Ah, the million-pound question, quite literally, if you get it right.
Contrary to popular belief, most business ideas are not born from serene mountaintop meditations or late-night epiphanies whispered by the entrepreneurial muses. No, they usually come from one of the following:
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Sheer Frustration:
You’re just trying to do a simple thing—like book a plumber, buy decent bread, or unsubscribe from that gym you went to twice—and you find yourself yelling “There has to be a better way!” Congratulations, you’ve just had a business idea. which may, after the necessary due diligence enable you to quit that boring 9-5 job. -
Accidental Genius:
You make a joke like “Wouldn’t it be funny if someone delivered fresh socks to guys every month?“ and someone else says, “Wait, I’d actually pay for that; my washing machine eats socks!.” Next thing you know, you’re the CEO of SockCrate. -
Mild Desperation:
You’ve been laid off, your rent’s due, and suddenly your “quirky” skill for making artisanal beetroot jam feels less like a party trick and more like a viable revenue stream. Hello Dragon’s Den! -
Copying (but legally):
You see a business doing well in America and think, “Gosh, it would be really good if we had that here.” And just like that, you’ve got yourself a “UK-based, ethically sourced, AI-powered, carbon-neutral version” of it. -
The Pub Plan:
You and your mates, after four pints and a bag of Scampi Fries, solve the world’s problems with a revolutionary idea that absolutely makes no sense the next morning, but somehow, one of you runs with it, sets up a Company for you all and it actually works.
Business ideas, in short, come from life. Annoyances, gaps, whims, and sometimes the need to eat. If it solves a problem (preferably one that other people are also annoyed by), and you’re mildly obsessed with it, you might just be onto something.
Photo by Júnior Ferreira
