How did you find your business idea?

[SeanF]

I've searched and not found any relative threads to this topic.

would like to work for myself. Why? Every job i seem to take, I get bored after 2/3 weeks or resent inefficient employees/managers / those who work less hard than me (physically) / who are stuck in the slowlane/sidewalk mindset. Whilst I admire & appreciate a lot of the self-proclaimed "fastlaners" on here, and have learnt an enormous amount on here, I must be totally 100% honest and say that I find a little of the advice slightly condescending, particularly the "just do it" and "take action" threads. It's nice saying "just do IT" but how did you FIND your "IT"?. It's like saying "wake up at 4am instead of 8am and your life will change", but if you don't know what you need to do from 4-8am in order to make changes, you'll just sit there staring into space for 4 hours.

I have no issues with these words of "taking action", as someone who reads, eats/drinks healthily and exercises every single mof'ing day, but there is often very little insight on how their IDEA for their business came about, so they know in what DIRECTION to take action. Ideas don't come from fresh air, so I'm asking HOW these opportunities come about to you? How did your idea for your business come about? Did you have time for meditation / was it more physical exercise/ was it a relationship break-up / a relative passing away and something clicked that really made you FOCUS on a business.... ?

I have a university education & speak 4 languages (properly, not just 1 line), have lived in 4 countries yet feel lost to be brutally honest. I can't afford to not take a job, as some of you suggest as a way to "break the cycle of jobs" as the bills still have to be paid.

Thanks!! Sean
P. S. If you want an insight into my "WHY" (why i want to be successful)....I want to be rich enough to buy holidays for people who don't have the means due to circumstances they cannot avoid, (e.g. severe illness) but that's for another day.

 

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[SteveO]

would like to work for myself. Why? Every job i seem to take, I get bored after 2/3 weeks or resent inefficient employees/managers / those who work less hard than me (physically) / who are stuck in the slowlane/sidewalk mindset. Whilst I admire & appreciate a lot of the self-proclaimed "fastlaners" on here, and have learnt an enormous amount on here, I must be totally 100% honest and say that I find a little of the advice slightly condescending, particularly the "just do it" and "take action" threads. It's nice saying "just do IT" but how did you FIND your "IT"?. It's like saying "wake up at 4am instead of 8am and your life will change", but if you don't know what you need to do from 4-8am in order to make changes, you'll just sit there staring into space for 4 hours.

I have no issues with these words of "taking action", as someone who reads, eats/drinks healthily and exercises every single mof'ing day, but there is often very little insight on how their IDEA for their business came about, so they know in what DIRECTION to take action. Ideas don't come from fresh air, so I'm asking HOW these opportunities come about to you? How did your idea for your business come about? Did you have time for meditation / was it more physical exercise/ was it a relationship break-up / a relative passing away and something clicked that really made you FOCUS on a business.... ?

I have a university education & speak 4 languages (properly, not just 1 line), have lived in 4 countries yet feel lost to be brutally honest. I can't afford to not take a job, as some of you suggest as a way to "break the cycle of jobs" as the bills still have to be paid.

You are complicating the entire process.

Finding the idea to work on is the biggest block for most people. It does not need to be though. There are many things to consider as far as time, startup capital, and basic projections. But, there are so many things out there to work on. You could start a manufacturing facility for widgets. How about an online business selling baby products, pet supplies, nose hair removers? You could bring services together to sell to individuals. Create/package useful information and sell it. The list is endless.

Needs can be found by looking at your own frustrations with other businesses. You can also find them by looking at inefficiencies in other companies.

Coming up with a business idea.... that is on you.

"Just do it" is part of the learning process. Start on something and overcome the obstacles.

If you find any of the advice to be condescending, that is your issue. Not the posters.

Also, the issue that you have with others being inefficient or less dedicated to their job is your issue as well.

Sorry to be condescending but you need to start by looking at yourself.

 

[DrkSide]

The Just Do It attitude comes mostly from people that have been there and done that.

