Entrepreneur Ideas
The trouble with searching for an article on entrepreneur ideas is that natural entrepreneurs have already seen an opportunity to exploit and don't need that help!
Those wishing to start a home-based business or just looking for small business opportunities to start are perhaps not naturally entrepreneurial. But for those that need them, we have some suggestions that may help you.
Definition and Characteristics
Is Everyone the Same?
Some of the definitions found online are just daft. They talk about someone who takes risks and has the skills to start a business. That just about applies to anyone starting a business whether they understand what they are doing or not.
Spotting Opportunities that Make Money
The attributes of successful entrepreneurs are people who can not only spot business opportunities but continue to look for the next opportunity. They are always developing ideas and their skills and knowledge. They are always looking for gaps in the market that no one has seen or are executing poorly. Yes, they need to have self-confidence, but most successful business managers are also in that group.
A Driven Individual
We guess it comes down to always wanting to improve themselves and be a success in their own right. Entrepreneurs will have many failures along the way, and this in itself helps them to develop better and more profitable ventures longer term.
Business Opportunities or Ideas?
Taking a Long-Term View
Many people looking for ideas may also be simply looking for business opportunities. Unfortunately, there are plenty of scams and "get rich quick" schemes around. These are not for real entrepreneurs so avoid those because no one gets rich quick. Starting and running a real business venture takes a long time, especially if you've never undertaken this before.
Failure Often Leads to Success
The most famous people have started their businesses either at school or an early age and have certainly not succeeded in making millions from these initial ideas. Many have failed but learned from their experiences and moved on. So here are some methods to get you thinking and hopefully be a springboard to something better.
Ideas for Budding Entrepreneurs
So here we go. These are not listings you can click on and download an e-book or training course; these are real ideas on how to start real businesses.
Your Hobbies as Businesses
The safest method to start businesses is to stick with what you know. Most people have a great deal of knowledge about subjects that they don't realise they have.
Almost everyone has a hobby or interest outside of work that they know a great deal about, and they can turn this into a business. Even a simple online business blogging about their life events can quickly turn into a money-making venture.
Everyone Has Knowledge to Share
Other people without the knowledge you have, want to learn from you and want to know the finite details that you also know. Here are some subjects you could use:
- Have you been made bankrupt and used the IVA process? Many people want to know how they can undertake this and come out of the other side. From the beginning to the end (such as bank accounts for bankrupts can be details you can provide.
- How to get out of debt is a big topic at present. This subject follows a similar path as above.
- Consider you follow a football team then how about a guide to grounds or an away fans A-Z of the premiership, etc..
- Then consider all the hobbies and pastimes there are that people need additional information.
- And if you're a new parent, then there's so much to consider. There are some huge online businesses created from this (and not selling stuff, just selling knowledge).
- The list is endless from fishing (the largest UK pastime) to gardening and even drinking and watching TV!
Searching for Today's Most Profitable Businesses
If you're stuck for ideas, then look at the Sunday Times 100 fastest growing businesses.
Many of these were in recruitment (which is where Dragon's Den James Caan made a lot of his money) but not these days. The UK is a service GDP nation. People want services to save them time, provide convenience for something they don't want to undertake or provide expert knowledge to help them.
Perhaps these days those services around debt management, job seeking for the unemployed and money-saving services?
Watching Trends
Many small business owners have created vast empires by marketing an idea off the back of market trends. These come mainly from government "initiatives" where the majority of people need to make forced changes in their lifestyle.
Some of the changes that have occurred over the past ten years where businesses formed to take advantage of trends include:
Wheelie bin cleaning, covers and stickers (to hide the bins from view)
Twenty years ago no-one had a wheelie bin, as we all had dustbins. Since their introduction, many companies have been formed to take advantage.
Solar power
Local authorities offer grants to some households, so new companies install solar heating and lighting systems and manage the grant process for you.
Mobile phone recycling
A new industry developed from the turnover in contracts and offered money for your old phones.
Search engine optimisation services
Seen as a master of the dark arts, many companies charge thousands per month to customers to get their websites to the top of the search engines.
Child trust fund vouchers
The government announced they would give £250 to each newborn child in the UK in trust. Many new companies sprung up that offered to manage this for the new parents and also offered ways they could contribute more and thus earning commissions from the banks.
Home Improvement Packs (HIPS)
When these got introduced, new companies formed that would put this all together for a fee.
Whatever new trend or concept is an entrepreneur will think about how they can take advantage of this and what products or services that new market opportunity may need.
Taking Action - a True Entrepreneurial Trait
The above examples are just some of the recent trends that had massive results for those people that built businesses around them. We're all guilty of missing significant trends because we didn't take action. Many people sit in their 9-5 jobs wishing they had spotted the latest craze. However, they probably wouldn't have considered the risk and developed a business solution.
Yes, there's so much going on in our lives, but we have friends and colleagues to help our journey towards financial freedom. Taking action is a significant thing to consider.
People who procrastinate get nothing done, and the 80/ 20 rule applies here. Nothing needs to be 100% perfect to get an idea rolling. If you're thinking of starting a blog about anything just get it started today as there is nothing to stop you.