Have you ever seen that TLC show, “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant”? It depicts stories/ reenactments of women who, true to the title, didn’t know that they were pregnant until they wind up in the ER with stomach pains or what they believe to be kidney stones, only to discover that, surprise! It’s a baby! There are myriad reasons why these women don’t know they’re pregnant until they’re actually in labor, from extreme stress, to lack of symptoms, to believing that they weren’t capable of conceiving, but in the end, they all end up leaving the hospital with more than a prescription to ease their ailments.
I am thinking that my process of finding a great business idea will be sort of like these women finding out their stomach cramps are really labor pains- I’ll keep doing what I’m doing- working, blogging, networking, and thinking- and one day I’ll just stumble across the BIG IDEA that changes everything.
When I began this blog two months ago, it was with the intention of sharing my journey to become an entrepreneur, with the additional goal of inspiring women through that journey. In terms of business ideas, I’ve actually come up with several, all web-based (since I know that more than anything I need a flexible work environment, where I can run my business from anywhere). One idea was for a website that would provide tips and advice for reusing and repurposing everyday items, something I’ve recently taken an interest in (one idea: turning old spaghetti sauce jars into outdoor votive candle holders- genius). Another was for a trend-spotter website, where people around the world could leave comments on what is hip/ trendy/ interesting in their communities. However, I summarily dismissed all my ideas, whether because I didn’t have the bandwidth to create content for another website (repurposing idea) or because I found that someone else had already introduced the idea, and more extensively, than I was even planning (trend-spotter website).
So, as of today I am still idea-less, but I am inspired by all of the women I’m meeting and connecting with who HAVE found their BIG IDEA, and are taking the necessary steps to bring them to fruition. And I am crossing my fingers that one day soon, when I least expect it, I will bring my own BIG IDEA into the world. (You have no idea how badly I wanted to say “give birth to” in the sentence above, but one other thing I’ve learned over the last two months is to refrain from taking a metaphor further than I need to).