Your first business/idea probably won't make you a millionaire. But it will make the next time easier both in finding "ideas" and executing them.

I started a couple of "businesses" the failed. Most failed to even make a profit but from each failure I learned something that could be used on the next.

 

[E-Sharp]

How I chose:

1) Brainstormed a bunch of ideas and researched them.
2) Narrowed it down to 5 possibilities - 5 problems/needs I thought I could solve or bring value.
3) Gave myself a DEADLINE to pick one of the 5 and begin work.

#3 was critical, otherwise I'd still be "researching" and weighing options.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

I've searched and not found any relative threads to this topic.

Using the search function searching for "ideas" then ticking off "Search titles only" yields lots of info. Here's two you may find helpful...

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/100-free-profitable-business-ideas.63930/

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ling-for-ideas-niche-down-and-innovate.62332/

 

[SeanF]

The Just Do It attitude comes mostly from people that have been there and done that.

Your first business/idea probably won't make you a millionaire. But it will make the next time easier both in finding "ideas" and executing them.

I started a couple of "businesses" the failed. Most failed to even make a profit but from each failure I learned something that could be used on the next.

Yeh I understand the bit about other workers being inefficient is my issue, that was just an intro/insight into why I find it hard to keep a "job".

@SteveO makes some good points there which I like. I understand the snowball effect of the first venture, i'm just stuck at that "first venture" stage. Do you brainstorm ideas?

My own entrepreneurial experience is limited if non-existent. I mean, I sell lots of things on eBay but that's my own things, which are not in endless supply. I've thought about writing an ebook about the confidence boost learning languages can give you but its not really a business as such :/

 

[IGP]

The reason people say "just do it" is because that's the only way you learn and often times it's much easier than it appears to be.

Take riding a bike for instance. Everyone is "scared" of falling over before they know how to ride.

If you asked me how to ride a bike, I would say: "You just need to get enough momentum so you don't fall over. Just start peddling!"

You don't need to think about it, you just need to do it! You need to experience it, to understand it.

And once you experience it, it seems pretty damn easy and you now feel like:

"Why the hell was I so scared about falling over in the first place... This is easy!"

 

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[SeanF]

The reason people say "just do it" is because that's the only way you learn and often times it's much easier than it appears to be.

Take riding a bike for instance. Everyone is "scared" of falling over before they know how to ride.

If you asked me how to ride a bike, I would say: "You just need to get enough momentum so you don't fall over. Just start peddling!"

You don't need to think about it, you just need to do it! You need to experience it, to understand it.

And once you experience it, it seems pretty damn easy and you now feel like:

"Why the hell was I so scared about falling over in the first place... This is easy!"

I understand the taking action part, however I was simply asking how the idea first came into one's head... was it by luck or did you write ideas down / ask people what problems needed solving? That was my main question

 

[Ross Morgan]

Its as simple as making your goal this year to be able to spot multiple Fastlane opportunities every day. You can do this by working out your problem solving muscle by helping people as much as possible and listening for and writing down other people's problems and attempting to come up with solutions. Everything you do gives you opportunity to spot a niche.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Three simple questions to ask yourself for quick idea generation

• How can I make .... better?

• What possibilities/limitations does .... possess?

• What would it take to .... ?

Hope this helps, it works for me

 

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[IGP]

I understand the taking action part, however I was simply asking how the idea first came into one's head... was it by luck or did you write ideas down / ask people what problems needed solving? That was my main question

The irony is that your initial post is an idea in and of itself.

You stated a problem in your post. If you are experiencing this problem, than most likely others are too.

Voila! An idea is born!

Create a product, video series, ebook, podcast, paint by numbers or whatever the hell you want that solves that problem.

 

[biophase]

I mean, I sell lots of things on eBay but that's my own things, which are not in endless supply

Why not an endless supply? What can you do to change that?

 

[Bellini]

@SeanF - many times ideas come at random moments. That's when you need to grab a piece of paper or napkin and write it down.

