Too many business ideas? (How to choose)
I don’t know you personally, but if you are in any way like me, you tend to have a lot of ideas.
More than you can act upon.
Right now, on top of my branding & business reinvention coaching, I’d love to start a personal growth blog with a Jungian perspective. I want to run a Dreamwork group for conscious solopreneurs. And I’m also tempted to start an English conversation club for Spanish speaking entrepreneurs here in Madrid.
All those ideas sound inspiring to me. But honestly?
I don’t have the time, not the energy, to pursue them all.
You might be in a similar situation.
You can help different people achieve different results. And you love to do all those things, so choosing just one is hard.
And should you even choose one?
Let me put it this way:
If you want to be known, you need to be known for one thing, even if it’s just an “umbrella” term that encompasses everything you do.
People will associate you with one thing. So…
Which idea should you choose as your business focus?
First, I have a mindset shift for you:
By choosing a business focus, you are not restricting yourself in any way.
You’ll still be able to pursue all of your ideas. Some will be hobbies, things you do in your free time, while others will become the center of your business.
Why is this distinction important?
Because it’s clearly one of the requirements by which to evaluate your ideas:
Your business idea needs to bring in money.
And be fulfilling?
Of course! That’s why you are choosing from the things you feel inspired to do, after all.
But that money thing is the key difference between a hobby and a business.
Building a real business requires a lot of time, effort and money.
And following one business path only to find out later that you can’t pay the bills…
…it’s neither fun nor fulfilling.
So ok, let’s say you want to create a business. Now the questions is…
What service can you offer that others will pay you for?
I’ve learned the hard way that not everything you love to do is something others will be willing to pay for.
The “do what you love and money will follow” is a great book title, but it’s not sound business advice.
My first business, a healthy-homes consultancy service, failed because I was offering something people didn’t want to buy.
And I stubbornly persisted in offering what I “knew” they needed…not what they wanted.
I don’t have to tell you how it all ended, right?
Did you know?
No matter how much you love something, and this is true for any business, clients will vote with their money. They will clearly tell you if what you offer is something they want…or not.
Look at yourself and the things you pay for. Mostly you purchase things or services because they solve a problem for you or they give you something you really want to have, do or experience.
When choosing among different business ideas ask yourself:
- Is what I want to create something that people will be willing to pay for? These tips will give you more clarity about it.
Which problems do you solve? The 3 problem categories
This weekend I was reading Jonathan Fields’ book “How to live the good life”. In it, Jonathan says that the good life consists of making sure we fill up 3 different buckets: our vitality bucket, our connection bucket, and our contribution bucket.
In other words, we are talking about health, love and money here, don’t you think?
Most of our hopes, dreams and problems fall into one of these three categories.
And when your service and products help others solve a problem in any of these 3 areas, your business will have a much better probability of being financially sustainable.
So ask yourself:
- Does my business idea fit into one of the 3 biggest problem categories?
If not, don’t worry. You still can find a great business idea by connecting to something else.
Are you touching on a strong passion?
And no, I’m not talking about personal relationships here.
I’m talking about topics people are passionate about.
Let me give you one example.
That I love music and sci-fi books is not a surprise to those who know me. I never get tired of them.
And I’ve recently found a song by Joe Satriani titled “Catbot”, a song about a cyber cat played with electric guitars! Can there be anything better? Honestly? 🙂
I have most of Satriani’s records… and I want to have the new ones as they are released.
That is a passion.
So let me ask you…
- Does your business idea satisfy a strong desire or passion?
Ideas In Action:
Now, take a look at all those things you can do for others. Check them against these 3 questions:
- Is what I want to create something that people will be willing to pay for?
- Does my business idea fit into one of the 3 biggest problem categories?
- Does what I want to do satisfy a strong desire or passion?
And please let me know if you have any questions or doubts about how to validate your business idea.
Originally published at https://www.tappingyourpurpose.com
