The life of an entrepreneur doesn't have to be one of isolation. You can still be friends with others.
The difference between you and them will simply be the way ya'll make a living.
It also sounds like you are struggling finding your niche, or your business idea. Here are some ideas to help you find your niche:
1) Value Skew
If there is competition now, then what can you do differently to stand out from them?
For example, you are interested in starting a lawn care business. How are the lawn care companies in your area providing their service? What are some good things about them? What are some bad things about them?
When you value skew, you simply try to be better than the competition. If they're good at mowing lawns, but never show up to give quotes or mow lawns on time, then maybe that's all you'd need to stand out among the lawn care companies for customers.
2) Trace the Source and Help Along the Way
If you consider lawn care companies, you can trace the source that makes the lawn care companies successful.
For example, having reliable equipment helps lawn care companies provide their service. Maybe you can focus on marketing for companies that are selling these equipment. Or maybe you can produce your own lawn care equipment that's better than what's out there.
Another example is the workers. Without workers, you cannot have a lawn care company. Maybe you can focus recruiting employees for lawn care companies. Or promoting the health of current lawn care employees via healthcare services, e.g. diet, mental health, physical exam, etc.
Yet again, another example is the business side of lawn care. Maybe you can help provide bookkeeping, ensuring they are in legal compliance, being their registered agent for their legal documents to get sent to, providing clerk assistance such as scheduling jobs, etc.
Holy damn, another example is the customers themselves of lawn care companies. Maybe you can start an agency that helps promote customer satisfaction and retention for lawn care companies, marketing to entice prospective customers to go for lawn care companies, etc.
The name of the game with this technique is to consider: What needs to happen to make a company successful? How can I help along the way?
3) Consider Problems to be Only Solvable by a Company
You have problems. I have problems. We all have problems unless you're a saint or monk that practices contentment.
Take note of these problems. Then consider what kind of companies need to be made into a reality to solve the problems.
For example, I am sitting on a couch watching rain drizzles. I think this is a problem because the rain + humidity feel weird on my skin whenever I am outside.
What companies can solve this problem? Perhaps a company that makes umbrellas to shield me from the rain? A company that creates a lotion or ointment that I can put on my skin to reduce the impact of humidity on me? A company that provides an on demand staff of people that can follow me around to keep me chill, away from the humidity, and shield me from the rain?
4) CENTS
Our good friend, CENTS. The Holy Grail for us at TFLF.
Control - Entry - Need - Time - Scale
Need is first and foremost. You come up with a solution to the need. Then you use the other four tenets to help you deliver the solution in a way that brings in excellent income.
Let us consider lawn care company again. There is a need: People need their lawns taken care of for a myriad of reason, e.g. HOA, home appraisal value, feeling proud of their home appearance, whatever.
The solution? Get their lawns mowed. There is our need. The four tenets?
Control - who will determine if I am successful? Myself, the lawn care equipment manufacturer/supplier/distributor, business legal issues such as making sure all taxes are paid for, etc... you can only focus on what you can control with what you have. I doubt you're going to make your own lawn care equipment. But I'm sure you can find the current best beginner, intermediate, and expert lawn care equipment with some research beforehand, and get your hand on the equipment through renting, buying used, or getting new, etc.
Entry - practically everyone can start a lawn care company. But that is why you value skew. MJ talks about this in his books in relation to entry. Not every lawn care founder and company itself can:
1. speak English
2. shown time consistently
3. answer calls quickly
4. Find ways to keep customers satisfied with any subpar experience
5. Give reason for customers to keep coming back (e.g. oh, you're not only a lawn care company? You also have your own little entertainment division where we can take our families to have fun on a weekend?)
6. Provide a premium experience such as "you get the best lawn care equipment and workers to mow your lawn and make it look so nice that people will be envious"
7. Provide a reasonable cost depending on audience socioeconomic status
You get the gist of value skew. You can take take one, some, or all of these ideas to make your lawn care company different and better than current lawn care companies in your area.
Time - we all want to be able to get paid without feeling like we HAVE to work, but WANT to work... So you have some options:
1. you make a business that is enjoyable for you yet serves a real need, e.g. lots of people enjoy caring for dogs, so they start dog day care and enjoy the process.
2. You make a business that you couldn't care less about, but at least you don't hate..
3. You start a business that you don't have the skills for, so you outsource everything, e.g. find lawn care contractors and tell them they get paid per lawn care
Whatever you decide to do, don't start a business that you know you can't do daily because you HATE it... For example, if you are a burn out lawyer, do you think youll be successful in any venture requiring your expertise? Highly unlikely since you'll self-sabotage yourself along the way unless you are no longer burned out.
