new startup ideas - Chris Dixon
How to find start-up ideas


Action Steps
* Improve my sleep. Take naps if I need to. Remember to exercise and move every day.
* Take 15 minutes every morning to relax and meditate. Clear my mind and open my mind to new opportunities.
* Dedicate two hours a day to looking at every day products and figuring out how they can be done better.
* Write down every idea I can think of, even if they aren't viable. I need to keep my mind open to opportunities.

This thread may just be an "idea" thread right now, and I feel like I'm wasting the time of the one or two people that may accidentally click on this, but it will be a "How I Succeeded" thread before you know it. I can promise you that.

Baby steps.

So, quick update.

Thinking of some ideas, but they all require either more capital than I have available currently or require a physical location (I'm moving in a couple months, so that won't work).

So, instead of looking at all ideas, I decided to look specifically at businesses based online with no physical products.

Business Models on the Web | Professor Michael Rappa

The above link has a great list of different online business models. I'm currently going through this, seeing what's currently viable for me and then looking at needs that can be met using those models (or offspring of those models).

I will be looking more at brokerage, infomediary, subscription and utility businesses.

Gotta run, but I'll keep you all updated.