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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh boy. OP, I work in marketing and advertising, and have worked with 7, 8, and 9 figure businesses.

Crowdsourcing little rinky-dink business ideas is a great way to lose tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every week I have people reach out to me who have invested their life savings into this “great” business idea, it flopped because they never bothered to do any market research, and now they think spending more money on advertising will help people see the genius of the idea.

The advice I give people who want to own businesses:

1. Don’t be creative or cute. Pick something that is boring but has a long history of being successful, like a plumbing company or laundromat.

2. If you want to get cute, plan on spending 2+ years of research, knowing whatever money you put in may be gone. The really big brands really will spend 2-3 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars on research and testing before ever going to market.

3. If you’re still not dissuaded, go work for an actual business similar to what you want to start. Learn what it’s like to manage people. Learn what it’s like to spend hours a day on profit/loss statements. Learn what it’s like when you lose half your staff, half your customers, or suddenly owe a bunch of money to the IRS. Sanitizing trash cans sounds great, but what happens when the 19 year old you hired for minimum wage calls out sick because he was up partying all night? Guess who’s going to be cleaning those gross trash cans? You. When business tanks in the winter and you have to let people go, guess who’s going to tell them? You. For the medical concierge service, if a client thinks they were mishandled or assaulted while in a vulnerable state, guess who’s is now dealing with a lawsuit? You.

4. Be prepared to eat s*** for 2 years. It takes 2-5 years for a business to be profitable. Until then, you’re living on ramen noodles and your savings. Entrepreneurship isn’t some cutesy little thing where you start a business that sounds fun and everything works out. It’s a grind, working 60-80 hours a week. I’ve known people who spent years sleeping on cardboard in their brick and mortar because they couldn’t afford their own place.  [/quote]
This is really good advice. The only thing I would add is that it is easiest if you choose a business that is related to something you are already deeply familiar with - in other words, don't start from scratch. If you already have a profession, try to branch out from there with a related side hustle. If you have a very serious hobby that you've cultivated for two decades, use this as your spring board. This is a variation of "do your research," but incorporates something that you actually have experience with and know things about that you can't learn from books and the internet alone.[/quote]

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