Let me give you a few practical examples:

• One idea I got was from overhearing someone in a department store tell the cashier about something they have always looked for and never found. The customer then said "if someone ever invented that they would become a millionaire!" You better believe I made a mental note and quietly moved on. It's now one of the ideas on my list.

• Another idea I got was from looking at a particular article of clothing in a store, and I thought "how cool and convenient would it be if it was made with a ----- " I wrote the idea on my list.

• I had yet another idea when I was thinking about a safety issue in my house (that every house would have) and how I might could design a product to fix it. Something that could possibly save lives. I wrote it down on my list of ideas.

• The current idea (business) I am working on was related to a frustration I was experiencing regarding certain products. I decided to make the product for myself, and then had the idea of selling it.

I watched an interview with a man who was sick of not being able to find the 'perfect' pillow and set out to make his own. After years of hard work he is now a millionaire through his pillow company.


There are many ways to get an idea. What bothers you? What would you like to see fixed? What have you heard other people complain about? What would you like to create? Ideas are everywhere.


Lastly, when you think you have an idea, ask yourself if it can be "FASTLANE" .

......which leads me to ask you, have you read MJ's book, The Millionaire Fastlane ? I don't see the book badge on your avatar. If you haven't read the book you will have no idea what any of us are talking about or how we got our ideas or what direction your idea needs to go.

 

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[GSF]

I looked at an industry that is big and currently in growth , then I looked at what services I could provide to support that growing industry and looked at what other businesses were already successfully doing similar to my idea, and came up with my own angle.

Once this is automated my next idea is pretty much the same concept, i've found a straightforward (fastlane) business model being used successfully by a few businesses, im going to apply it to a different market/ group of customers. Nothing revolutionary. I get inspiration from inc5000, podcasts, bizbuysell etc.

 

[Eldi4n]

Using the search function searching for "ideas" then ticking off "Search titles only" yields lots of info. Here's two you may find helpful...

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/100-free-profitable-business-ideas.63930/

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...ling-for-ideas-niche-down-and-innovate.62332/

Wow! A lot of infos and ideas right there! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SeanF]

yeh i have read the book three times - but I've never worked out how to add it to my avatar :/ - so i understand the "fastlane" concepts and everything i was just putting it in " " as a way of grouping certain people together. I guess i don't have much confidence in myself to physically make and produce a product and where to start with product implementation / same with technology, pretty useless with computers so if i find a problem i want to fix on an iphone i know i have 0 idea how to solve the problem (e.g. by building an app)

@SeanF - many times ideas come at random moments. That's when you need to grab a piece of paper or napkin and write it down.

Let me give you a few practical examples:

• One idea I got was from overhearing someone in a department store tell the cashier about something they have always looked for and never found. The customer then said "if someone ever invented that they would become a millionaire!" You better believe I made a mental note and quietly moved on. It's now one of the ideas on my list.

• Another idea I got was from looking at a particular article of clothing in a store, and I thought "how cool and convenient would it be if it was made with a ----- " I wrote the idea on my list.

• I had yet another idea when I was thinking about a safety issue in my house (that every house would have) and how I might could design a product to fix it. Something that could possibly save lives. I wrote it down on my list of ideas.

• The current idea (business) I am working on was related to a frustration I was experiencing regarding certain products. I decided to make the product for myself, and then had the idea of selling it.

I watched an interview with a man who was sick of not being able to find the 'perfect' pillow and set out to make his own. After years of hard work he is now a millionaire through his pillow company.


There are many ways to get an idea. What bothers you? What would you like to see fixed? What have you heard other people complain about? What would you like to create? Ideas are everywhere.


Lastly, when you think you have an idea, ask yourself if it can be "FASTLANE" .

......which leads me to ask you, have you read MJ's book, The Millionaire Fastlane ? I don't see the book badge on your avatar. If you haven't read the book you will have no idea what any of us are talking about or how we got our ideas or what direction your idea needs to go.

