I’m lucky to have the opportunity to talk to lots of smart, engaging women about all things entrepreneurship, leadership and decision making. And I have a few favorite tools I use to help them out in a variety of situations. I’ll be covering them in a series of posts called “Try It Now.” Here’s the first one.
Who: Leaders, entrepreneurs and anyone interested in uncovering new business opportunities or capturing ideas that are flowing too fast.
One of my favorite recommendations to entrepreneurs or people who are thinking about starting a business is to start an Opportunity Journal.
If you’re already an entrepreneur, it’s a great way to keep all those ideas you have for your business from falling out of your head. First, it gives you have a dedicated space for them. Second, you can return to if if you ever feel like you can’t get the creative juices flowing. Third, it helps fight Overwhlem by allowing you to focus on what matters right now rather than continually getting distracted by the newest, brightest idea.
And if you’re trying to discover what business you want to start, it’s a foundational tool for starting to notice the opportunities around you.
What:
Today, I want you to start an opportunity journal. It can be digital or on paper, but it needs to be something you can access whenever inspiration strikes.
I put mine in Zoho Notebooks. I like them because I can access my journals across my devices and I can type or use my stylus to write. And they’re pretty.
If you’re currently an entrepreneur this is your GoTo for all your amazing ideas that you don’t want to lose but that don’t move you towards your current goals.
If you’re pre-startup start with the problems that you encounter every day. Either at the office or around you. For instance, at the grocery store, why do we put everything in the cart, then take it out of the cart to be scanned and then put it back in the cart? There really has to be a better way. (BTW I think Jeff Bezos is trying to solve this, but you get the idea….)
You could even write down ideas for things you’d like to learn how to do.
Don’t worry right now whether you think you’re the right person to solve the problems. A key part of this exercise is just to start becoming aware of opportunities all around you. Because every single successful business out there was built to solve a problem.
Key Idea: It’s super important to review your journal or notebook on a regular basis. Put a reminder on your calendar. Because the point here is not just to capture the ideas. It’s to find new connections, put thoughts together in new ways and see the problems through different lenses.
Let me know in the comments if you try this and how it’s working for you.
