Here's your game plan for business ideas

There are two kinds of overwhelm: One involves having too many tasks to do in the time you have. The other involves having too many ideas.

You’re a human being. You have many passions, many ideas. But you keep hearing that you need a “niche.” You need to be clear about what you offer. So how do you determine that niche? How do you narrow down? What do you do when you have too many business ideas?

While it’s true that you need to be focused and find a niche, it doesn’t mean you have to abandon all of your ideas. Not at all, actually. It’s just that you can’t do ALL of them at once.

I’ll admit… I’m guilty of the shiny object syndrome. I mean, aren’t most of us at some point? We see a course, have an idea, or hear about a new strategy and BAM! We are off.

Unfortunately we are often off on a wild goose chase that leads us farther and farther away from the correct path. I love this Russian proverb: “If you chase two rabbits you will not catch either one.”

In the book The One Thing, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan talk all about how narrowness of focus is essential to success. The idea of a Domino Effect is highlighted.

You have so many tasks, so many ideas. But just like a bunch of dominos set up, you just have to tip over the first one to get them all to topple. When you set off a row of dominos, you don’t randomly knock over different dominos within the pattern.

No. You start with the first.

You’re probably likem “Ummm…. Ok, Morgan, but which idea do I start with?”

Here’s a few ways to help you decide.

1. Just go with your gut

You honestly won’t know which idea will work until you try. So pick the one you have the strongest feeling about and try it!

2. Survey

Ask your audience. Hopefully you know who your ideal client is (if you don’t you can grab this quick free worksheet I create to get started). So, go out and ask them. Give them the options and see which get the most traction. If you don’t have an audience of your own yet, go into Facebook groups, ask a business friend if they would ask their audience for you or text all of your friends in your phone who are or are similar to your ideal client. There’s a million places you can go and ask. So do it.

3. What will it cost?

If you’re just starting out in business, odds are you don’t have a ton of money to throw around in some experiment. Look at which idea will cost you the least in terms of time and money. Start with that one because if it’s a total bust it won’t break your bank account or stretch you too thin time wise.

The key is to just pick one and get started and stay with that course until it’s complete. More and more evidence is coming out every day to show that multitasking is not productive. This applies to not just literally being involved in more tasks at once, but also in having your brain power and time being spent on more than one idea at a time.

Take it from me. I just spent two months getting completely off track with my business because I had like five new ideas that I just HAD to pursue before eventually returning to my original goals. Now I’m kicking myself because I could be so much farther along than I am.

I’ll leave you with one last quote from Gary Keller, “To ignite your life you must focus on ONE Thing long enough for it to catch fire.”

So go do it! Ignite!