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Star t Y our Own Business

The concept of the idea funnel is burned into my subconscious. For a
few good ideas to pop out of the bottom of the funnel, I know that 50 to
100 ideas need to go into the top. Here are my 10 favorite idea hunting
grounds:

1. Wherever my passions lead me.
2. Any trade show in an attractive industry.
3. Real estate and business opportunities that I read about in newspapers
including: the Banker and Tradesman, Investor’s Business Daily , and the
Wall Street Journal .
4. Franchising shows.
5. The best practices of other companies.
6. Magazines and catalogues such as Inc., Entrepreneur, MIT Technology
Review, Popular Electronics , and PC World
7. Unstoppable world trends: energy shortages; the commercialization
of Asia; population/demographics; the increasing U.S. national debt;
global warming; the liftoff of digital, wireless, mobile, and personal
devices.
8. Brainstorming with my entrepreneurial friends.
9. Attending business and technology networking meetings where entre-
preneurs and investors gather.
10. Spending time at local bookstores and browsing current books about
Web revenue models.

Pause here. Take a few minutes and generate your own list of idea hunting
grounds.

Step 2: Select the One Most Promising Opportunity

There is a world of difference between a promising idea and a profi table
entrepreneurial opportunity. Earlier, we looked at my wife Maria’s idea strictly
for personal “fit” between her objectives, skills, risk tolerance, and passions.

That was the easy part. Now her idea must overcome many more demanding
hurdles. Exhibit 11.1 provides an outline of the multidimensional factors
1
shown to characterize entrepreneurial opportunities. As you go through the
checklist, look at where each factor falls on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being
the most attractive). Your goal is to arrive at a Go/No-Go decision about
whether to commit resources to pursue your one opportunity.

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