Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I’m looking for ideas on how to develop what I call the entrepreneurial mindset. What I’m talking about is the ability of many of the entrepreneurs I’ve come in contact with to see business opportunities where others see none. How is it that you can train yourself to see needs or opportunities and realize that you can do something to fill those needs?

 

For example, I just finished watching Jeff and Rich online at the Microsoft Small Business summit. They started off by juggling and then went on to explain why they were juggling. It turns out that they stumbled across a vendor in a mall that was selling juggling balls. They recognized the opportunity to provide the nation (or it could have been a region) with superior juggling balls and turned the idea/opportunity into a money making venture.

 

If that had been me I would have probably not even noticed the vendor and if I had noticed I doubt I would have seen the opportunity. And that is what I’d like to change.

 

I understand that to be a successful entrepreneur you don’t have to invent the wheel or the light bulb or a super computer. You do have to be able to spot a business opportunity though.

 

 Does anyone have an idea of how a person such as myself who has a hard time seeing opportunities can change the way he/she thinks or view things in order to become an entrepreneur or even a more successful entrepreneur?

From an "inventor" or "product developer" aspect, ideas come from problems in every day life.  If you have a problem (take my situation... my husband gave me a piece of spicy chicken off the grill and he KNOWS I don`t like spice food, he just forgot which one was his)  Something as simple as that, just think, "my mouth is on fire!... how can I make sure that doesn`t happen again?"  Ideas are everywhere if you just look.  How can something be done better, faster, more efficiently.  I think it just takes practice.  Practice all the time, even if your idea seems crazy.  Next frustrating situation say to yourself  "what would make this situation a little less frustrating?"  One of these days you`ll have your light bulb moment.  That`s my mind-set.  Others out there have more of a feel for a need for a service or niche that isn`t filled.  I`m interested to hear how their minds work.

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Leslie
Founder and President
Charmed Life Products LLC
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Yes.

Stop.
Look.
Talk to everyone you meet.

I don`t invent new products, but by talking to people I can always expand my services or know what consumers are thinking or hear the experiences people have had with other developers.
I can see the problem and make it better.

Maybe you want to check out the book called "The Entrepreneurial Mindset". It`s pretty good and discusses many of the topics to which you are alluding.

Doug

I`ll call you Calvin - that looks like that might be your name. Nice blog - great idea to create this to keep a journal of your entreprenueral journey. I wish I could have done that but alas ... way back then there was not an Internet or blogging ... lucky you ... and everyone else starting off on their journeys at this time.

You appear to be well educated ... GO DAWGS (native Atlantan that roots for the DAWGS and JACKETS ... I know, one can`t do that but you can when one has SO many friends from both schools). I worked in Macon for a period of time on some projects. Nice town. Nice people. But then again, most southern towns are ;-)

I see you recommend some good books on your blog. In this post, you ask a very, very deep question. First answer ... keep reading. Read, read, and read some more. If you don`t already, read a book a month. I know ... many folks say they don`t have time. I disagree. The average book is ~300 to 350 pages long. 10 pages a day/night = 1 book read a month. Keep reading.

I see you recommend a great book - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Read it at least once a quarter. Keep it with you at all times - use it as a reference ... wear it out. It is a great guide book with some awesome knowledge and wisdom.

One book I did not see on your list was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. As with HTWFAIP by Carnegie, I recommend this book to all of my clients. My grandchildren have them and have read them. And read them often. The advice in these books is timeless ... and it works. I also highly recommend to read the book that TAGR is based on ... The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons - 2 volume set - like War and Peace ... but worth the read to really get Napoleon Hill and the people he was assigned to study and write about. The people who built modern America ... real entreprenuers. Real inventors and innovators. People who will teach you and answer the question you ask.

Also, besides reading ... talk and ask a lot of questions. Communicate. Just be damn CURIOUS. Ask lots of questions. And, as you will learn in TAGR, start creating your Master Mind Group now. Build it as you go. Surround yourself ONLY with positive people who can help you. The Law of Attraction is very powerful.

Check out a website by a guy named Boaz Rauchberger. Go to a tab called "Free Resources." Read ALL of the high-powered articles contained there. It will take you awhile. Here, you will learn about daily affirmations. Practice these ... it works. Boaz uses just two books in his consultant work ... and he is highly respected and sought after. Those two books are HTWFAIP and TAGR. Is there a lesson in this? I think there is.

Calvin ... you have the desire. You are smart. You have to develop the mindset you seek on your own. If you want it, you will get it. The knowledge is out there. I wish someone had told me these things at your age.

