With so many entrepreneurial ideas, how do you choose?

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The word “entrepreneur” brings up quite a few connotations. Ambitious, driven, cut-throat… diseased.

Many entrepreneurs suffer from what I call “opportunityitis.” What is opportunityitis? It’s two-fold.

Part one is where one gets all excited about new ideas, new opportunities. The imagination runs away with the idea, bringing an euphoria with it, that leads to near-obsession.

The “itis” of part two comes in with a difficulty of narrowing the field to the business(es) that one can reasonably start, run, sustain.

As I say about myself, “I get a new business or article idea every six seconds.” That might apply to you, too.

Aspiring business owners are bombarded with information on franchises, the next get rich quick scheme, MLM, network marketing, affiliate sales, with such frequency, it may get difficult to zero in on “the one” in all that noise. Add in the individual’s own great ideas and it can get overwhelming.

With all these ideas, all this information, how do you avoid analysis paralysis and actually bring your dream of entrepreneurship to fruition?

1. Take those ideas and weed out the ones that you wouldn’t really love. Hey, you might like to make cookies, but do you want to open a bake shop, if it means getting up at 4 am to start the fresh rolls, when you’re a night owl? That might get old quick.

2. Think about what you loved to do as a child. Do you still like something similar? Could it translate into something that could support how you want to live?

3. Do you have the funds? If a certain business takes a million bucks to start, and you’re more in the shoestring budget category, maybe that idea should be on a back burner. Is there anything you can start without breaking the bank?

4. What ideas are suited to how you naturally are? Certain skills that we sometimes need to cultivate for on-the-job duties, aren’t how we’d behave if we made the rules. If you’re an introvert, it might not be the best idea to go straight for the keynote speaker career!

There’s four simple factors that can help you narrow down your list of ideas. Hopefully you’re closer to picking the right path for you.

Yet, sometimes, you just have to pick one, put one foot in front of the other, and go, already! That business is not going to start itself, you know.