Scale - your goal is to provide the solution that either a small group can pay big bucks for or a large group that can pay the small bucks for... E.g. if you mow lawns for the wealthy and get paid 200 bucks per lawn care, then you only need to mow 5000 lawns to make a million bucks gross revenue. That's 96 lawn care sessions per week if you want to make the million in a year. So you provide lawn care for 200 bucks a session for 96 wealthy folks.
Or... You can undercut everyone and sell your service for, say, 25 bucks a session. You would need 40,000 lawn care sessions to make a million. That's roughly 770 lawn care sessions weekly to make a million in one year. So you need to mow 770 lawns somehow...
Regardless if you target the few with big pockets or the mass with small pockets, the only reliable way to get F U money is scale...
Hope this helps you. I'm a freelancer marketing for a clinic and flipping items online on the side. Both are tough work. I get no consistent income, no "traditional" benefits like health insurance, etc by being an entrepreneur. But at least I am my own boss per se... I am in control of my own destiny with the cards dealt to me on a daily basis. I can tell you that the reality to make a successful company (I want to make a successful marketing agency or an e commerce store) is hard work.
Just start on any idea you have in mind, and make the most basic functional version of it to see if people will pay. Bootstrap.
Think Kickstarter for products. They don't need the actual products to verify demand; people gladly throw money at you if they understand your new invention idea.
If you're in the service agency, bootstrap. Pretend you got no more than 100 in your bank for any venture. If I were to start my own service company, say, power washing I'll market my service first.
"Hey, I help home owners looking to sell their homes by making their drive ways look nice with power washing". That's my niche. I'll let people know wherever my prospective customers hang out at: their homes, HOA meetings, talking to realtors, banks who don't want to lose too much money from having to foreclose a property, etc. How I let them know can be in person, business cards, flyer, online website, whatever.
I'll do the marketing that would reach my prospective customers the fastest: talking to realtors since they know people actively selling their homes. I'll literally show up at realtor places, and say, "hi, I want to help realtors sell their clients homes by making their drive ways look nice with power washing. Would you know anybody that needs a reliable person for power washing homes?"
Then go from there.
The difference between you and them will simply be the way ya'll make a living.
It also sounds like you are struggling finding your niche, or your business idea. Here are some ideas to help you find your niche:
1) Value Skew
If there is competition now, then what can you do differently to stand out from them?
For example, you are interested in starting a lawn care business. How are the lawn care companies in your area providing their service? What are some good things about them? What are some bad things about them?
When you value skew, you simply try to be better than the competition. If they're good at mowing lawns, but never show up to give quotes or mow lawns on time, then maybe that's all you'd need to stand out among the lawn care companies for customers.
2) Trace the Source and Help Along the Way
If you consider lawn care companies, you can trace the source that makes the lawn care companies successful.
For example, having reliable equipment helps lawn care companies provide their service. Maybe you can focus on marketing for companies that are selling these equipment. Or maybe you can produce your own lawn care equipment that's better than what's out there.
Another example is the workers. Without workers, you cannot have a lawn care company. Maybe you can focus recruiting employees for lawn care companies. Or promoting the health of current lawn care employees via healthcare services, e.g. diet, mental health, physical exam, etc.
Yet again, another example is the business side of lawn care. Maybe you can help provide bookkeeping, ensuring they are in legal compliance, being their registered agent for their legal documents to get sent to, providing clerk assistance such as scheduling jobs, etc.
Holy damn, another example is the customers themselves of lawn care companies. Maybe you can start an agency that helps promote customer satisfaction and retention for lawn care companies, marketing to entice prospective customers to go for lawn care companies, etc.
The name of the game with this technique is to consider: What needs to happen to make a company successful? How can I help along the way?
3) Consider Problems to be Only Solvable by a Company
You have problems. I have problems. We all have problems unless you're a saint or monk that practices contentment.
Take note of these problems. Then consider what kind of companies need to be made into a reality to solve the problems.
For example, I am sitting on a couch watching rain drizzles. I think this is a problem because the rain + humidity feel weird on my skin whenever I am outside.
What companies can solve this problem? Perhaps a company that makes umbrellas to shield me from the rain? A company that creates a lotion or ointment that I can put on my skin to reduce the impact of humidity on me? A company that provides an on demand staff of people that can follow me around to keep me chill, away from the humidity, and shield me from the rain?
4) CENTS
Our good friend, CENTS. The Holy Grail for us at TFLF.
Control - Entry - Need - Time - Scale
Need is first and foremost. You come up with a solution to the need. Then you use the other four tenets to help you deliver the solution in a way that brings in excellent income.
Let us consider lawn care company again. There is a need: People need their lawns taken care of for a myriad of reason, e.g. HOA, home appraisal value, feeling proud of their home appearance, whatever.
The solution? Get their lawns mowed. There is our need. The four tenets?
Control - who will determine if I am successful? Myself, the lawn care equipment manufacturer/supplier/distributor, business legal issues such as making sure all taxes are paid for, etc... you can only focus on what you can control with what you have. I doubt you're going to make your own lawn care equipment. But I'm sure you can find the current best beginner, intermediate, and expert lawn care equipment with some research beforehand, and get your hand on the equipment through renting, buying used, or getting new, etc.
Entry - practically everyone can start a lawn care company. But that is why you value skew. MJ talks about this in his books in relation to entry. Not every lawn care founder and company itself can:
1. speak English
2. shown time consistently
3. answer calls quickly
4. Find ways to keep customers satisfied with any subpar experience
5. Give reason for customers to keep coming back (e.g. oh, you're not only a lawn care company? You also have your own little entertainment division where we can take our families to have fun on a weekend?)
6. Provide a premium experience such as "you get the best lawn care equipment and workers to mow your lawn and make it look so nice that people will be envious"
7. Provide a reasonable cost depending on audience socioeconomic status
You get the gist of value skew. You can take take one, some, or all of these ideas to make your lawn care company different and better than current lawn care companies in your area.
Time - we all want to be able to get paid without feeling like we HAVE to work, but WANT to work... So you have some options:
1. you make a business that is enjoyable for you yet serves a real need, e.g. lots of people enjoy caring for dogs, so they start dog day care and enjoy the process.
2. You make a business that you couldn't care less about, but at least you don't hate..
3. You start a business that you don't have the skills for, so you outsource everything, e.g. find lawn care contractors and tell them they get paid per lawn care
Whatever you decide to do, don't start a business that you know you can't do daily because you HATE it... For example, if you are a burn out lawyer, do you think youll be successful in any venture requiring your expertise? Highly unlikely since you'll self-sabotage yourself along the way unless you are no longer burned out.
Scale - your goal is to provide the solution that either a small group can pay big bucks for or a large group that can pay the small bucks for... E.g. if you mow lawns for the wealthy and get paid 200 bucks per lawn care, then you only need to mow 5000 lawns to make a million bucks gross revenue. That's 96 lawn care sessions per week if you want to make the million in a year. So you provide lawn care for 200 bucks a session for 96 wealthy folks.
Or... You can undercut everyone and sell your service for, say, 25 bucks a session. You would need 40,000 lawn care sessions to make a million. That's roughly 770 lawn care sessions weekly to make a million in one year. So you need to mow 770 lawns somehow...
Regardless if you target the few with big pockets or the mass with small pockets, the only reliable way to get F U money is scale...
Hope this helps you. I'm a freelancer marketing for a clinic and flipping items online on the side. Both are tough work. I get no consistent income, no "traditional" benefits like health insurance, etc by being an entrepreneur. But at least I am my own boss per se... I am in control of my own destiny with the cards dealt to me on a daily basis. I can tell you that the reality to make a successful company (I want to make a successful marketing agency or an e commerce store) is hard work.
Just start on any idea you have in mind, and make the most basic functional version of it to see if people will pay. Bootstrap.
Think Kickstarter for products. They don't need the actual products to verify demand; people gladly throw money at you if they understand your new invention idea.
If you're in the service agency, bootstrap. Pretend you got no more than 100 in your bank for any venture. If I were to start my own service company, say, power washing I'll market my service first.
"Hey, I help home owners looking to sell their homes by making their drive ways look nice with power washing". That's my niche. I'll let people know wherever my prospective customers hang out at: their homes, HOA meetings, talking to realtors, banks who don't want to lose too much money from having to foreclose a property, etc. How I let them know can be in person, business cards, flyer, online website, whatever.
I'll do the marketing that would reach my prospective customers the fastest: talking to realtors since they know people actively selling their homes. I'll literally show up at realtor places, and say, "hi, I want to help realtors sell their clients homes by making their drive ways look nice with power washing. Would you know anybody that needs a reliable person for power washing homes?"
Then go from there.