Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Leave no stone unturned when learning a new industry.  Going into a market where there`s a need is a great start.  Jan 07, we moved from Houston to NJ and my husband and I wanted to go out on a date.  When calling around for a drop-off day care, no one had a clue what we were talking about.  They thought it strange that somone would drop of their children for several hours like you do at the cleaners.

Anyway, the market is ripe for this type of service and I`m sure it will do especially well on weekends here.  Too bad my interest is computer/internet otherwise I might consider it.


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Rule of thumb: A passion is something you find yourself doing all the time, when you have time, throughout your life. It`s what you look back and see you`ve done when things were going great, but also when you were at the end of your rope.

I used to think music was my passion because it was so engrossing, I did it all the time, and even went into the business. Then I got into computers, preferring database formation (not development) and manipulating masses of data.

Eventually, I got into philosophy, always wondering what the heck is the connection between these three seemingly unrelated areas.

It took awhile, but I started to understand something. I like words, semantics, and making clear and concise definitions. Music, using its own language, produces songs as "words-concepts." I never wrote my own songs because I was far more interested in arranging. I took existing songs, the way they`d been done, then I heard my version of how it "should have" been done.

I was successful as a copy band, with many unusual arrangements, but not successful as an original music writer. I saw that I was "defining" the songs that existed.

Same with computers and databases. People had lots of disorganized data, and I saw how it connected, related, linked, and could be organized. Philosophy is the same, with an organization of chaotic belief systems.

Ultimately, I saw that I like to "speak words." Whether that language is music, database technology, logic, or philosophy, it`s all the same. I play keys on a piano and out comes language. I play keys on a computer input keyboard, and up comes language on the monitor. Now, I input belief and out comes logical analysis.

What you`ve been doing over your life is a "symptom" of the underlying passion. See if you can go deeper into your love of guitar-playing, working with wood, and manipulating IT, to maybe discover the single process that joins all three.

People who love problem-solving often experience a real and physical sensation of balance (harmony, to use another word, or symmetry). It`s not that they want problems and like finding solutions. It`s that they feel physically uncomfortable when something is "out of place."

So too, some people become insulin junkies. They love the rush of low blood sugar, then the push of insulin. It`s dangerous, but they get a real and physical "high" from what other wouldn`t ordinarily notice.

Look to what makes you physically feel good and excited. Look over your life, and find those few times when you really and truly felt perfect. All was right with the world, you were doing what you were meant to do, so to speak. What were you actually working on at those times? Then, extract the underlying "global" concept. That`s your passion.

I thought I`d bring forward the original question.

There isn`t a formula or methodology for developing a passion. If there were, machines would handle it. But then what would be the point of human beans?

"Passion" is where your strongest emotional value is connected with an idea---an abstraction. (Love is where that attachment is toward a concrete thing or person.)

To ask what`s the methodology for developing a passion is essentially to ask what`s the methodology for developing an emotion. The simplest way, used by children throughout history, is to simply state out loud what you Like and what you Don`t Like.

Yes, I know the question is about a methodology to determine "open products, ideas, or inventions." To do that, just use a lot of research to find out what *hasn`t yet* been invented.

Likes and dislikes are totally subjective, and can`t be argued. They`re axiomatic to each person, meaning they require no justification, can`t be proved or disproved, and have no direct relationship at all to the objective world. What you like or what you don`t like, totally are your decisions about your feelings and how your body works.

If you don`t know what you like or don`t like, then the first step is to learn the words. The second step is to simply acknowledge what it is in all of life that you like, and what you don`t like. Make a list, if need be.

Take what you like, then use your creative imagination to dream up something that you could do on a regular basis, that also would routinely bring into your life those things you like. :-) That`s what kids do. It`s only when they get around adults that they`re told that`s the wrong way to go about life.

The bottom line is that starting a business should be about what you really like to do---what you`re passionate about. So what if it`s been done before? If you think you can do it differently, better, or in a more interesting way, THAT has never been done before.

The methodology isn`t about determining the best product, one that`s guaranteed to make a great business. If you want that, get into an MLM. Instead, it`s about determining what you want out of life! Why start a business at all?

The internet at large is a difficult place to find certain types of information. There`s too much chaff to sift through. I`ve had the best results finding suppliers by just talking to people who are in related businesses. Databases like Thomas Register or Hoovers might be helpful too.

