How did you finally decide which business to pursue?

[Bekit]

I've always noticed that people say if you have an entrepreneural mindset you are constantly seeing problems to solve. Maybe you have an idea journal. Maybe you have a notepad with annoyances scribbled on them. But everyone has a running "list."

How did you finally decide it was time to move forward on the "one"? Did it just stand out among the rest? Or were you in the middle of the problem and the mood just struck you right to take action?

I'm not asking for ideas or even how to come up with ideas. I'm just curious how you picked from your list of 5-10+.

For me, it has always looked like the most prominent option that I could actually make money doing.

When I was 15, it meant teaching piano lessons. I had a skill. People were willing to pay for my skill. And the going rate for lessons meant that I was making about 3-4x minimum wage - great money for a 15-year-old.

When I graduated from college, it meant starting a house cleaning business. Any abled-bodied person can make good money starting a service business. Think landscaping, pressure washing, window cleaning, gutter cleaning, etc. See GravyBoat's thread for inspiration.

3 years ago, it meant offering freelance writing services. Because that was a skill that I could bring to the table.

So for me, it was something I never really overthought. It always just seemed obvious.

In the meantime, I always have at least 5 other ideas in the hopper, and another ~3 on the back burner where I have started taking action, but not enough to bring it into an income-producing business. I can only do so much at one time.

 

[imdchange]

When I was 15, it meant teaching piano lessons. I had a skill. People were willing to pay for my skill. And the going rate for lessons meant that I was making about 3-4x minimum wage - great money for a 15-year-old.

Bekit makes a great point here -- "People were willing to pay for my skill".

When I worked on eliminating ideas, that's a key that I'm looking for, and it's part of a technique I've used called The Pay Certainty Technique.

It's basically asking these two questions and reasoning with it:

1. Can your customer pay?
2. Do they have the willingness to pay?

From my list of around 20+ or so, I'm usually able to narrow down to a Top 3 I find most viable and then begin micro-test them.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

Whatever makes CENTS.

 

[amp0193]

Pick the one that you will continue to work on when everything is falling apart.

One you will never walk away from because it has to succeed or you’re going to die trying.

Maybe that’s passion. Maybe it’s just alignment with your values and what you want the world to be.

pick the one that you will be ok spending the next 10 years of your life building.

 

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[Tom.V]

Saw a huge opportunity to help a lot of people. I knew I could do it better than anyone else. I immediately directed all of my energy and resources to it.

 

[Bruno Calisso]

I haven't yet started my business, I've been wishing to start a business for so many years but figured out that I did not had any experience nor direction, so I decided to wait to see what happened. Over the years my professional experience together with lots of reading gave me much more insight over which path to choose, I have now something I thought I would never get: certainty over which industry I want to get into. This is a great and essential step, without it I would still feel lost like most beginners.

I think that becoming certain about which industry (not business) you want to get into is essential, after that it's easier to try different businesses in that industry, as long as you like the industry you're fine.

 

[Andy Black]

I'm just curious how you picked from your list of 5-10+.

I didn’t have a list.

I was an IT contractor for 10 years working in big corporations. I wanted to be able to help business owners I met rather than just big corporations so figured learning to build websites made sense.

I know the best way for me to learn is to find someone who needs help and offer to help them.

An electrician friend had lost all his work back in 2009, and had a wife, two kids, and a baby on the way. I wanted to help him so offered to build him a website.

A while later an AdWords voucher fell out of a book. I loaded that up and a few days later he rang me to tell me he had a phone call. I get goosebumps when I remember the relief in his voice.

So how did I choose my current business? I decided to help someone with a skill I figured I could pick up. I picked up a different skill while trying to help him. It then became my mission to help others like him.

Help people and the rest should fall into place. Of course, you need to get paid as well otherwise you don’t have a business. The service I chose to provide helps businesses who are *already* spending money each month. A LOT of money is spent on this each month worldwide, so I figured I just needs to get some of that money flowing through me.

 

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[ItsAJackal]

I've always noticed that people say if you have an entrepreneural mindset you are constantly seeing problems to solve. Maybe you have an idea journal. Maybe you have a notepad with annoyances scribbled on them. But everyone has a running "list."

How did you finally decide it was time to move forward on the "one"? Did it just stand out among the rest? Or were you in the middle of the problem and the mood just struck you right to take action?

I'm not asking for ideas or even how to come up with ideas. I'm just curious how you picked from your list of 5-10+.

 

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[kkompoti]

The most simple way is to try.
Stop asking questions like this and focus on your first idea. Do it.
Make your business plan and go.
Do not over think it.
Just do it!
And if you succeed ok good for you.
If you do not succeed go for the next project with the experience you will have from the first one.

Only the markets will tell you what idea is good. It bas nothing to do with you choosing the one out of ten ideas written somewhere


The above are said by a guy that had lots and lots of pages with written ideas and not executing until the moment I executed the first one and now i am at my 4 or 5 try. ..

Go for it!

 

[Knugs]

I've always noticed that people say if you have an entrepreneural mindset you are constantly seeing problems to solve. Maybe you have an idea journal. Maybe you have a notepad with annoyances scribbled on them. But everyone has a running "list."

How did you finally decide it was time to move forward on the "one"? Did it just stand out among the rest? Or were you in the middle of the problem and the mood just struck you right to take action?

I'm not asking for ideas or even how to come up with ideas. I'm just curious how you picked from your list of 5-10+.

I'm not sure this is how it works or how it should work.

If it doesnt fire you up in that exact moment of coming up with the idea, it probably isnt the right one.

 

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