Best wishes for a truly successful and wealthy life!

R@

Edit note: Calvin ... I forgot something to recommend. I read on your blog where you wrote about FOCUS ... great idea. Here`s a site to learn more about how to teach yourself how to focus better. His name is Steven Snyder. Read his "Seminar Notes"  - you will learn a lot and it will help you learn to learn better by understanding the mind and the different states of mind.

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

I`d propose that this ability to see ideas is actually intrinsic to the brain in anyone`s particular head. (We have our particular head, then our auxiliary head, don`t`cha know.)

Think about it. What`s a "set" of anything? It`s a group, based on a similar "something" that each unit (member) of the set has.

Two people walk along a mall, where a juggler is tossing balls. One person will see the balls, fail to relate them as "similar to" anything else in their experience, and walk on.

The second person will see the balls as "similar to" the shape of a loop of rope they`re using to hang a broom in their closet. As soon as they see "moving pattern of balls" and "rope" in their mind`s eye, they might think of a way to put rope through the balls to make the same pattern. And presto, the idea of a "fake juggling magic trick" is born.

The ability to "see" those "somethings" that are the same or similar is innate, from what researchers seems to be finding. It`s part of the study of intelligence, which is related to IQ and "g," general intelligence.

It`s not to say that only smart people have the ability to have ideas. It`s that how *many* ideas you`ll have about the same situation is a function of your intelligence. And that`s a function of how your brain is built.

We can put several people into a room filled with objects. Depending on their IQ, they`ll be able to list more or fewer relationships between those objects. Then, depending on how many words they know, they`ll be able to articulate those relationships or "forget them" as soon as they see them.

So I don`t think you can change the ability of anyone to have some amount of ideas. But what you CAN do, I think, is increase their ability to capture those ideas in words. And that means knowing more words. It`s why I think reading to young children is so important.

Not only does early reading help the imagination, it also increases the person`s vocabulary. A larger vocabulary means a way to "say to oneself" what it is they`re thinking.

Creativity can be a drawback if not properly harnessed.  I personally have too many inventions oozing off my ears but I decided to focus on only one or two projects, and let the other ideas stay secret until I have the time to do something about it.  Interestingly I disclosed one to a company 3 years ago an idea pertaining to their core business.  They were interested but then I got too busy to design the product for them.  I went back there recently to make a presentation.  They have not done a thing for 3 years.  But now they do not want to license my patent-pending invention but try to hire an engineer to "design around" it.  So now I rush my design to possibly stop them on their track.  My, some large companies can be unethical.  They called me in only to get a free session.  So now I decide to compete against them although that was not my intention nor main business.

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One thing I`ve found is that imagination seems linked to cortisol levels.

All my life I`ve had many a night where I couldn`t sleep. My mind was flying around, coming up with ideas, changes, scenarios, and so forth. I suspect (can`t prove it) that I started smoking because nicotine is like an amphetamine, speeding things up. So, like for people with that attention-whatever disorder, "speed" seems to help.

Then, a few years ago, I had my cortisol levels tested. They were through the roof! They`d likely been that way all my life, from what the doctor was saying. I started taking Seriphos, an over-the-counter cortisol "sponge." That changed many things. Now, when I have one of those nights, it`s manageable. If not, I take another Seriphos.

Like anything, imagination is good in moderation. Too much, and you end up nuts. Too little, and you end up drab. :-)

Just wanted to take a second and say thanks for all the great suggestions. I figured what better source to find out how entrepreneurs think than a web community of entrepreneurs.

Before I made this post I did some very quick and unofficial research and noticed that the typical forum question looks like it gets may a two to four percent response rate. So I figured I could expect maybe three responses. I must say that I`m very pleased with the turnout of support to help me out.

Some of the ideas and suggestions are confirmation of what I`ve been thinking and some are brand new. I intend on implementing a couple of the new ideas such as asking more questions and stopping to think how, what, or why.

I do have to admit that I find it very funny that there is actually a book titled Entrepreneurial Mindset (which I`ve added to my cart at amazon.com for a future buy). I also think that if I read anymore my wife will hurt me. That`s pretty much what I do when I have free time. I normally have three or four books going at anyone time. But as keycon noted, I`ve already said I must focus. So now it`s one book at a time and no moving on until I`m finished. I think I average three or four books a month currently.

I hope ideas and suggestions keep pouring in. I have a feeling that 99% of use could use an extra dose of creativity.

Thanks.

Um....y`know, back in the 60s lots of people got creative with LSD. It was part of the drug culture. I`m supposing that wouldn`t be a Good Thing to promote, though, right?