Having viable ideas... and not having the time to execute...
Discussion
I am always coming up with business ideas and a few years back, I'd think they were all great. My idea-filter has become very good though and I know in my heart of hearts what will work and what won't.
Over the last three years, I've had four business ideas that I know would work and better than that, I have the resources and know-how to execute - but I simply haven't the time or mental capacity to bring them to life, given other business commitments.
Does anyone else find themselves in this horrid dilemma? I've considered teaming with people but in the past; I've found that more hassle than it's worth and end up wishing I'd gone alone anyway. So it's a case of just accepting that the ideas will never happen, which seems a shame.
In each case, I've booked domain names, company names and even trademarks - should the day ever come that I decide to go for it. Why can't there be more hours in the day; anyone else let things slide by even though they could do them?
Over the last three years, I've had four business ideas that I know would work and better than that, I have the resources and know-how to execute - but I simply haven't the time or mental capacity to bring them to life, given other business commitments.
Does anyone else find themselves in this horrid dilemma? I've considered teaming with people but in the past; I've found that more hassle than it's worth and end up wishing I'd gone alone anyway. So it's a case of just accepting that the ideas will never happen, which seems a shame.
In each case, I've booked domain names, company names and even trademarks - should the day ever come that I decide to go for it. Why can't there be more hours in the day; anyone else let things slide by even though they could do them?
LDN said:
I am always coming up with business ideas and a few years back, I'd think they were all great. My idea-filter has become very good though and I know in my heart of hearts what will work and what won't.
Over the last three years, I've had four business ideas that I know would work and better than that, I have the resources and know-how to execute - but I simply haven't the time or mental capacity to bring them to life, given other business commitments.
Does anyone else find themselves in this horrid dilemma? I've considered teaming with people but in the past; I've found that more hassle than it's worth and end up wishing I'd gone alone anyway. So it's a case of just accepting that the ideas will never happen, which seems a shame.
In each case, I've booked domain names, company names and even trademarks - should the day ever come that I decide to go for it. Why can't there be more hours in the day; anyone else let things slide by even though they could do them?
If its any comfort my issue is the polar opposite. All the hours in the day but have never had an idea that would survive ebay / amazon / the internet generally even though I have a trusted contact in America, Africa, mainland Europe and Australia to work with me. If I could generate volume I might be ok but charges, costs and taxes wipe it all out every time.Over the last three years, I've had four business ideas that I know would work and better than that, I have the resources and know-how to execute - but I simply haven't the time or mental capacity to bring them to life, given other business commitments.
Does anyone else find themselves in this horrid dilemma? I've considered teaming with people but in the past; I've found that more hassle than it's worth and end up wishing I'd gone alone anyway. So it's a case of just accepting that the ideas will never happen, which seems a shame.
In each case, I've booked domain names, company names and even trademarks - should the day ever come that I decide to go for it. Why can't there be more hours in the day; anyone else let things slide by even though they could do them?
I'm similar to the OP. I've always had lots of business ideas, currently got 4ish ideas from cottage industry lifestyle projects to fully scalable industry changing concepts.
The difficulty is that I took over running the family business 2 years ago which along with kids doesn't leave much time to pursue these ideas.
One day Rodney....!
The difficulty is that I took over running the family business 2 years ago which along with kids doesn't leave much time to pursue these ideas.
One day Rodney....!
Not executing conveniently avoids testing whether or not you're capable of executing.
I've got a file where I can write down any ideas that crop up, so I can not waste time thinking about them. Almost universally the limitation is having collaborators who can get behind an idea and take it into production. There's a reason most Startups have three founders - it takes a mix of skills and more than one person's efforts to successfully launch a business that will scale. Personally I feel it also takes more than one person to sustain the sheer belief you need for the duration of a project.
It seems there are thousands of people with good ideas of their own, each keeping them secret from the others in the hope that they'll magically skip the difficult setup phase and go straight to delivering them for great profit. Yet I work with dozens of extremely smart people who feel much safer and more comfortable with their salaried, established job. If your ideas are genuinely bigger than your current job and you're confident you can deliver, why would you waste time where you are? Your time is not the issue, it's the confidence to spend time somewhere else - and I believe that needs collaborators.
