Intro

Your time is valuable. It is the most valuable resource you have as it is non-renewable. Do you have enough time in the day to do everything you want to? Probably not.

Are your entrepreneurship pursuits all over the place? Ideas flowing in bulk? Hobbies all over the board?

If you fall into either of these two categories, you’re not alone. That’s why I’ve written this two part series that focuses on actionable methods you can use to take back your control.

This is part-two and focuses on entrepreneurship. Part-one focused on hobbies.

Entrepreneurship

_______

Note
From the get go, it’s important to know the perspective of this article is not seeking VC funding but rather bootstrapping ideas on your own. There are arguments either way, but I opt for bootstrapping.

______

Having a tough time deciding which of your entrepreneurial ideas you should pursue? Try using the same method we covered in the hobbies post: Create a list of your entrepreneurial ideas. Don’t worry about sorting them in any particular order.

Factors to Consider

Let’s look at what factors contribute to an entrepreneurial business:

  • Timing - Is now the right time for your product or service? Perhaps you’re forecasting a large boom in an industry and see the potential for profit.
  • Capital - Do you have the funds to make the idea a reality?
  • Time - Do you have the time to make this idea a reality and see it through?
  • Excitement - Entrepreneurship is hard and you won’t love every part of it but, if you believe in the idea enough and have the drive, you’ll make it happen.
  • Market Saturation - Is the market you’re considering saturated? Maybe your idea will revolutionize an industry and bring new life to it. Maybe, also, there are better options.
  • Knowledge - It’s less about what you know, though that is important, but more about what you’re willing to learn. Do you have access to the resources to do so?
  • Profitability - Do you have a plan to actually make money on this idea? No point in starting a business without a profit strategy. It seems like this is a mistake tons of entrepreneurs make.

____

To clarify - these are only my criteria that I’ve come up with to focus on when cutting down my list of ideas to pursue. I’m no entrepreneurial pro or self-made millionaire, nor do I play one on T.V.

_____

Spreadsheet It

Try doing this in a spreadsheet where you list your ideas on the y-axis and the criteria at the top of the x-axis. Start completing the chart by making marks or comments in corresponding cells. Insert information that you will find useful in making your decision. The goal is to figure out which one is the most valuable to spend your time on.

This isn’t designed to help you figure out which projects are going to be the most successful, that will be decided upon by your research and effort, among other things.

Closing

The benefits of this are honing in on your best ideas and spending your time appropriately.

Hopefully this helps out a bit or at least gets you thinking more critically about your entrepreneurial ideas.

Comment and Connect

Connect with me on Twitter to read more and shoot me a message!  @flyinthecoop

Was this post helpful?

Sign up to receive a monthly-ish email, with bonus content from time-to-time.