Humor
Born to Business with David Business, LinkedIn Warrior (№9)
Business Ideas Made Easy
So you wanna be the next Steve Jobs, but you’ve got a problem…
You don’t have a business idea.
It’s the Shark Tank equivalent of writer’s block, and it’s more common than you might think. For years my B-School friends and I have been screaming at dinner parties we’re the next Richard Branson, but, spoiler alert, we have yet to achieve one single IPO. It’s downright humiliating. Starting a billion-dollar venture is a long road that all begins with an idea. People fret about ideas being “good” or “revolutionary,” which is noble, but you don’t need to be good or noble to make cold hard cash. Seriously, ask any salesman selling snake oil.
So what’s the secret? I’ll tell ya. I’ve got the hack for entrepreneurial inertia. Here’s how it works.
Take a popular company and insert a new industry.
For example:
“It’s DoorDash for Coffee”
“It’s the Tesla of Skateboards”
“It’s Google for Horses”
“It’s the IBM of IBS”
“It’s the SodaStream of Books”
“It’s Salesforce for Rodeo Clowns”
“It’s Barkbox for Snakes”
See how your interest peaked? That’s because I’ve taken a noteworthy enterprise and grafted it onto fresh meat. And when old white men in leather-clad executive suites smell raw flesh, their purses open wide. But you’ll need one more thing to get the ball rolling. You’ll need what the movie business calls “the logline”.
A single sentence explaining the concept with just enough detail.
“It’s DoorDash for Coffee: A fresh cup of java from the store of your choice delivered directly to your door.”
“It’s the Tesla of Skateboards: Ollie off the vert with the power of renewable energy beneath your feet.”
“It’s Google for Horses: Because stallions should be able to answer questions.”
“It’s the IBM of IBS: The more you know about your bowels, the better you can be”
“It’s the SodaStream of Books: Jazz up a classic tale with the flavor of genre.”
“It’s Salesforce for Rodeo Clowns: Keeping clowns and their stakeholders better connected.”
“It’s Barkbox for Snakes: Because serpents need a treat too.”
Will they always make sense? God no. It’s a numbers game. I write ten of these every morning, and honestly, most of them are frustratingly absurd—an implausible list of rancid corporate nonsense. But eventually, one of them will make sense. It might make too much sense. And on that day, you win. Remember, when trying to start a fire, you might have to rub sticks together for a long time. The method above is a cheap way to seek that spark. All you need is blind tenacity, a little imagination, and a whole lot of patience.
Note: The ideas above are the legal and spiritual property of David Business.
David Business is an aspiring CEO, self-accredited LinkedIn expert, and personal associate of writer Kenny Gray. You can connect with David on LinkedIn for even more innovative content.
