Step One: The Idea
Date Added: June 3rd,
2002
By Chris Stallman
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Starting
a business can seem like a pretty difficult job. After all, quite
a few businesses fail each year. However, very few jobs compare
to being self-employed and there's nothing better than creating
a successful business. And once you get rolling, you'll see
that it isn't that hard after all.
Many people
will say that the hardest part of running a business is marketing
it. Some might say that the hardest part is getting the funding
to get it up and running. But I personally think that the hardest
part of starting a business is thinking of an idea. And that is
the first step we're going to cover.
Let's face it, the single most important step in
creating a business is the idea. After all, a good idea can make
a company millions or even billions of dollars, while a bad idea
can lead it to bankruptcy. And without an idea, you can't create
a business.
So it's time to start brainstorming. Think up that
next million-dollar idea. If you're stuck and can't think
of anything, here are some questions to ask yourself to help you
out a little:
What are my interests?
Get out a sheet of paper and start writing down some
things that interest you. Are you good at sports? Do you like managing
other people's money? Are you good with computers? Do you like
pets?
It always helps if you start a business in a field
that interests you. That way when you're spending your time
working on it, you'll have so much fun that you don't even
think of it as work. For example, I enjoy money-related stuff. But
once a week, I'm required to mow our lawn since I'm the
"man of the house". Some of the neighbors need their lawns
mowed too. However, because it doesn't interest me, I probably
shouldn't start my own lawn-mowing business.
If I had some money, what
would I buy?
Try to think
of something that you think would be cool to buy. It helps if there
isn't already something similar out there. If you think something
is cool, there is always a chance that others might think so too.
But be careful, don't start a business solely on this. Be sure
to see if there is actually a demand for it!
What could be improved?
There are a
lot of great products out there that aren't quite perfect. They
can be improved in some way or another. Do you notice anything in
your life that could be improved? Is there a chance you might be
able to make a business out of it? If so, you might want to consider
that kind of idea.
It helps if you get out a piece of paper and think
up a number of ideas. You can then make a few columns on your piece
of paper and compare each idea to decide which one you think will
be best. Once you've got an idea that sounds good, you'll
be ready to proceed to the next step...evaluating the idea.
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