Are you trying to find ideas to start your business? Keep your eyes (and ears) open.
It's been a while since I posted a business lesson and over the Easter weekend, I heard a joke that relates to even the smallest entrepreneur.
Here's the joke:
It is pouring rain in the flood plain of the Mississippi Valley, and the rising river begins to threaten homes, including that of a local preacher.
When water floods into the ground floor, a rowboat with police comes by, and the officer shouts, "Let us evacuate you! The water level is getting dangerous."
The preacher replies, "No, thank you, I am a righteous man who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me."
Three hours go by, and the rains intensify, at which point the preacher is forced up to the second floor of his house. A second police rowboat comes by, and the officer shouts, "Now let us evacuate you! The water level is getting dangerous!"
The preacher replies, "No, thank you, I am a righteous man who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me."
The rain keeps coming, and the preacher is forced up onto the roof of his house. A helicopter flies over, and the officer shouts down, " Please, grab the rope and we'll pull you up! You're in terrible danger!"
The preacher replies, "No, thank you, I am a righteous man who trusts in the Almighty, and I am confident he will deliver me."
The deluge continues. The preacher is swept off the roof, carried away in the current, and drowns. He goes up to heaven, and at the pearly gates he is admitted and comes before God.
The preacher asks, "Dear Lord, I don't understand. I've been righteous and observant my whole life, and I depended on you to save me in my hour of need. Where were you?"
And the Lord answers, "I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more do you want?"
What does this have to do with being an entrepreneur?
Well, most people take things for granted or are blind to see opportunities around them. If you hear two or three people around you start a sentence with "I wish there was a/an <object>", "You know what I'd like to see?", or "Do they make something like <object>?", you are probably in a position to take action.
That last sentence is important. The key is to sit up, notice what people are missing, and take action. Don't let your ideas sit and ferment. Move on them!
Idea Generators
However, if you are coming up empty with ideas or opportunities, where can you find these opportunities?
- Go Shopping (but keep your ears and eyes open) - Everyone is out purchasing products and this is a prime area of where to overhear someone asking where these items or products are located. If they are hard to find, they may head home and resort to the Internet for locating these type of niche products.
- Social Networking Event - Gather your business cards and head out to a networking event. People love to put a face with the name and love to talk about their ideas with everyone. I had one person introduce themselves to me and I returned the introduction with what I do. They immediately said, "Hey, I've been looking for someone to do this <project>. Could you help me out or do you know of someone who could do this?" They've been a client of mine ever since.
- Revisit what you've built - If you've built something for someone and there is a huge demand for this type of product or service, tweak it a little bit and reuse it. You may find out that you may be sitting on a goldmine when you release your revamped product or service.
- Build a better mousetrap - If you have an idea, don't get upset because someone built one already. Two things to think about: 1). If no one improved on the wheel, we'd all have concrete wheels instead of rubber tires; and 2). Google didn't build a new search engine, they just improved it and made it better.
These are just a couple of ideas to generate opportunities, but there are many, many more. You just need to be aware of them.
Know when an opportunity comes your way and act on it.
Jonathan Danylko
Does anybody have other ideas on how to generate opportunities?
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