What if that idea you keep thinking about keeps coming back for a reason? You know the one. The one you’ve thought about in the shower. While driving to work. Standing in line for waiting for that for sure needed cup of coffee. At 2:00 in the morning when apparently your brain has decided that this is the appropriate time to map out your entire future….*insert eye roll*….
Maybe you’ve Googled it a few times. Maybe you’ve mentioned it to a friend and immediately followed it with, “I mean, I probably wouldn’t actually do it…” Maybe you’ve even caught yourself imagining what it would be like to turn that idea into a business. And then, of course, your sensible brain shows up that sounds something like this:
“That’s probably a dumb idea.”
“I’m not really qualified.“
“Other people already do that.“
“Would anyone actually pay me for it?“
“It’s so easy for me. Doesn’t everyone know how to do this?“
“I don’t know anything about starting a business.“
And my personal favorite:
“Who do I think I am?“
So you tuck the idea away.
Except…
it keeps comes back.
Maybe the Question Isn’t “Could I Start a Business?”
I think we make this part way too big, way too quickly. You have one little idea and suddenly your brain thinks you need an LLC, a five-year business plan, a website, professional branding, 10,000 Instagram followers and whatever the heck a sales funnel is.
No wonder you decide to forget the whole thing! So let’s take the word business off the table for a minute. What if you didn’t have to decide whether you’re starting a business? What if you only had to decide whether this idea is worth exploring?
That’s a much easier question, right?
Because starting a small business doesn’t always begin with someone declaring, “I’ve decided to become an entrepreneur!”
Sometimes it starts with:
I’m really good at this.
I love doing this.
People keep asking me for help with this.
I wish someone offered this.
I wonder if I could sell these.
I can’t stop thinking about this idea.
That’s enough to get curious.
“But This Is So Easy. Why Would Anyone Pay Me?”
This. One. Gets. Me.
We have a funny habit of assuming that because something comes naturally to us, it must come naturally to everyone else too.
It. Doesn’t.
Maybe you can walk into someone’s house and instantly see how you’d rearrange the room. Maybe you make gorgeous cookies and don’t understand why everyone acts like you’ve performed a magic trick. Maybe people constantly ask you to help them organize things. Maybe people love the photos you take of your kids and ask if you could take photos of their kids too. Maybe you know exactly how to put an outfit together. Maybe you’re the friend everyone calls when they need help planning a trip, creating something, fixing something, decorating something, writing something or figuring something out.
You might shrug and say:
“But that’s easy.”
Yes.
For you.
The things that feel almost embarrassingly simple to you can sometimes be the exact things someone else finds frustrating, confusing or time-consuming. That doesn’t automatically mean you should turn it into a business. But it might mean it’s worth paying attention to.
What If I Ruin Something I Genuinely Love To Do?
This is a fair question. Not everything you enjoy needs to become income. Actually, please don’t monetize every ounce of joy out of your life. You are allowed to bake bread, take pictures, paint furniture, grow flowers or make ridiculously elaborate birthday cakes simply because you like doing it.
But there’s also a difference between immediately turning something you love into a full-blown business and simply exploring whether there might be an opportunity there. You could sell one. Help one person. Teach one class. Take one client. Create one product. Charge for something you’ve previously done for free…and see how it feels.
Did you enjoy doing it when money was involved?
Did the person find it valuable?
Would you want to do it again?
Did you finish feeling excited or completely drained?
That’s valuable information. You don’t have to risk everything to find out whether a business idea has potential.
You Don’t Have to Know Where This Ends Either
I think this is where a lot of good ideas die. We think we need to know what something is going to become before we’re allowed to begin. But you don’t. You can start small…really small. You don’t need to quit your job next Tuesday. You don’t need a storefront. You don’t need thousands of dollars. And you definitely don’t need to introduce yourself as a CEO if that makes you want to crawl under the table.
You just need to take the next little step.
Talk to someone who might need what you’re thinking about offering.
Research whether people are already paying for something similar.
Make the thing.
Offer the service once.
Teach the class.
Create the page.
Maybe That Idea Deserves a Chance
I believe we each have God given different gifts, interests, experiences and ways of seeing the world. And sometimes an idea keeps returning because there’s something there we’re supposed to pay attention to.
Does that mean every idea is a divine instruction to quit your job and start a business?
No.
Sometimes an idea is just an idea. But I also don’t think we should automatically dismiss the ones that won’t leave us alone.
Maybe you’re supposed to build it.
Maybe you’re supposed to teach it.
Maybe you’re supposed to share it.
Maybe you’re supposed to help one person with it and discover something completely different along the way.
You don’t have to know yet.
For now, just ask yourself:
What is the idea I keep coming back to, and what’s one tiny way I could explore it without asking it to become anything yet?
Write it down. Not a business plan or a five-year goal. Just the idea and give it a little room to breathe. Because maybe the question isn’t whether you’re ready to start a business. Maybe it’s whether you’re finally ready to stop talking yourself out of something before you’ve even given yourself the chance to see what it could become.
