Anybody Have Business Ideas?

Question

Well I'm reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad and I was thinking about a business that i could start up with me and some of my friends so any ideas? I learned how to make money work for me, not work for the money so I'm going with that

Answer 1

You first need to decide what kind of business you want to do.  What interests you?  Do you have any experience in any sort of business or work environment?  Once you decide that, you're ready for the next step... researching your business.  

Before you go any further, I STRONGLY recommend you contact the Small Business Development Center (at your local community college) and talk to them; the counseling is free.  And sign up for the NxLevel Entrepreneurial program...  it's a 12 session course that walks you through the ins and outs of starting or growing your business, and as part of that you will write a business plan.  At the end of the class your plan will be reviewed by a lending professional, and will be critiqued, telling you the strong points of your plan AND the weak points.  

Then you can work on the weak points and hopefully get it into shape to actually present to a lender and get the loan you need.  There is a cost for the NxLevel program ($375.00 last year at my SBDC), but it’s a lot cheaper than losing your investment.

Even if you hire a professional to write your plan, you should still take the NxLevel course.  It saved me from going into a business that would have failed within a year or so, taking my investment with it.  

Business plans may be a pain in the butt to prepare, but without one, your business is doomed to failure.  To start, you won't know what your startup costs are going to be, what kind of income to expect, what your ongoing expenses are, who your competition is, and even whether or not you can make a profit.  Without a GOOD business plan, you will not be able to get a business loan to get your business off the ground.

Answer 2

You have to have the "idea".  Then we can give you the lessons to make it work.  You must have a dream.  My nephew started working on broken bicycles.  He has now fixed 20 of them for neighbors.  What can you make or fix?  What would you sell that you enjoy using yourself? /

Answer 3

That is an incredible book to read.  How far are you into it?

Here's an idea for you that Donald Trump and Robert kiyosaki have endorsed and are highly involved in.  It's a 15 year old company.  The largest direct selling telecommunications service provider in the world! They have been featured in several magazines like USA Today, Success, Fortune etc.  Inc 500 rated them the 22nd fastest growing company.  They market in Local and Long distance telephone services, Internet services, digital and video phone services, Satellite TV, as well as all major cellular phone providers like Verizon AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, alltel, Nextell etc.  Services that people use every day and pay for anyway.  You help people save money on services that they are already using, and help people onto new services that they don't already have.  You can use the "leverage system" as this book talks about, or you can do it solely.

Answer 4

It all starts with a deep soul searching... What do YOU like to do and what brings you joy. If you like working outdoors you may want to look into starting a landscape company. If you have years of experience in a particular subject you may consider consulting or coaching.

It sounds like you are a manager and not a doer... keep in mind that with a business it takes a lot of work on your part to be successful no matter what you do whether your in real estate or investment banking. Blood, sweet and tears brings rewards my friend!

Above all else think outside the box!

Incubate your idea by visiting www.entrepreneur.com. Also try out asksbc.blogspot.com.