Every new business starts with an idea. Most people strain for years to think of a good business idea. But, if you’re like me, then you probably have business ideas pop into your head on an almost daily basis. Unique business ideas pop into my head whether I’m in the shower, cutting grass, driving on a long trip, or just trying to fall asleep. If you’re an entrepreneur at heart, than you know exactly what I’m talking about. New business ideas just never stop coming!
When I come up with a new idea for a business, I write it down in my “secret” business idea notebook, that I keep in my desk. I write it down as soon as possible, because if I don’t, I’ll probably forget about it. Then when I have free time, I elaborate on my business ideas in my notebook. That way, if I ever decide to take action on them, I’ll have a general idea of what I want to do with them.
However, with the hundreds of business ideas I’ve had in the past few years, I’ve learned a very important lesson. And that lesson is this:
If you think you have a great business idea that could make you millions (or even billions!) of dollars, than you better act on it fast. Because chances are, someone, somewhere in the world has the same exact business idea that you have, and the race is on to see which one gets started first.
I learned this very important lesson about 6 years ago, when I had a great idea for a brand new product. In my house, it seemed that all of the wall outlets that were controlled by light switches weren’t anywhere near I had my lamps. So I ran extension cords from those lamps to those switch-controlled outlets so that I could turn them on and off with the light switch. Then I thought to myself, “I should invent a wireless light switch that you can just stick on a wall and control any outlet with.”
So I wrote the idea in my little business idea notebook, and even drew a couple of prototype drawings of what I thought “my” new invention would look like. But that was the furthest I got with the idea, because I didn’t have the technical know-how to actually build a prototype.
Then, a couple of years later, I was out Christmas shopping for my family. I’m a horrible shopper, so to get gift ideas I just walk around a store until I see something that someone in my family might like, and then buy it. Well, I was in a a little store called Boscovs, and was just browsing around, and that’s when I saw it. Someone had brought “my” wireless light switch idea to fruition. I was standing face to face with a product called, The Handy Switch! It was exactly how I had imagined my product idea! I literally stood there staring at The Handy Switch with my jaw wide open for a good 25 or 30 minutes. I know the other shoppers must have thought I was crazy, but I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The idea that I had in my head just a few years ago was staring me right in the face. Someone else came up with the same idea I had, but they were getting rich because they choose to take action on it!
After I saw the Handy Switch in the store, it seemed like every time I turned on the television I would see a Handy Switch commercial. I would say about 5 curse words to myself, and then change the channel. I got lazy with myself and missed out on an incredible opportunity. But after a while I realized that I had just learned the very important lesson I mentioned a few paragraphs above.
So if you have what you think is a great idea for a new business, a new product, or a new website, then you better jump on it, and fast! Because chances are, somewhere in the world, someone has the same exact business idea that you have, and the race is on to see who can get rich off of it first!
