I have a(n) Internet dream! What do I do with it?
By: Brendan Fitzpatrick
I have been developing web sites for over 15 years now, I’ve been programming over 30 years.. Yes, I’m almost ashamed to admit that but I suffer from the same problems 99% of the population does – I have too many ideas and I cannot focus on one topic.
That’s right, pick up any magazine or talk to any successful entrepreneur and they’re going to tell you that the number one problem to solve to being successful is going to be ‘Focus’. Granted, over the years I have not been able to focus on one idea because “I believe” that all of my ideas are the next million dollar idea and I’m too busy chasing all of them!
You’re in the same boat? Don’t worry.. the second piece of advice you will hear from any successful entrepreneur is going to be “don’t give up!”. There’s no better way to navigate through life than to chasing a dream. For most of us we do it as a side job or part time at best. If you are lucky to have the finances or personal situation to not have to worry about finances (yes, family, children, house etc.) then your very Lucky!
As I’ve mentioned, close to 30 years of experience with ‘minimal success’ I’ve been frustrated more than once, especially when my wife made it “Big” on her first try on the internet before I did but that’s okay, everyone’s idea of “Big” is different, I’m not talking $Millions, success to me is being able to pay the bills while loving what I do. This means that your personal situation, including living location, expenses and person life all play a bigger factor more than the dollar amount that you earn. The most important thing is to be happy at what you’re doing. If you’re going to run a web site but you don’t like technology or understand it then you should at least be interested in what you are offering (ie. financial information, sporting equipment, cars etc).. love it more than your competitor!
For those of you who have 2 dozen ideas, get used to 23 of them being failures, either because you cannot focus on them or because they were just BAD ideas. Most people have at least one decent idea and if you can focus on that idea you will almost certainly have some level success. My first success earned me $0.25 one day but 3 months later I was earning close to $200/month and eventually several thousand dollars/month. Over the year’s I’ve been lucky to try enough different ideas (too many in fact) that 2 or 3 of them brought me a small level of success. Granted, I didn’t make $millions but I tasted success and now it’s my #1 priority to exploit those successes. To make a long story short, I approached Jeff Bezos’s foundation for one of my “greatest” and although they weren’t immediately interested they asked me to write a business plan and build prototype site. For those of you not in the know, Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com
My original business plan and prototype didn’t pass round 1 (the first time around) but my idea is something that I believe in so I’m working on round 2. I could care less if my second version is a blockbuster, as an entrepreneur I couldn’t be happier pursuing something that Jeff’s organization might be interested in.. it’s exciting, fast paced and challenging so why not “focus” my time on it?
The last piece of advice is, the simpler the idea the better! You don’t need to have something unique or new, most success stories are modifications of existing solutions or products…! So .. all I can say is.. .Go for it!