Business ideas that work come from one of three sources: a skill you already have that others need, a problem you have already solved that others still have, or an industry you understand from the inside better than most outsiders do. Blank-page brainstorming rarely produces viable ideas. Mining your existing knowledge base does.
The instruction to "find your passion" or "think about what you love" produces ideas that feel good but often have no market. Most people who struggle to find a business idea are not lacking creativity: they are mining the wrong source. They are looking for an idea rather than surfacing what is already there in their skills, experience, and knowledge.
Before generating any ideas, map three inventories: your skills (what you can do that others find difficult), your solved problems (challenges you have personally overcome), and your industry knowledge (what you understand about a specific sector from direct experience). Business ideas emerge at the intersections of these three inventories.
List every skill you have used professionally or personally in the last five years. Include soft skills (facilitation, writing, analysis), technical skills, and domain expertise. Do not filter for what seems marketable yet. That comes later.
What challenges have you personally overcome that others around you still face? Health problems, career transitions, financial organization, systems building. Problems you have solved are problems you can help others solve.
What industries do you understand from the inside that most people outside do not? What do you know about how a specific sector works, who the buyers are, what the pain points are, where the inefficiencies are?
Where do skills, solved problems, and industry knowledge overlap? An accountant (industry knowledge) who built a system for managing freelance finances (solved problem) and is good at explaining complex concepts simply (skill) has a viable idea at the intersection.
For every idea that emerges, ask: who specifically would pay for this, what specifically would they pay, and can I reach five of them for a conversation this week? Ideas that survive this filter are viable candidates.
A shortlist of 3-5 business idea candidates that are grounded in your actual skills and experience, with at least one specific customer type identified for each.
The free audit identifies your pattern, your Independence Score, and your first move. Five minutes. No account required.
Take the Free Audit →