I want to start a business but have no ideas. 6 ways to find your great business idea.
Do you want to start a business but have no idea what kind?
That feeling Is very common.
Being your own small or medium enterprise might well be the key to doing something you really love and make some money at.
But either we have no ideas or way too many getting stuck in analysis paralysis.
This article will cover how to create business ideas that fit you perfectly.
If you’re looking for side hustles or just want some extra income while working from home, this is the article for you!
What do you want your business to look like?
The first thing you want to start thinking about is what you want good to look like?
What does life look like in your ideal world now that you have your own business?
- Will this be a side hustle or a full-time job?
- How long are you working each day, week or month
- where are you working, inside-outside, from home?
- What are you doing? Is it on a computer or face to face?
- How much do you need to earn a day, week month?
- Will this be an online or offline business?
Being clear on what you want your business to look like will help steer you in the right direction and away from things you don’t want, i.e., working 60 hours a week or replacing one job with another.
- Do you want to sell a service or a product?
- Do you want to work on your own thing or sell other people’s products?
You don’t have to have perfect answers to these and other questions, but they will start to steer you when choices come up in your way
Start with what you have
Don’t worry; you’re not alone – many people feel stuck when it comes to starting a business
Finding a business idea when you are starting a business with no money can feel daunting
There are a few ways to find business ideas including starting with a notepad and pen. Looking at what’s already out there and considering what problems do you have that need solving?
If you are thinking I want to start a business, but have no ideas start by answering these questions.
What are you good at?
- that other people need help with
- what do you have an unfair advantage in, i.e. you know, spreadsheet or have done a course in XYZ?
- That you can do quicker than they can
- That you find easy, but others struggle with
What do you like doing?
- That others hate, and you can do for them
- That you get lost in and don’t notice the time
- That you enjoy doing, solving, working out that others don’t
What does the world need?
- Are there a lot of people with this problem?
- If this problem, would their and their family, communities’ life be much better?
What will people pay you for?
- Will people pay to take this problem away or make it easier?
- Do they want you to sit and talk with them or send them a thing?
- What pain or pleasure will people pay you for, taking it away or providing it?
The culmination of these questions might help you find a side hustle idea that is perfect for you.
Ideally, you want to create a business idea that creates a source of income that you never need or want to retire from.
And pretty importantly creates you an income while you’re asleep.
That’s a type of business that brings in passive income. You still earn money even when you are asleep!
The opposite of this being active income where you need to be present to earn any money – a bit like a 9-5 job.
Do some research on what’s already out there
A good place to start this is with great business books.
In your local library or bookstore, you can tap into the experience and ideas of large and small business owners and entrepreneurs.
But an early word of caution books or great but they must lead to action, read and take action.
DON’T read and read and read and read.
A few of the books that might help you get ideas are.
There are also thousands of videos on Youtube talking about business ideas, including
Some great podcasts on starting a business include
Don’t give in to self-doubt
When you get a few ideas, you will want to start looking around to see if anyone is already doing it.
The short answer is someone probably is.
That’s not necessarily a problem as it is a least showing you that there is a market out there and gives you an indication of what good might look like.
At this stage, it’s not uncommon to start to doubt yourself; who are you to even try this.
This is likely what every new business starter has thought, and you need to get over it asap.
You may be thinking
- It looks too hard
- The market is already saturated
- How can I compete against that competition
Something that you might find useful is Tim Ferriss’s fear setting process.
Here he sets a way to overcome fears, preventing, mitigating or recovering from the worst happening with any new idea or business.
Identify your customers
Now a crucial part of having a successful business is finding customers.
Here are a few things you will need to know about them
- Who are they?
- What do their lives look like
- Where do they hang out?
- How will they find you?
- What are they prepared to pay?
One of the biggest problems people have when designing a business is that they don’t know who they are trying to serve.
This ends up with a generic thing that doesn’t appeal to anyone.
Getting over the fact that you can’t help or sell to everyone is part of understanding who you can and do want to serve and sell to.
Once you know who’s problem you serve, you will find it much easier to find and sell to them.
Knowing who you want to serve may also spark the business ideas you need!
Build it the best you can for as cheap as you can
The worst thing you can do when starting a business for the first time with limited experience is through money at the problem.
Spend as little as you can, make some sales and then spend a little more money if you have to.
Do everything you can NOT to (depending on your business of course)
- Buy lots of stock
- Pay for fancy marketing, fliers, posters, business cards etc
- A bells and whistles website
When you start out, you haven’t yet proved that anyone needs your service; spending money on it might make a lot of noise but might be just that noise!
You can do a lot for free online, including building shop sites, taking payments and advertising through;
- Google My Business
- Medium
Using as many free or low-cost versions of things to start your new business is a sure-fire way to reduce your costs, risk and self-doubt.
You will make mistakes, changes and improvements much better to do this inexpensively at the beginning.
You might not make your first million in 12 months
Be ambitious but realistic.
When you first start, it might feel like stumbling in the dark trying to find customers – it may take time to perfect your offer, marketing and call to action.
The long-term trend is your friend.
Remember what it was you were trying to achieve
- Instant success?
- Extra income?
- A lifestyle and financial change?
The more profound you want the change to be, the more time it is likely to take to happen.
The longer runway you have, the greater chance you have of success. If you need an immediate take-off, you might find it a very steep climb to make the business take off.
But if you never give up, you can never fail.
That’s why if you have a regular day job keeping it going while you build the business will give you the safety net you need.
Conclusion: I want to start a business but have no ideas
Starting a business with no ideas can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.
Figure out what you want your business to look like.
Read a few great books to get inspiration, hints and tips. The key to books is finding the right one at the right time and not trying to read them all, all the time.
Expect problems and self-doubt, so think about your fear setting goals.
You don’t need a lot of money to start; you just need the drive and determination to make your business work.