Have you identified your quintessential customer and talked with them? What is their pain? Can you eliminate it?


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Craig, I was just on that track of talking to a place where I have my guitar set up.  He`s a Luthier and would be ordering hardware and wood to build with.  I`ve also been asking friends and associates if they see anything that isn`t being addressed in the market place.  It`s interesting what you`ll find out.  It at least generates ideas.  For instance,  I ran into I guy I know at Home Depot and being a contractor was purchasing some materials.  He also does real estate with his parents company.  He mentioned that he`s noticed a trend moving towards "green" energy or recycled energy.  Home owners and businesses are looking for ways to provide themselves with cheaper power while being environmentally proactive.

Like I said, what I get off to is providing a good product or service and backing it up with excellent customer service and fast fulfillment.  Who cares if what I do has been done before.  The whole thing is...do it better.

Oh, by the way, I`ll check out the resources of Thomas Register and Hoovers.

I think that you should consider this. Are you doing this for love or for money? Are you the type of person who can be happy in life as long you have family, your thing of passion, even though you often don`t have enough money to pay the bills? Or are you the type of person who is driven by ambition, and derives happiness out of successful accomplishment of goals and financial gain? Personally I have never felt more enjoyment than when I used to DJ in high school,  or when I had a home studio and was working on being a producer. Neither of these activities ever grew to pay the bills though. I can`t say that it wasn`t possible to ever get there, I just never wanted to count on something that wasn`t stable, so I went to school and took a job to make sure I could pay the bills and have a way to finance my entreprenuerial activities. 20 years later I am still working my job and haven`t been involved in entertainment since those early days, even though I still dream of it now. I have spent thousands paying bills and trying to start businesses in woodworking, construction, and remodeling combining my business and finance abilities with my friends` building abilities. It seemed the smart thing to do given the resources around me. I haven`t made any money yet though and have just recently hit yet another wall. A big part of me enjoys the idea of success in general. I guess I`m passionate about succeeding like Craig said. In a way I don`t care what business it is. However after my latest failure to cross the finish line, I have begun to consider something I read when I was in the 8th grade. It said "success is doing something you would do for free, but getting paid for it". Put another way, if you want to know what your passion is, ask yourself if you would be happy with what you have leftover or what you done even if it didn`t payoff financially. Ask yourself if you would continue to do it after blowing all of your money on it and not making any. Ask yourself if you would do it while you`re broke (if that`s possible). If you answer yes to these questions then you`ve found your passion. Now... to me, that still doesn` t mean you should try to start a business off of it. That`s another question. Maybe you should just keep it as a hobby. With the frustrations of trying to build a business that makes enough money to survive on, trust me, you`ll need something to turn to for pure enjoyment just to help deal with the stress. Plus, your passion may not be a good basis for a business considering your market and standard of living. You could end up hating what you love because the version of what you love is different than what you have to do make a living at it. For example you love outdoor and wildlife photography, but your market demands that you be a wedding photographer to make a living. You dislike the scheduling, the pressure, cheap clients, etc. But then again, something that makes money may not make you happy and considering the amount of your life that you will invest into starting and running a business, that might be an issue as well. Thats what I mean by in it for love. Others who try their hand at business  are in it for money, because they can be happy and fullfilled in life with other things. A guy opens a laundrymat because the numbers look good and he can raise the money to start it. He doesn`t do it because he loves the smell of clean clothes! If it works he opens another, and another. You see him driving a nice car to church, but he nevers has time to play golf with you on the weekends because he has to run his business. He`s busy all the time but he`s happy. Now had the business not worked, the same guy sells off the equipment, keeps the car, takes a job to pay the bills, and makes plans to buy into Starbucks for his next venture. Minus the circumstances, he`s still happy. But take this guy and put him in the first scenario. He might love taking wildlife and outdoor photos, but the fact that he can only afford to live in his parents basement, and drive a beat up old truck, drives him into depression. That`s because what matters most to him is the money. The advice is to combine the two. Right now my head is pretty messed up with what to do, and what I`ve done. Actually I`m doing more searching for answers than giving them. But hopefully something in this post will help you find the answers you need to be "successful" at your endeavor.   

SuN is a great brainstorming site, though, for anyone who`s asking questions, wondering "is that all there is?" and contemplating how to improve their quality of life. :-)