An Exercise to Create Passionate Business Ideas

One of the most common struggles for any entrepreneur is how to come up with a business idea that doesn’t just focus on what we can do, but what we really want to do.  As an entrepreneur, you may find yourself asking the following questions:

How do I find a business idea that capitalizes on my passions?

How do I find a business idea that capitalizes on what I’m naturally gifted at instead of just what I know?

And can I combine my passions, gifts, and talents to come up with the perfect business idea that I would actually want to pour my heart and soul into?

Well, I ask myself those very questions every time I am thinking about my next business venture.  Early on in my professional career I would get frustrated when I tried to come up with ideas that were something that I knew I could be truly passionate about, not just make some money with.  It bothered me so much that I couldn’t put my finger on one true idea that I felt, “this is it.” So, being a natural “problem solver” (I’m told,) I started to outline why I struggled so much coming up with a business idea I could be passionate about, and I developed an easy exercise that I called a “PGT Map,” which stands for “Passions, Gifts and Talents.”

How Does it Work?

The basic idea is to force you to truly look at yourself and to outline those three main areas in order to focus your mind on ideas that built off of that map.  It has had the most impact on me in developing new ideas and I think it could help you as well.

Let’s See an Example

I want to visually show and explain to you how this exercise works so that you can see how easy it is to start finding more business ideas that target your passions, gifts, and talents. So grab a sheet of paper and a pen and get ready to get to learn what makes you passionate and how you can find a business idea.

Watch the video and let me know in the comments what your map was showing at the end!

(click here if you cannot see the video)

Photo credit: stu_wp