 

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[SeanF]

Why not an endless supply? What can you do to change that?

I'm not much of a consumer (don't buy many things) so I don't have an endless supply of things. Are you referring to like buying things and re-selling them at a profit?

 

[Aaron W]

Stop searching and start doing. Life experience is the key to success. Go make a business where you can provide value to people.

Good at Photoshop? Go make a video course and market it.
Good at serving? I know you have to pass certain tests for some jobs. Make a course helping people to become a better server.
Good at lifting things and putting them down? Teach people how to do it quickly and efficiently, better than anyone else.


Just start doing, don't waste time. Who gives a f//ck if it fails? You learn so much.

 

[Hackdroot]

I watched an interview with a man whowas sick of not being able to find the 'perfect' pillow and set out to make his own. After years of hard work he is now a millionaire through his pillow company.

Funny you mention this. I saw a commercial the other day for the 'MyPillow' (if that's the one you were referring to).

Guy has an interesting story and spent some coin developing that product, but he doesn't interview well. Regardless, he made a niche in an area I wouldn't have even thought of.

Just the other day I was bitching about cleaning the mud off my dog after she came in from the rain. Sure enough, there is a story on CNN today about a company killing it with dog pants:

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2016/01/08/dogs-in-pants-moos-pkg.cnn

I've come to realize two important facts that bear repeating:

1) If you're bitching about something, chances are, other are too.

2) People will buy some ridiculous things to solve a problem (some of the stuff I've seen on Shark Tank makes me shake my head)

 

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[Bellini]

yeh i have read the book three times - but I've never worked out how to add it to my avatar :/

Go here:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/ive-read-the-the-millionaire-fastlane.28234/

I guess i don't have much confidence in myself to physically make and produce a product and where to start with product implementation / same with technology, pretty useless with computers so if i find a problem i want to fix on an iphone i know i have 0 idea how to solve the problem (e.g. by building an app)

You can outsource the things you don't know how to do.

Start with what you do know, and just learn the rest as you go along.

What happened with your sunscreen apparatus?

 

[Jakawan]

If you consider that most new businesses take a HUGE investment of TIME AND ENERGY when starting.. You should probably choose to work on something you at least somewhat enjoy or are interested in.

When i started my search.. I was 17 or so and I was asked, "what are you going to do after high school?" I knew I didnt want to go to college. I started researching online how to make money, how to get rich. I ended up buying get rich quick scheme courses and ebooks for $50-$100 of my hard earned Mcdonalds money.

I didnt learn much other than.. Somebody made lots of money selling me information! Lol so I started to read about clickbank and affiliate marketing, incentive marketing etc.. I created a few websites, made my first couple hundred dollars just dabbling. I never went head first. Shiny object syndrome got the best of me.

Then i sold on eBay. Beanie babies, pokemon cards, then i learned about buying from China. Bought SD cards and P90X. Made $1k-$2k. Quickly found out what the word counterfeit means.. Moved into selling android tablets from china. Horrible quality, lots of returns.

Then i learned about flipping off craigslist. Started with iphones. Then ipads, other phones, game consoles.. Then a motorcycle.. And another motorcycle that i bought for $1200 and traded for a truck, then sold the truck for $2500 to make $1300. Then i went and flipped 10-15 cars and made good side money.

I worked at a prison and an inmate told me to read rich dad poor dad. I read it and became fascinated with real estate. So i bought books on the subject and gobbled them up. Moved 160 miles away to the nearest city, worked for someone who was doing what i want to do.
6 months later started buying and selling my own houses.

I love finding deals. The score. I buy and sell houses full time now. And i mentor newbies locally for an amount up front $1k-$5k and we split deals produced.

Its in my goals to acquire financing with a private lender willing to put up money for 15% of gross profit (a great deal)

And maybe in a year or so create a training program/membership website like group coaching in order to reach and serve more students.

