My brother-in-law recently asked me a question that I tend to get often: ?Tell me if you think this is a good business idea??
?Stop right there,? I said.
He was shocked (but not surprised) that I interrupted him. But I had to. I needed him to answer something for me before he said another word.
So many people love to come up with new business ideas but very few will ever actually act on those ideas. We all know people like this. You may even be one of them yourself. So before I sat through his long-winded description of his brilliant business idea (which it was), I asked him a very simple question.
?If I think it?s a great business idea, and then 100 more people also say it?s a great business idea, would you actually start the business??
He paused. And then he admitted the truth. ?Probably not.?
So if you?re one of these people who sit around coming up with new business ideas, I?ve created a list to determine whether or not you?re likely to act on your idea.
In other words, are you an entrepreneur or a talkrepreneur? I?ve rated the four most common types of people who talk about starting businesses. And I?ll rank their likelihood of being launched because I?m in one of those moods.
1. Gadgeteneurs
Likelihood of Starting a New Business:?Miniscule
These people are the most common.
Gadgeteneurs are those who come up with an idea for a new gadget that will supposedly make life easier. ?Gadgeteneurs typically do not have business ideas. They simply have product ideas. Like a toothbrush that combs your beard while you brush your teeth. Or a coffeemaker that reads the newspaper to you.?
But as great as the idea may sound, the gadgeteneur typically doesn?t have the engineering skills to build the product (or a prototype) on his/her own, nor does he/she know anyone who can. So they are typically unlikely to ever start a new business ? they?re just seeking confirmation from others that the creative part of their brain is functioning properly.
2. Appateneurs
Likelihood of Starting a New Business:?Tiny
Similar to a gadgeteneur, an appateneur is someone who just came up with a new brilliant application for your smartphone. Perhaps one that can assess whether your shirt is properly tucked in. Or one that monitors your heartbeat while you juggle knives.? Again, most of these app ideas are just that ? ideas. The people who think of them usually can neither develop apps on their own, nor do they want to pay someone to develop the app for them (nor do I recommend). So like most gadget ideas, app ideas die at the cocktail party once the appateneur realizes he has no real chance or interest in creating it.
3. Brokerprenuer
Likelihood of Starting a New Business:?Decent
These people often come from the world of services. And they?re usually spot on knowing there is a demand for the new service.
Consumer A needs to hire someone to do Service X. Consumer A has no easy way of locating the companies that perform Service X. And while there are companies that perform Service X, those companies have no idea how/has no means to reach Consumer A.
So the brokerprenuer comes up with a system on how to connect the two. Think Uber.
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