Everyone’s scrambling to find new business ideas. So much of what’s dependably worked in the past is not working now (It’s a cold day when GE can’t sell a fridge). And, there’s no money to test and tune even a good business idea.
But what is a good business idea? How long is it good for?
Figuring that out is a big part of the frustration I’m hearing when I speak to my coaching clients and when I correspond with Careersthatdontsuck.com readers. Those who own businesses that have fallen on hard times want to know what to do next. Those who are newly unemployed want their next step to be a business of their own.
Both camps want to know which ideas are worth pursuing. I facilitate a workshop designed to ferret out business ideas based on current and future trends. One of the tenets of that workshop is that the timing of a business idea is paramount. The goal of the workshop is to help participants to capitalize on what’s happening now and what’s happening next.
Simple enough, right?
Well…The problem now is that not much is working. There are plenty of trends (mostly of the downward variety), but with limited access to capital and discouraged and unemployed consumers, it’s been challenging for many (not all) to accept that their great business idea–the one that everyone was so fired up over just a year or so ago–is an old dog now.
It’s been challenging for many to accept that tried and true business models, products and services–online job boards, pest control, temp staffing, home improvement retail, ad-supported Web services–are petering out.
Accordingly, I’ve changed my workshop a bit. Now, after we’ve completed the idea-generation portion of the workshop, I ask participants to consider the question I’ve put before you today.
As you consider your next career or business opportunity, consider this question:
IS YOUR BUSINESS (OR CAREER) IDEA BAD OR JUST BADLY TIMED?
(You might also consider whether the two are one and the same?)
Let me know what you think.
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
