I started this thread as a response to someone struggling to find a business idea and thought it might help a few more people if it was in its own space.
So this is for you if you are finding it difficult to get started. If all around you you just see blank walls. If you have no draw to a specific niche. Basically if you feel total frustration and haven't a clue. Take heart though, you are not alone, we all started from point zero.
From personal experience I would suggest you go where the flow takes you. By that I mean the direction best suited to your skill set and/or the environment you find yourself. Now we all have skills and we all live in an environment so you already have those boxes ticked, right?
So what are you looking for? You are looking for an unfulfilled need, or a poorly supplied chain. The weak link. Looking at ways to add value, maybe taking something from one niche and applying it to another. Start on your doorstep. As Andy Black would say start with helping those closest to you.
You don't have to act on these 'discoveries'. What you are initially doing is training your mind. You see part of the mindset of an entrepreneur is seeing opportunities everywhere then selectively capitalising on them. In many ways it is the difference between the entrepreneur and the businessman:
I've been at this a long time and see potential everywhere but it is a skill learnt like anything else. As you develop it, it becomes like muscle memory. Once built it's always there, and always churning away in the background.
This can in fact become a hindrance to many as we see so many opportunities it is difficult to choose and stick with just one.
I know that can sound frustrating when you are struggling just to find a single worthy project but know they are there, you just have to develop your 'muscle memory' to see them. And the only way to do that is to exercise it.
Know that you have to seek out opportunities, for it is rare (but not unheard of) for them to find you in the early days. To do that you HAVE to get out and about, talk to friends, family and people you meet on a day to day basis. When you are walking the aisles in a supermarket or DIY store look at everything they sell and the ways they sell them. What could be improved? What stands out from the crowd? What could be used for a different purpose? What's missing that should be there? Troll Reddit and other forums looking for pain points. Consider it part of your daily exercise.
Just remember you are looking for that first stepping stone. That first small business idea you can use to learn from and hopefully make a good return on investment. Once you break that duck it will get much easier I promise you. Don't worry about CENTS. Those criteria will come later. Just look at this as your first draft. Just a confidence builder to break some barriers.
It doesn't have to be a long term thing (nor should it be), as you will grow quickly, and want to challenge yourself as you begin to see greater opportunities.
Still struggling? Find a local business that needs more customers (don't they all?) Find some friends or students who want to earn a few extra dollars (don't they all?) Research a good offer with the owner, get a cheap leaflet printer online and print and distribute that offer house to house. Can't design a leaflet? No problem, use a friend or Fiverr.
Visit Takeaways, Restaurants, Bars, Farm stores, Butchers. Real Estate agents. Whoever you have in your neck of the woods. It's not high tech, it's not hard and it's not sexy but you can make money and learn about supplying a need. Just the experience of talking to local business owners is invaluable.
See what offers they come up with, see how you can improve on them:
Takeaways - Free fries with every order over x.
Restaurants - 2 for 1 offer Monday Nights
Farm Stores - 15% discount with this Leaflet
Butchers - 10lb of Prime Rib Eye Steaks now just €x.xx
Real Estate Agents - Thinking of Selling your Home? Free Home Valuation and Selling package to get you the best possible price
Loads of different angles. It could even be fun to sit down with a pad and pencil and just coming up with as many angles as possible. And even if you just did that as an academic exercise it starts to develop your thinking as to what businesses could offer that customers would be attracted to. It starts to get those grey cells activated. And once you start to activate those little grey cells you start to see opportunities everywhere and you are off...
So this is for you if you are finding it difficult to get started. If all around you you just see blank walls. If you have no draw to a specific niche. Basically if you feel total frustration and haven't a clue. Take heart though, you are not alone, we all started from point zero.
From personal experience I would suggest you go where the flow takes you. By that I mean the direction best suited to your skill set and/or the environment you find yourself. Now we all have skills and we all live in an environment so you already have those boxes ticked, right?
So what are you looking for? You are looking for an unfulfilled need, or a poorly supplied chain. The weak link. Looking at ways to add value, maybe taking something from one niche and applying it to another. Start on your doorstep. As Andy Black would say start with helping those closest to you.
You don't have to act on these 'discoveries'. What you are initially doing is training your mind. You see part of the mindset of an entrepreneur is seeing opportunities everywhere then selectively capitalising on them. In many ways it is the difference between the entrepreneur and the businessman:
I've been at this a long time and see potential everywhere but it is a skill learnt like anything else. As you develop it, it becomes like muscle memory. Once built it's always there, and always churning away in the background.
This can in fact become a hindrance to many as we see so many opportunities it is difficult to choose and stick with just one.
I know that can sound frustrating when you are struggling just to find a single worthy project but know they are there, you just have to develop your 'muscle memory' to see them. And the only way to do that is to exercise it.
Know that you have to seek out opportunities, for it is rare (but not unheard of) for them to find you in the early days. To do that you HAVE to get out and about, talk to friends, family and people you meet on a day to day basis. When you are walking the aisles in a supermarket or DIY store look at everything they sell and the ways they sell them. What could be improved? What stands out from the crowd? What could be used for a different purpose? What's missing that should be there? Troll Reddit and other forums looking for pain points. Consider it part of your daily exercise.
Just remember you are looking for that first stepping stone. That first small business idea you can use to learn from and hopefully make a good return on investment. Once you break that duck it will get much easier I promise you. Don't worry about CENTS. Those criteria will come later. Just look at this as your first draft. Just a confidence builder to break some barriers.
It doesn't have to be a long term thing (nor should it be), as you will grow quickly, and want to challenge yourself as you begin to see greater opportunities.
Still struggling? Find a local business that needs more customers (don't they all?) Find some friends or students who want to earn a few extra dollars (don't they all?) Research a good offer with the owner, get a cheap leaflet printer online and print and distribute that offer house to house. Can't design a leaflet? No problem, use a friend or Fiverr.
Visit Takeaways, Restaurants, Bars, Farm stores, Butchers. Real Estate agents. Whoever you have in your neck of the woods. It's not high tech, it's not hard and it's not sexy but you can make money and learn about supplying a need. Just the experience of talking to local business owners is invaluable.
- It will get you out of your comfort zone
- You will be talking about needs and pain points
- You will be taking action
See what offers they come up with, see how you can improve on them:
Takeaways - Free fries with every order over x.
Restaurants - 2 for 1 offer Monday Nights
Farm Stores - 15% discount with this Leaflet
Butchers - 10lb of Prime Rib Eye Steaks now just €x.xx
Real Estate Agents - Thinking of Selling your Home? Free Home Valuation and Selling package to get you the best possible price
Loads of different angles. It could even be fun to sit down with a pad and pencil and just coming up with as many angles as possible. And even if you just did that as an academic exercise it starts to develop your thinking as to what businesses could offer that customers would be attracted to. It starts to get those grey cells activated. And once you start to activate those little grey cells you start to see opportunities everywhere and you are off...
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