Finding the Right Business Idea for You
One of the hardest things about starting a new business is coming up with ideas.
When you first start out, everybody you encounter tries to persuade you that they are an expert in their field.
They may try to sell you on the idea of doing what they do to make money. But it may mean that person is going to make money long before you see an income from your efforts.
This can be anything from multi-level marketing to promoting a product. We all know that list is endless. Every product that comes along is the best thing since indoor plumbing.
You can become the next representative for the product that’s going to grow hair, rejuvenate you and make you look young again, or fill you with vim, vigor and vitality.
But have you considered there might be a better, more profitable, more enjoyable way to start a business on a shoestring?
Some people get caught up in the excitement of the moment, and go way out in left field, when the answers are probably a little closer to home.
Let me tell you a true story.
A friend of mine has had a lot of jobs – everything from selling real estate to being a professional researcher. She had worked in offices, cleaned offices, and run other people’s offices. For a variety of reasons, she found herself burned out, worn out, and out of work. She was determined not to be anyone else’s employee again. She wanted to be her own boss, and have her own business.
Great! I suggested she read my “7 Tips for Starting a Home-Based Business on a Shoestring”, and then we’d talk.
So she got the tips – and that was all she did. Instead of going about it in a systematic way, analyzing what she knew, and what she already had that could be used to start a business, she suddenly came up with a bright idea. She was going to sell stilts! Seriously. This is not a joke. She told me she was going to sell Baby Boomer toys, and that stilts were the perfect thing.
She knew someone who had a wood-working business. This person had made a comment about all the scraps he had left over, and she wanted to have him cut the scraps into stilts.
When I asked her how she was going to manage a web site that sold the stilts, package them, ship them, and process payments, she didn’t have an answer. When I asked what her back-up plan would be if the man had no more scraps, she didn’t know.
So I asked if she had made a list of all the pros and cons of having only one product to sell. No, she hadn’t done that either.
When I asked if she had done any research to see what kind of competition she would have, she said no. When I pointed out that it could take some time to market the product then see sales coming in, and asked if she had a back-up plan for income, she said I was getting too technical.
When I asked if she had read the “7 Tips for Starting a Home-Based Business on a Shoestring”, well, no, she hadn’t done that either. She was just so excited to have come up with an idea, that she was ready to run with it, blinders and all.
I told her she was making a lot of work for herself, and truthfully, I didn’t want to work that hard. Being in business for oneself doesn’t have to mean hard physical labor.
Now if that’s your idea of a great business, go ahead. You can have my part. But it’s not for me. I’m in line for a knee replacement, and that doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time.
So what are some good ideas for shoestring businesses? Truly, it does depend on your interests, skills and abilities. But the list is endless. With today’s technology and a little investigation, you could have a business up and running in no time.
You can find a starter list under the Business Tips section of this site. Look it over, then see what you can add to it.
If you come up with anything you need some help with, drop me a line through the Contact page.
And if you can add to the list, let me know that, too. If you suggest an idea that I can put on the list, I’ll have something special for you.
- Teresa Beeman -
Shoestring Business Coach™
