Have you always had a desire to open up your own business? Maybe you’ve known you were meant to be an entrepreneur, but you’re just not sure what the right kind is for you. It can sometimes be a struggle to know what works for you personally and what doesn’t. After all, you’ll be investing a good amount of time and money into it, so you want something you’ll enjoy and can thrive at. Thankfully, when you live in Memphis (or if you’re considering a move), there’s no limit to your business potential. To help, here are a few ways you can go about finding the perfect business ideas and how to start a business in Memphis.
What do you like?
First of all, what do you like to do? What interests you? Maybe you love to bake pastries, or perhaps you’ve always been a fan of classic books. Because, let’s face it; do you really want to open a business you have zero passion for? Sure, a vegan pizza joint might do well, but if you’re not vegan and you hate pizza, will you really be happy? Yes, the purpose of running a business is to make money, but ultimately, you want to be happy, so consider what you enjoy doing. That might be the best way to identify what business will work for you.
Know the area
Even if you haven’t run your own business before, you already know the importance of “location, location, location.” You need to know the location. If you want to open a hair salon, is there a need for it in a specific area? And what client base lives in the area? There’s probably a need for what you like to do, but you need to know where it will work within the city.
What are your skills?
What kinds of skills do you have? Area you a “people person”? Perhaps you should work in retail. Would you rather avoid interacting directly with people? Perhaps an e-commerce business will work better for you. Know your strengths, and, just as importantly, know your weaknesses.
Laying the foundation
The hardest part of any business is starting it up. The vast majority of business ideas will remain just that: ideas. There are a million reasons that can prevent someone from opening up a new enterprise. There’s the fear of the unknown, the potential for failure, not having business management experience and so on. To truly succeed, though, you need to just start. Lay the foundation for your company. The first step is the most difficult. Thankfully, when starting a business in Memphis, assistance is all around. From the Greater Memphis Chamber to non-profit organizations looking to offer advice and knowledge, you’re in the right place to start your own company. It’s up to you to get the ball rolling.
Stop thinking about it
Have you ever found that the best answers come when you stop looking for them? Oftentimes, when you attempt to force yourself into something, you develop blinders. It blocks out anything other than what is directly in front of you. Now, this kind of skill can be beneficial at certain times, but not when you’re looking for an idea. You need to be open to everything. So sometimes you just need to stop twisting your head into knots trying to come up with an idea.
Instead, go about your daily activities as you normally would. Chances are you’ll come across an idea without even trying.
Keep a notepad next to your bed
It’s always amazing where your mind goes while you’re sleeping. Because your brain is truly free to explore areas you normally don’t consider during waking consciousness, you may identify ideas that you would have never formulated during the day. The problem is that it’s very difficult to actually remember these ideas once you wake up for the day. That’s why you need to keep a notepad and pen next to your bed.
By keeping a pen on your nightstand, if you wake up after a strange, idea-inducing dream, you can scribble down what came to you and then go back to sleep. This way, when you wake up, you’ll be able to (hopefully) remember everything you were dreaming about.
Go somewhere in town you haven’t yet visited
If you’ve been living in Memphis for some time, chances are you have a routine down. Perhaps you have a handful of restaurants you regularly go to and a favorite bar. Well, switch it up a bit. One of the best ways to develop new ideas is to try something new.
Instead of visiting the park by your house, go to a park on the other side of town. While you know the steakhouse near work is good, check out the sushi joint you’ve been hearing so much about. Oftentimes, inspiration comes from little changes. It’s a tweak in your routine that causes your brain to come up with new ideas.
Think of it like a workout: When you first go to the gym and start lifting weights you’ll experience the biggest jumps in your strength and size gains. Your body is working hard at these new exercises, so you see impressive results early on. But then, after a few weeks, the results slow down. You aren’t able to increase your lifting numbers as quickly, or you might completely stall out. It’s because your muscles have plateaued. They’ve become accustomed to your normal routine. The only way to jump-start your gains is to change up how you exercise. It’s called muscle confusion. The same is true with your brain.
When you do the same thing every day, your brain starts to relax. It doesn’t work as hard. So when you change your routine and throw in a curveball, you force your brain to work harder, which may help you identify a potential business idea.
You might also be interested in: Thriving as a Startup in Memphis: Key Strategies for Success