Finding people who can share a vision, who can encourage each other to take the first step and who have the freedom to put effort into a project is the challenge. There are so many accelerators, funding programmes, grants and support networks for later on (if you want to go that route). What seems to be missing is the forum for getting people together in the first place.
I've got a file where I can write down any ideas that crop up, so I can not waste time thinking about them. Almost universally the limitation is having collaborators who can get behind an idea and take it into production. There's a reason most Startups have three founders - it takes a mix of skills and more than one person's efforts to successfully launch a business that will scale. Personally I feel it also takes more than one person to sustain the sheer belief you need for the duration of a project.
It seems there are thousands of people with good ideas of their own, each keeping them secret from the others in the hope that they'll magically skip the difficult setup phase and go straight to delivering them for great profit. Yet I work with dozens of extremely smart people who feel much safer and more comfortable with their salaried, established job. If your ideas are genuinely bigger than your current job and you're confident you can deliver, why would you waste time where you are? Your time is not the issue, it's the confidence to spend time somewhere else - and I believe that needs collaborators.
Finding people who can share a vision, who can encourage each other to take the first step and who have the freedom to put effort into a project is the challenge. There are so many accelerators, funding programmes, grants and support networks for later on (if you want to go that route). What seems to be missing is the forum for getting people together in the first place.
I know I can execute as I have two ideas that I did pursue and that have been great... just saying that the ideas don't stop coming just because you have something else up and running...and it's a shame in many ways. As someone else said; especially if you potentially see someone else doing what it is you thought of...
I think the quote "No plan survives its first contact with the enemy" is applicable when it comes to business and in particular this situation. There's really no way to tell whether your ideas will be successful without market research and building an MVP, at the very least! I appreciate you've had success in the past, but it's naive to think that because it sounds good in your head that it will definitely work. Speaking from experience here... But if you are confident in one in particular then give it a try! You may find the market and early adopters take your idea in a different direction. Especially if you think you can scale it to big bucks, which after all, is what we all want - to be sitting on a Yacht in St Tropez.
Edited by Joratk on Saturday 21st May 13:28
You don't say how old you are, what your financial obligations are (mortgage, rent), whether you have a family, partner. Nor do you say what industry or area you work in. We don't know whether your ideas are scaleable, time intensive, can be franchised or farmed out. We don't know if by 'ideas' you mean that you've been selling one product and think you could sell another, or if you mean an entirely different business. We don't know if you sell to businesses or consumers. We don't know if by successful you mean 'pays for beer' or 'pays for retirement'. All of these are factors.
Most of my working life I've been a software contractor. It pays very well. However, the limitation is that I am a multiplier of one. If I work I get £X, if I can't work I don't. Now I can increase X, but not by that much these days - that's just switching between similar 'ideas' (If I know I can write software for biotech, I could go into writing software for banks).
Alternatively I can change the multiplier. That means either selling the same work more than once (in the software world, that would be writing an app or tool and selling it to lots of customers), or getting more people to do the work on my behalf (I could start a consultancy).
The point here is you have to think about how your work pays you to decide what to do next. If you're already putting in all the spare time and effort you have to earn a certain amount, you have to find something that pays more for less effort. Otherwise your ideas are just more of the same, and all you're doing is hunting round for magic ways to be in two different places at the same time. That's probably one of the most common causes of 'first employees' failing - it's just trying to get someone else to do your work for you. Why would they want to do that when they could do it for themselves for less hassle and more money?
Most of my working life I've been a software contractor. It pays very well. However, the limitation is that I am a multiplier of one. If I work I get £X, if I can't work I don't. Now I can increase X, but not by that much these days - that's just switching between similar 'ideas' (If I know I can write software for biotech, I could go into writing software for banks).
Alternatively I can change the multiplier. That means either selling the same work more than once (in the software world, that would be writing an app or tool and selling it to lots of customers), or getting more people to do the work on my behalf (I could start a consultancy).
The point here is you have to think about how your work pays you to decide what to do next. If you're already putting in all the spare time and effort you have to earn a certain amount, you have to find something that pays more for less effort. Otherwise your ideas are just more of the same, and all you're doing is hunting round for magic ways to be in two different places at the same time. That's probably one of the most common causes of 'first employees' failing - it's just trying to get someone else to do your work for you. Why would they want to do that when they could do it for themselves for less hassle and more money?
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