You’re an educator and you really want to start your own business, but you’re not sure if what’s in your head would make for a good business idea. First off, kudos to you for pausing to ask that question. Too often people make the mistake of running with the first idea that comes to their mind without evaluating if it’s worth the time to grow their idea into something more.

Keep reading to learn more about the fundamentals of brainstorming business ideas and evaluating their market potential. And don’t worry if phrases like market potential are unfamiliar. We’ll cover that later in this blog.

Understand The Basics

Before you decide if an idea is good or not, it’s important to take a step back and begin with the end in mind. This means you want to have a clear understanding about what it means to be an entrepreneur and why having a clear business idea is critical.

What is entrepreneurship?

Think of it as the art of turning your brilliant ideas into a thriving business. An entrepreneur is someone who is able to identify opportunities, innovate and take calculated risk and launch a new business. Once the business is launched, the entrepreneur typically becomes the business owner. The business owner is the person who owns and operates the business.

Because it is possible for an entrepreneur to launch a business and then sell it for someone else to operate, there is a clear distinction between the terms ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘business owner.’ All entrepreneurs are business owners, but not all business owners are entrepreneurs.

What is a business idea?

Your business idea is that initial spark of inspiration that could grow into something bigger. It usually comes to your mind when you look at what’s going on in your life and see a need that isn’t being met in the world. Something happens that makes you think, “I want to create a service or product to help with _________.”

Examples from the Teaching World

To make this even clearer, let's use some teacher-friendly examples. Think of your business idea as a new teaching method you want to introduce to your students. You brainstorm, plan, and execute it to see how well it works. Entrepreneurship is like being the principal of your school. You decide the direction, create a vision, and make things happen.

Brainstorming Business Ideas

As an educator, you've spent years encouraging students to be creative and try new things. Let’s take the energy you would normally use to challenge students to be creative and focus it on you. Grab a pen and paper and try out one of the strategies below.

Mind Mapping

Imagine you're planning your curriculum for the year. You start with a big picture, the central theme, and then branch out to individual lessons and activities. This is precisely how mind mapping works in the world of entrepreneurship. Begin with a central idea, perhaps a passion you have or a problem you want to solve, and branch out with related concepts, potential products or services, and target audiences which is the people you are creating this service or product for. This visual technique helps you connect the dots and uncover innovative ideas.

Problem-Solving Exercises

Remember those moments when you had to adapt to unexpected challenges in the classroom? Entrepreneurship is no different. It's about identifying problems and finding creative solutions. Engage in problem-solving exercises to exercise your entrepreneurial muscles. Ask yourself questions like, "What issues do people face that I can address with my expertise?" or "How can I make someone's life better with my business idea?" Jot down notes to reflect on your answers to these questions.

Passions and Interests

Think about what truly lights a fire within you. Your passions and interests are powerful sources of inspiration. Just as you're passionate about educating, you can channel that enthusiasm into a business idea. Whether it's a hobby, a skill you excel at, or a topic that fascinates you, explore how these passions can be transformed into a business opportunity.

Real-Life Examples

Let's bring these concepts to life with real-life examples. Imagine a former teacher who loves gardening. They decide to turn this passion into a business by offering gardening workshops for beginners. Or consider an educator with a knack for organizing classrooms. They might start a consulting business helping other teachers create efficient and effective learning environments.

By nurturing your creative mind in these ways, you'll begin to see the boundless potential for business ideas that align with your skills, interests, and passions. You might even surprise yourself at the amount of ideas that come to you.

Now that you know how to brainstorm, let’s talk about how to determine if you’ve got a good idea that can turn into a business.

Would Anyone Buy It?

By now you’ve got some business ideas and you’re ready to do some fancy work by assessing market potential. And the not-so-fancy way of saying that is by asking yourself, “Would anyone buy this product or service from me?” Essentially, you want to know if there is a demand for your idea. This process is very similar to evaluating how your lesson plans will resonate with your students. So let’s get into it.

Who's in Your Classroom? (Identifying Your Audience): Think back to when you were teaching. You always tailored your lessons to your students, right? In the business world, it's the same. You need to know who your "students" are, or in this case, your potential customers. Who are they? What do they need? What are their problems? It's like understanding the different types of learners in your classroom.

Research Time (Finding the Data): Remember how you used textbooks and online resources to prepare your lessons? Well, in entrepreneurship, research is your best friend. You need to find data about your audience and your competition. Search online, read books, and talk to people to gather information. It's like doing a thorough investigation before teaching a new subject.

Seeing the Competition (Analyze Your Rivals): In the classroom, you knew what other teachers were doing, right? It's the same in business. You must check out your competition. What are they offering? How are they doing it? Learn from them and find ways to stand out, just like you wanted your lessons to stand when you added your own flare to make it different than your colleague next door.

Is Anyone Raising Their Hands? (Estimating Demand): Now, think about when you asked a question in class, and some students eagerly raised their hands while others stayed quiet. That's a lot like estimating demand. You want to know if people are interested in what you're offering. How many "hands" are raised? Are there enough potential customers to make your business idea viable?

Calculating Potential Earnings (Doing the Math): You remember calculating grades, right? In business, you need to crunch some numbers too. Estimate how much money you could make from your idea. Consider pricing, sales, and expenses. This step helps you see if your idea could be financially rewarding.

By applying these familiar concepts from your teaching days to assessing market potential, you'll gain a clearer picture of whether your business ideas have a chance to succeed. Think of it as preparing your lessons with the utmost care to ensure your students (your customers) get the best experience possible. . And if you want to get the specific steps for how to do this for your new business idea, click here to schedule your call with me to learn more about my 8 week course that gives you everything you need to build a strong business foundation.

Educators Are The Best Entrepreneurs

As an educator, you’ve got a unique advantage on this entrepreneurial path. You have spent years helping your students and colleagues, being creative in and outside your school building, and solving complex problems daily. These skills are your secret weapons in the world of business. Think of your teaching experience as a treasure trove of knowledge that you can draw upon to take an idea and turn it into a remarkable business.

Need support generating ideas? Download this resource that has 40 online business ideas for educators.

Download 40 Online Business Ideas For Educators