There seems to be a trend going on in my e-mail these days. I keep getting messages from folks saying they know they want to be self-employed but are totally stumped about what to do.
I understand the frustration. There was a big gap between the moment I realized I wanted to be self-employed and the time I actually knew what I wanted to start.
It wouldn’t have taken me so long to figure things out if I had realized that getting good ideas is nothing more than an exercise in creativity.
One of the best starting points is to ask this simple question: Who has a problem I know how to solve?
You might come up with an initial answer such as, “Lots of people don’t have enough time to do everything they want or need to do.”
Start a list of possible solutions based on what you can offer. It might go something like this:
° I love to run errands and know my way around the city.
° I know how to download music on an iPod.
° I know how to save money on car repairs and groceries.
° I can organize a messy office in no time flat.
° I love putting together itineraries for special interest trips.
° I love helping seniors who aren’t able to do things for themselves.
Once you’ve got a list started, decide which idea sounds like the most fun for you. (Yes, fun comes first.) Then start thinking about the potential clients for such a service.
Let’s say you choose downloading iPods.
Who could use such a service? (The answer is “lots of people”!)
The next questions are:
° How can I connect with the folks who need this service?
° How do I price my service?
° Could I get some free publicity for this?
° Would it hold my interest long enough to make it a viable profit center?
° Would it be fun to do even as a short term profit center?
Asking and answering better questions is the way to develop tiny seeds of an idea. Alas, many people handle ideas with excuses and dead end statements such as, “If that was really such a good idea I’m sure someone else would have thought of it.”
Greet your ideas with enthusiastic questions and you’ll find yourself with a promising enterprise waiting to be born. As Hope Wallis pointed out, “Opportunities are like pole beans. You have to keep picking them so more can grow.”
Barbara, I think this is a case where our education sometimes interferes with our creativity. When trying to come up with business ideas, I used to think in terms of difficult, esoteric skills that few other people have. As it turns out, I’ve made the most money – and had the most fun – applying really simple abilities that solve common problems. The secret for me is offering things I LOVE to do and find easy to people who HATE to do them and find them HARD.
Bingo, Barbara! It’s sort of a cosmic joke that our biggest opportunities are found in things that come so naturally to us that we fail to see their value.