What does an entrepreneur do when they are faced with choosing between multiple startup ideas?
Since my work situation has changed, I’ve been faced with this question myself. Should I keep working on business ideas I’ve been dabbling with for a few years, or do a flip and focus on one great idea, that may have come to me in my dreams (I really can’t remember).
I talked to my friends and family, a great help, and did some research online. One of the biggest things that helped set a clear path, a section in an article on Forbes about Abbreviated Business Plans. So I spent a few hours writing and researching a brief business plan for each idea. There where a few common themes about some of my business ideas:
- Others trying in the space and not succeeding
- A small market potential
- Large capitol requirements
- An industry shift, for example:
- brands going direct to consumer
- Self publishing on social media
With all those negatives one thing is for certain technology was never a barrier to entry. Which helped lead me to my new idea, which although it exists in a competitive market, it posses some attributes the others did not:
- A huge market potential
- Multiple sources of potential revenue
- A clear weakness in the existing industry
- Multiple clear exit strategies
- Still something I’m passionate about
On the plus side I have a few pans B, C, D, E and maybe even all the way to Z (No I didn’t write that many, the rest I told my dog, :p), if one of them doesn’t work out. Just look at how many successful entrepreneurs have failed at first, Steve Job, Max Levchin, Henry Ford and the list goes on.
