How to Come Up With a Business Idea, ft. Theresa DePasquale, with Andy Frisella - MFCEO6

Podcast Overview

Sixteen years ago, Andy Frisella, “The MFCEO,” and his business partner, Chris, started a company called Supplement Superstores with $12,000 they earned from striping the stripes on parking lots and now do annually over $100 million a year in business.  He started this podcast basically for three reasons.

•      To mentor people who don't have mentors
•      To motivate people in a real authentic way
•      Because he has a passion for motivating and helping people

Andy’s main motivation here is to help people realize what it takes to A) be successful. B) stay self motivated and C) hopefully for people to give back to others as well.

Introduction: How to Come Up with A Business Idea

What do you do when you have passion and a strong work ethic and would like to start your own business, but have no idea or direction for a business?  How do you find out if a product or service is a "million dollar" idea? In this episode, Andy Frisella, along with co-host Vaughn Kohler and special guest Theresa DePasquale, discuss the finer points of generating and testing a business idea.

You Have to Love What Your Business is About

According to Andy and Theresa, as cliche as it sounds, the way you come up with a business idea is to think about your passion.  What do you like? What interests you?  This is supremely important, because when work gets tough, only your passion for the product or service will keep you going.  So the key to how to come up with a business idea is to ask, “What am I really enthusiastic about?  What do I love?”  Whatever you do, don’t focus on the money.  Money is a by-product of the quality of your service or product.  And that quality will only be there if you are passionate.

You Have To Be Able to Believe in Your Business

Along with passion, Theresa and Andy point out that, in order to be able to be successful in your business, you have to believe in the product or service you’re offering and believe that other people will want it too.  If you don’t believe in it, you won’t be able to sell other people on it.  So, when you come up with a business idea about a product or service that you love, you also have to deep down believe that it provides value to the world.  Some things that people are passionate about, Andy says, are difficult to turn into a successful business.

You Have to Look for Problems That Need Solutions

According to Andy, this is a huge key to help you come up with a business idea.  Train your mind to look for problems that need solutions. If your business or product solves a problem that many people face, people will likely be interested in the solution your product or service offers.

Your idea doesn’t need to be 100 percent original.  

According to Andy, you don’t have to come up with a brand new, 100 percent original idea for a product or service.  You can take an existing business idea--and the important thing is to make it better.  Improve it!

Methods of Generating an Idea

Andy, Vaughn, and Theresa all agree that it’s important to be constantly gathering material, through reading or browsing the internet.  The more data you gather, the more this serves as raw material for ideas.  Andy and Theresa both say they spend a lot of time thinking, but not necessarily writing out their thoughts.  Vaughn, on the other hand, is likely to come up with a business idea after “freewriting” - a method of ideation promoted in books like Accidental Geniusor Brainsteering.

Don’t Wait for the Perfect Idea or Plan. Just Start!

Andy says that your idea or plan doesn’t have to be perfect.  When you come up with a business idea or plan, you aren’t going to move forward without mistakes.  You just need to move forward. People who wait for the perfect plan or idea to get started will be waiting forever. “Just fucking start,” Andy says.

Don’t Ask “Is It A Million Dollar Idea?”  Make It One.

Andy says, “don’t ask whether it is a ‘million dollar idea.’”  The key isn't to find a million dollar business idea, but to make your idea into one.  Hustle, work hard, be passionate.  Was the pool noodle or Snuggie a million dollar idea?  Or did the people who created those products make it that way?

Summary:  Here are the Questions To Ask 

Here are the questions to ask to come up with a business idea: Am I passionate about it?  Do I like it?  Does it interest me?  Does it solve a problem or fulfill a need?  Is there an existing business idea that you can improve?

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE