What Business Should You Start? How to Choose the Right Business Idea | 216

One of the biggest questions every aspiring entrepreneur faces is: “What kind of business should I start?” 

In this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast, host Shannon Russell, business coach for women and author of Start Your Second Act, helps you answer that question with clarity and confidence.

Key Takeaways:

• How to identify your passions and turn them into profitable business ideas.
• Why your skills, strengths, and transferable experience are key to building a business that works.
• The importance of solving a real problem for your ideal customers.
• How to align your business idea with your lifestyle goals so your second act truly gives you the flexibility and freedom you crave.
• Practical tips to overcome the fear of choosing the “wrong” business and start moving forward today.

Whether you’re ready to leave your 9–5, launch a side hustle, or create a business that lights you up, this episode will help you narrow down your options and pick the right path for your entrepreneurial journey.

👉 Tune in now to discover how to choose the best business idea for YOU and your second act!

SHOW NOTES:

https://secondactsuccess.co/216

Join Shannon's How To Start The Right Business live coaching experience October 21, October 28, and November 4. https://secondactsuccess.co/experience.

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast

Season 1 - What Business Should You Start? How to Choose the Right Business Idea | 216

Episode - #216

Host: Shannon Russell

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] 

in this episode, we are going to tackle one of the biggest questions, every aspiring entrepreneur fears. That is what type of business should I start?

Are you ready to quit your nine to five job and start a business of your own? Well, you're in the right place, my friend. Welcome to the second Act Success podcast. I am your host Shannon Russell, and my mission is to help you produce your best life. This podcast will teach you how to get from where you are now to where you want to be and how to build a business that fits your life and lights you up.

Let's get started.

Welcome Back to the second Act Success podcast. I am your host business coach for women, Shannon Russell. I am gearing up for my how to start the right business live coaching experience at kicks off 

October 21st, October 28th and November 4th. Each week [00:01:00] we will meet to validate your business idea, we are going to make sure that the business idea you have in your head is one that can really be successful and come to fruition and give you exactly what you want out of your second act

you can learn more about this event at second Act success.co/experience, and I'll link it in the show notes below as well.

But for now, in this episode, we are going to tackle one of the biggest questions every aspiring entrepreneur fears, what type of business should I start? It's a question that can feel overwhelming, but don't worry. We're going to break it down so that you can get a clear idea on the type of business that will be best for you. And if you've already decided on your business, you can listen through to just kind of reassure yourself that you are on the right path.

 Deciding on the right business. Isn't just about what's trending right now or what seems [00:02:00] like a good opportunity. It's about aligning this business idea with your strengths, your passions, your values, and your lifestyle goals. 

Because if you are leaving a stable nine to five job, a stable corporate job of any kind. You want to make sure that the leap into entrepreneurship is truly worth it and that it's going to give you that flexibility and that lifestyle that you've been craving. You want to make sure that you'll have that family time, that you'll be able to put in the hours that you can, and that it's going to be worth it for you. 

 I want to start by exploring three questions that will help guide you towards making this important decision. The first question is, what are your passions? What are you passionate about? Think about what truly lights you up and if you could choose any career, what would it be? 

What would you be doing? If you could do anything and bring in money for you and your family? What are the activities and the topics that you could spend hours doing or [00:03:00] reading about or focusing on without getting tired? What can you talk to random strangers about that really excites you? Your passions are such a great starting point because building a business takes your time and your energy, and knowing that you're devoting that time and energy towards something that you truly love, and that fulfills you is going to make your work towards building this business and making it a success. Even that more likely. So when you love what you do, it won't feel like work, right? 

We've all heard that expression. And it really is true because if you're working towards something that gives you that purpose. It doesn't feel like work. It feels like you are giving back and helping others in a way that is also helping you and serving you. Oftentimes clients will say, oh, but my passions won't pay the bills. And that might be true in some cases, but you would be amazed how many people can truly make money by utilizing their passions in a way that provides a [00:04:00] service or a product to other people. If you are really passionate about music, Maybe you want to teach music lessons to adults or to kids. 

Maybe you want to write music. 

If you are an artist, maybe you want to create with your hands and that could be drawings or. Crafts or jewelry. You want to think about what it is that you truly love and see if there's a way that you can get paid by doing it. Now passion. Isn't always enough. So this next question is just as important. What are your skills and your strengths? You can love music, but not be musical. And therefore you probably can't build a business around you. Teaching people music. If you don't have a musical ear. So, what are your skills and strengths and how do those align with your passions? 

You can start by looking at your career experience. Your hobbies, any natural skills or talents that you have witnessed over the length of your [00:05:00] life or your career up until now. So what are you really good at that you also enjoy doing. And what do people always come to you for help with? Think about the work that you do in your current job? Do coworkers come to you for certain things? Over other people. 

 What are you good at? If you are good at something that you are also strong and skilled in, that can be a great backbone to building a business. If it is something that you truly enjoy. 

Ideally you want to build a business based on what you're already good at.

If you can find a way to tie in those skills and that experience. Along with your passions and build a business around that. You're going to be in an excellent space to start. Think about this too. If you are considering starting a business in an area where you don't have that experience, don't let it stop. 

You. Just start to get a little creative and think about how you can learn those skills that you may need. Whether it's a course at a community college, an online program, finding a mentor who can teach you, [00:06:00] partnering with someone who is already in that space. Get creative, look online, find the skills that you think would really help you in that area and go and learn them. 

Then you'll get that confidence to feel like it'll all come together because you're passionate. 

I often talk about. Transferable skills. And that's where I want you to look at the skills of your past and what will help you in this business? You're thinking about building and oftentimes the connections and the threads. Are a little hidden. Spend some time looking at what is transferable and there'll be so many things that you've done in the past that will transfer into this business. And if you can also think about maybe. Plugging in any gaps or holes with an online course or a mentor or a coach or someone who's already in that space that can take you under their wing. 

That is just going to help fulfill all of those needs for you.

Okay, last question here. What problem can you solve? Think about your passions, your strengths, think about your [00:07:00] passions, your skills, and if you were to build a business around those, what problem is that business solving for customers or clients? 

Every successful business serves a purpose and it solves a problem or fulfills a need. 

So think about the challenges that you face in your life or in your career. And what solutions have you discovered that might benefit others? Oftentimes we can build a business around what we have experienced in our life and what we have learned. We're sharing that knowledge with someone else. So think about your past what you've learned, what you've gained, any gaps that you see maybe in the market around that area, or if it's something that you're passionate about, if it's a creative skill you have, think about how you can teach that to someone or make a product that serves someone in a problem that they might have. Have you want to look to fill in the gaps in the market with what you want to [00:08:00] do?

 This is where the market research comes into play, but we will get to that in upcoming episode. For now, I want you to really focus on solving a problem. Thinking about your business and think about it in more of a way than just making money, because the money will come. 

What you want to do is make sure that you're building a business that can make a difference. And that's where the magic kind of all comes together. 

Okay. So let's recap those three questions. I want you to spend some time on that's. What are you passionate about? What are your skills and your strengths? What problem can you solve? When you think about these questions and you ponder the answers, 

you will come up with a plethora of ideas that can be business. Prospects for you. Maybe it leads you to a brand new business idea, or maybe it leads you to an existing business idea, like a franchise or a similar business that you can take as an idea and give your own twist to it. Take some time journal about these questions. 

Talk them over with a [00:09:00] trusted friend or coach and dig deep. Really make sure that you can answer these fully and clearly. And that you feel confident with the business that you are leaning towards. 

If you can answer these questions and feel 100% confident with the idea that you have, then let's rock on. 

Let's move forward because you are in a place where you can feel really good and passionate and have that excitement about what is to come. Okay. My friend, before we wrap up today's episode, I want to leave you with one thought. That is don't let fear of choosing the wrong business. Hold you back. 

Every successful entrepreneur has had moments of doubt 

But what sets them apart is their willingness to take action. You can start a business and feel like, oh, maybe this isn't 100% me, but you can figure out a way to take a step forward and make it yours. Learn and leap, right? You're exploring you're experimenting and you're [00:10:00] trusting that the right business idea will emerge for you. You do not have to jump at just any business idea that is in front of you. You want to spend this time now deciding what really feels good for you and what fits into the lifestyle that you want to create so that you can be excited to wake up every day and go to work for yourself. 

If you've found this helpful, please share it with a friend and make sure you're subscribed So you don't miss an episode. In upcoming episodes , we are going to continue to guide you through this exciting journey towards entrepreneurship. Keep dreaming and take action towards your goals.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to second act, success. To view show notes from this episode, visit second act success.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they [00:11:00] really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell. And this is second act success.