Everyones path will be different. Start to question how things work, how companies run, what value is provided? And how can you improve it or create a variation? Look at dollar shave club.. What else would people be willing to subscribe to in order to receive reoccurring orders? I think subscription selling is huge now and in the future. Maybe you could create dollar vitamin club! Lol

 

[jon.a]

I worked at a prison and an inmate told me to read rich dad poor dad. I read it...

You never know from where the teacher might appear.

 

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[SeanF]

Go here:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/ive-read-the-the-millionaire-fastlane.28234/




You can outsource the things you don't know how to do.

Start with what you do know, and just learn the rest as you go along.

What happened with your sunscreen apparatus?

I had absolutely no idea where/how to start with the sun screen thing. It's still in my mind though. I wasn't sure if i had to look into the physics of creating it, how I would get it into production, if I had to design it myself, etc
Absolutely 0 idea if i needed to contact someone, who to contact, where to email.
If I did create it, I would start small by going to beaches nearby in Europe and testing it out
I had 2 jobs at the time (around summer) and I just got so confused by the whole "where do I go from here?"

I still think it has enormous potential!

 

[SeanF]

If you consider that most new businesses take a HUGE investment of TIME AND ENERGY when starting.. You should probably choose to work on something you at least somewhat enjoy or are interested in.

Amazing amazing story.
I've no idea about product creation, like whether to contact some factory in China or whatever if I wanted to bring something to the market.
I also love finding deals and though small scale, have made £3k this last 2 years on the side from buying in thrift shops & re-selling on ebay
However this isn't meant to be my full-time endeavour.

 

[relentlessaction]

Stop being so emotional..
That's the problem... Sometimes you never know or find what you need to do. But that shouldn't stop you from taking action.

Do what you want to do at the moment. If you don't want to do it for the long run change it up later on.

The problem is that most people fail to realize IMO. Is that there isn't anything that we can do which you want to do 100%. I would personally stop focusing on being emotional about the issue and just WORK.

Successful people don't think about if they like doing this or like doing that. They work...It's all part of a bigger goal.

Do what you can do.. that will be a success.. If you need to change it up later or do something else later.. You'll end up doing that anyways.

The hard part is starting and forgetting about being emotional for every task in life. How do I feel about doing this? How do I feel about doing this? That's all a waste of time. How do I feel about going to the bathroom? How do I feel when I brush my teeth? Do you care about it? No, you just do it because that's what needs to be done. That's how you should treat daily tasks for your personal life and your business.

Find out what you want to do.
What I do is... OK What's my main goal.. Make money or build a business? Do I want to build a specific business? What am I good at? What can I offer to others which gives them value?

Make a list of everything you come up with.. Write pros and cons and pick the best thing that you want to do that you know of NOW.

Then start on it and work on it until it succeeds. Once it does you can decide if you want to continue or sell the business and start something else.

Opportunities come when you look for it. Once you develop that eye to turn things into money. But doing nothing is a definite way of not getting there. You need to expose yourself to more things to figure out what you can do. Everything you do in life, you think of how you can make it better.

Work Full Time + Run a Side Business
If you can't break the job...Keep the job and hustle..

Build a side business on the side and hustle...

There's no other way.

DON'T BE AVERAGE

Average people... work an 8 hour job.. Go home watch TV, waste time and relax.

Successful people... work an 8 hour job.. GO home and work another 8 hours on their side business.

Do that for a while and you increase your leverage.

If you only put in 8 hours like everyone else does.. How do you expect to get ahead in life?

In The End...
Winners make it happen. So make it happen... Whatever it takes.

There's no such thing as an overnight success.

Who am I?

I'm no one special.. but I work a full time job.. I go home and work my side business which is an e-commerce site.

I did $200k in gross sales for 2015. It was 2.5 years in the making.. 35% is profit.

Granted it's not nothing spectacular.. but it's hard work.. I slept 1-6 hours/day.. but you no what.. who gives a crap.. People kill themselves daily by stuffing their face with food, doing drugs, or not doing any physical activity at all. I feel more alive then ever before because I wake up with a purpose on what I want to do.

