Asking the local council for busines idea

[AndrewTuckernine9]

Hello everyone this is my first thread.
I was just wondering if it is unprofessional to ask the local council for business idea or if there is some need for a certain business type in the area.
I have great motivation to start a business just lack the solid idea to begin.
Thanks

[Harold Mansfield]

Hello everyone this is my first thread.
I was just wondering if it is unprofessional to ask the local council for business idea or if there is some need for a certain business type in the area.
I have great motivation to start a business just lack the solid idea to begin.
Thanks


That probably won't get you anywhere. You're going to need to do your own research. No one is going to be able to tell you what's the best business for you to start and run. Part of owning and running a business is finding out and learning how to do things and solve problems, most times on your own. I'm sure if you put a little time and elbow grease into it, you can study your area and come up with some ideas.

[turboguy]

I agree with Harold. Coming up with the right business idea is one that few will be able to help you with. You may also find that what you start with may be different than what you end up with. I have been in business since I was 21 but the business was a marketing business for the first couple decades. I always wanted to try my hand at manufacturing and finally morphed the business into a manufacturing business. We we started the marketing business ages ago we had 3 product areas we targeted and one we wanted to avoid. Well a few years in we ended up out of most the the markets we originally targeted and in the one we wanted to avoid. When I started the manufacturing business I started with one product and it took three different products before we really hit a winner. So the two major changes in my business both turned out to be very different that I planned going in. Sometimes you learn by doing.

[tallen]

I don't think there is anything wrong with asking local government officials, established business owners, and other community leaders about what they think might be unmet needs (and thus possible business opportunities) in the community -- it's called research. But you have to use critical thinking in evaluating, and verifying, the input you receive. For example, just because everyone you talked to said they thought it would be great if there were a restaurant in town that served breakfast items for dinner and dinner items for breakfast, doesn't necessarily mean that it is a viable business idea. You are going to need to gather more information, try to determine the real market demand, assess the competition, etc.... You also have to decide whether you are the right person for that business idea (and vice versa) -- there's another recent thread here where the posters (myself included) point out that you need to understand your own strengths and weaknesses -- what is your background, what are you interested in, what skills and talents can you bring to your business (beyond just the desire to start a business of your own)?

[Harold Mansfield]

Also, others will give you every idea in the book. Everyone swears they have a great idea for a business that would make a ton of money. Seriously, ask anyone. But for many experienced business people, there's a reason they aren't doing it themselves. Cause what may be a great idea on day 1, may not have the market or the scale to be a profitable idea by day 430.

[Wash & Dry]

^^^^ This right here^^^^

[Paul]

Hello everyone this is my first thread.
I was just wondering if it is unprofessional to ask the local council for business idea or if there is some need for a certain business type in the area.
I have great motivation to start a business just lack the solid idea to begin.
Thanks

Be careful, as others have said. Sometimes people think a good business is one that no one else has . Sometimes its the opposite, there isn't one because it's not a good idea. Sometimes people avoid a business because they think there is too much competition.

That can be a clue. You may dismiss the idea of a restaurant because there are already so many restaurants? If they are all doing well it may mean the local market could easily support one more. Malls and towns have one clothing boutique after another, again, the market is demonstrating it supports them and may support one more.

Try roaming around the area to observe what businesses are doing well. If the local coffee shop is packing them in then maybe another coffee shop is in order. On my main street there are 3 car washes literally in sight of each other, many restaurants practically in a row and other head to head competitive businesses. Sometimes it is better to follow the herd than to try to blaze a new path.

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