Ikigai. How to choose the right business to start.
Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to read my first blog post. In this blog post I am going to go over a framework that will help you choose the right business that best suits you. However this is obviously not the end all and be all and there is so much more that has to go into deciding what business is the “best” for you or is even viable, but this is here to point you in the right direction.
There are a couple of great books on the subject that I would highly recommend you read, such as: The E-Myth revisited by Michael Gerber, which will really help you think differently about business and getting the right people you need to help you and so much more. Some other books to mention on the topic of starting your business is: Start with why by Simon Sinek, The lean startup by Eric Ries and obviously, The 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss.
If you want to start a business and you're struggling to pick an idea, with the vast amount of options for you to pick from, then stick around, and by the end of this video you will have a practical guide that will help you decide which is the best business for you…
When deciding what business you should start everyone has their own views and ideas on what possible business they should start based on certain criteria, like what you want your business to do for you, ie. make you a huge sum of money so you can live in a big house, or a business that will allow you to travel more, or just a business you don't have to put hours into so you can pursue your hobbies more....
So when we start thinking about all the different businesses we can start, you often get people who will say to you, follow your passion and it will all work out, or on the completely opposite side of the spectrum, start a business focused solely on making as much money as possible! You can pursue your passion after hours. Now i know those are both two extreme examples but you get where I am going with this....
So how do you find the right business for you without having to endlessly look at business websites of top 22 business ideas for you...
Theres actually a concept that’s been around for hundreds of years that can help you decide. Its called Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese term which loosely translated means: Reason for being.
Marc Winn took the concept of Ikigai and illustrated it in a simple Venn diagram consisting of 4 components: There are four components to Ikigai as illustrated in this Venn diagram:
#1 Your business needs to be based on something that you love:
This is where your passion comes in. If you make a business around something you don’t like, You’ll most likely not enjoy building the business and you’ll be unhappy in the process. So I’d suggest you need to make a short list of all the things that you have a passion for. What are some of the things you can spend hours doing, or researching, something that if someone asks you question about it, you have this deep urge to talk about it.
#2 Your business needs to be based on something that the world needs:
How will it make a difference and who does your business serve? If there is no market demand for what you sell or offer chances are you won’t get a lot of customers. You need to do some market research or see if there really is a need for the business you want to start and what unique selling point do you have that sets you apart from your competition.
#3 Your business needs to make money:
This is a Pretty obvious one right. You want to be rewarded for your efforts, so this is where you need to look at that list of passions from #1 and see which can Make you a profit. You can even do some quick calculations on which one of your passions could be the best potential for creating a business of of it.
#4 Your business needs to be based on something you are good at:
You cannot start a business as a graphic designer if all you’ve done was make coloured blocks in paint. You need to be skilled in the area you want to start your business in. Even if your business isn’t a service based business and you’re not necessarily selling your skills, for example if your starting a drop-shipping store and have no idea what your market likes, no idea what to resell the product for because its not something you know, odds are your business won’t do so well.
So after all these 4 steps in consideration this should help you narrowed down the possibilities you have in mind for what business you should start. This should also help serve as a basis for a business blueprint, which you can then use to create a more detailed business plan from later. I hope this was useful and helpful to some of you. Stay tuned for more blog posts about similar topics like these into the future.