I'm selling the business now and I plan on leveraging my money to do $250k/net this year but my goal is to try and do $300-400k/gross per month in a new business. But before I aim for $300-400k. You have to aim for the smaller goals. Hit $1k, $5k, $10k, etc..

Don't make these unrealistic dreams and think that because you have this "fake" confidence that you will succeed. Only thing that matters is results.. Start small and smash that goal.. And make another one.. Before you think about it you realize your goals are too small and keep going.

It's a never ending journey.. You don't stop.

I've figured out what doesn't work and what I should spend my time on...

I don't need to aim to be $500 million rich. I just need enough to do what I want and have my free time. I can survive living regular and make $20k/net profit per month. If I make $100k/net .. I'll still live normal but it's all a game of challenge to me at least.

Good luck! get it done man!

 

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[TonyStark]

• Reading.
• Taking action.
• Learning from my mistakes.
• Not spending a lot of money. - ideas are free, and you can't buy execution.
• Repeat.

 

[throttleforward]

I bought an INE off this forum. People literally post ideas for the taking, usually with some well thought out initial research. I've done pretty well with it, you should check them out.

I had absolutely no idea where/how to start with the sun screen thing. It's still in my mind though. I wasn't sure if i had to look into the physics of creating it, how I would get it into production, if I had to design it myself, etc
Absolutely 0 idea if i needed to contact someone, who to contact, where to email.
If I did create it, I would start small by going to beaches nearby in Europe and testing it out
I had 2 jobs at the time (around summer) and I just got so confused by the whole "where do I go from here?"

I still think it has enormous potential!

Something to keep in mind is that a lot of people who start successful businesses don't actually know how to do it. I had no idea how I was going to get inventory, I totally bungled PPC ads, and had never operated a transportation/delivery business before. But by doing, I've figured it out. You have to just do stuff and fail at it.

 

[jarvisdiego]

yeh i have read the book three times - but I've never worked out how to add it to my avatar :/ - so i understand the "fastlane" concepts and everything i was just putting it in " " as a way of grouping certain people together. I guess i don't have much confidence in myself to physically make and produce a product and where to start with product implementation / same with technology, pretty useless with computers so if i find a problem i want to fix on an iphone i know i have 0 idea how to solve the problem (e.g. by building an app)

Even though I have not tried this before, a tip I can give you is to look at companies or any guru you follow on YouTube or Facebook.

Try to solve a problem for them by creating a product or something that will benefit them. Once you are done with it sned it to them for free and tell them that hope it helps. This way you gain some experience and you are adding value to someone else.

I will definitely try this, once I finish writing this comment. I thought it about while reading your thread

 

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[jmomcc]

I've been doing a Jamie Altucher thing that I read on another thread here. Google his name and 'idea generation'. Basically, write down 10 ideas a day. They can be a theme (ten ideas for a blog for example) or just random. You also write the first step to achieving that idea.

You don't agonize over them, just write them down.

edit: also - read MTF's progress threads on how to take action.

 

[Paul Thomas]

I had absolutely no idea where/how to start with the sun screen thing. It's still in my mind though. I wasn't sure if i had to look into the physics of creating it, how I would get it into production, if I had to design it myself, etc
Absolutely 0 idea if i needed to contact someone, who to contact, where to email.
If I did create it, I would start small by going to beaches nearby in Europe and testing it out
I had 2 jobs at the time (around summer) and I just got so confused by the whole "where do I go from here?"

I still think it has enormous potential!

This is where you "just do it". Create a high level plan of checkpoints that you'd need to hit to get this to market - does not need to be technical (ie. prototype, demand test, cost determination, margin analysis, launch) - and just work towards each checkpoint learning along the way. Figuring out who to call or email is part of learning to be resourceful which is a very valuable skill. Who cares if you email the wrong person the first time? You may learn something new and gain some info on how to make your idea better.