I wanted to share some thoughts on small business ideas and the trends and thoughts that come with small business ideas and popular investment behavior.  Real estate has been, for decades, a popular small business idea.  Most people consider it an investment, but that is debatable. I’m not talking about current markets or the economic turmoil in our midst today. In general real estate is not an investment.

A good small business idea?

Real estate investment are just that, investment ideas, well thought out business deals that have built in return mechanisms. Middle class America is taught be real estate marketing, banking institutions, and general advertising that a house is a real estate investment, its not.  Most houses are not real estate investment, just like most guns aren’t murder weapons.  I guess a good point that could be inserted here is that its smart to get your small business ideas from someone who doesen’t  have a hand in the game. Bankers sell money, real estate agents sell hope… or houses I mean.  And when they work together, the simple investor won’t have a chance.

Simple Small Business Ideas.

Small business ideasthat have gained tremendous success and popularity have usually been simple. While implementing a great small business idea is usually much more complex.  Riches have been made in manufacturing, distribution, and now information and technology. This reminds me of a story I told a friend when he asked, “What are you up to these days?”.  I’ll share that story here. Before I do, if you are an entrepreneur, or interested in small business, subscribe to the updates and you’ll get them in your in box. I am interactive with readers and invite you leave comments or email ideas and questions, it gives me something to write about.

One story I like to use, a hypothetical one, to illustrate what the information age offers, that the industrial age really doesn’t. Back to the real estate idea.  Sticking with conventional thinking, if you were to buy 5 houses for $100,000.00 each it would cost $500,000.00, plus commissions and closing costs, but just forget that for know, were just pretending….

Now if you were to rent each of those houses for $600 per month, you would theoretically have a cash flow of $3,000 per month… Keeping it simple here, just go along with it. Oh, I almost forgot, do have a half a million dollars? No? Oh, OK, so actually, keeping it simple again, lets just say in 20 years, you will have 3k per month in passive income.(rentals are not passive, and you wouldn’t earn close to 3k) we are pretending.

Now let’s look at an information age business idea and look at a few differences. I don’t care if you think real estate is the best thing since nursing homes, it does not matter to me….

Here is my example: Let’s say you have some special knowledge or information that would either save someone a significant amount of money ( let’s use $400 bucks) or a significant amount of time (let’s say a month)…

what is the best small business idea?

What small business idea would work? What kind of information? Doesn’t matter. Chances are if your interested in something so are other people, a hobby, a career, life experience, sports, reading, writing, fixing things, whatever, doesn’t matter.

Lets say you put that information together in an easy to read format that would help a person solve a few specific problems or save them a significant amount of money. Maybe even help them be more healthy. Ok your going to put this together in an information product format (people can do this for ya) with video and audio, maybe a workbook and even a DVD. Know you know and I know it is worth $400 bucks. It is a good small business idea, your neighbor might even buy it. Since you don’t know everyone and maybe you stink at sales, you’ve got to use the Internet, a simple website, and some smart marketing to get some initial exposure for your product and price it cheap…. Maybe $50 bucks (easy math) OK, here’s the point. If your new information age business idea sold two copies, programs, or reports, per day, anywhere in the free world, only 2, you would earn $3,000 per month, and in this case, it would be quite passive.

Kinda cool, huh?  Just one way to illustrate the power of  the information age and how entrepreneurs are taking small business ideas around the globe. Is everyone and entrepreneur? No, but everyone could stand to earn an extra 30 or 40k per year in a passive way part time, right? I think so. Everyone may not be an entrepreneur, but everyone does have a small business idea.

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Information Age Business Ideas: what is this “information age” anyway?

We always here the term information age.  What does that mean anyway.  People just through it our there in passing like they are fulling informed as to what it is and what ” information age ” means to them.  I admit I fell into the same group.  I caught myself saying on more than one occasion, ” Yeah, times are changing, this is the information age”. Information age business ideas are serving a much more concentrated niche than ever before.  You can make money today in carbon credits, a term most Americans don’t understand.

The term information age is widely used to define a transition, a new era, if you will.  A point of comparison to the “industrial age”, the information age is about improving what is made, making new faster, and not making things at all. New business are being created in the information age my segmenting current business ideas in to more focused service groups.

It is a key contribution of the the information age to analyze, not that this was not done before, but it is given more of a priority in the information age business world.  The business trends, and wealth trends seem to lay a track of innovation these days rather than than track of domination and fortifying a market.

What are some practical effects of the information age on average small business?

Well for starters, people today are much more likely to know that all it takes to start a business is $10 bucks and a D.B.A, a bunch of ambition, an ideas, and some guts.  People are doing it too. Micheal Gerber from the “E-Myth” talks extensively about the ” entrepreneurial moment “.  When an employee realizes if he could get the customer to call him to clean the windows, he could make more money.  He does a better job on the windows anyway and the “phone call” isn’t a big deal.

The fire, aim, ready approach is another hallmark of the information age in my experience.  Entrepreneurs seem to have more confidence that they will find what the need along the way. The Internet has played a valuable role in bolstering this confidence in new entrepreneurs.

Books are being published to day because people feel that we want more information.  I think the information age is misunderstood my many and quietly entertained by the rest.  I’ve heard it said it used to be who you knew, then it was what you knew, now it is how fast what you know changes… Go figure.  Information age business opportunities must innovate fast if they are going to lengthen their business cycle.

Some things still hold true and probably will through all the trends, transitions, and tyraids.

1. Do what you say your going to do. Integrity.
2. Admit your mistakes. Humility.
3. Strive for constant improvement. Excellence.

Can you add to the list? 

Another idea about the business ideas in the information age is the widely reported and public knowledge of who make what and why or how.  There are literally millions of books, articles, and videos about a information age business idea that made someone rich.

Old business ideas still hold true.  Speed to market especially.  Intuition is playing a bigger role in the information age business arena.  But at some point the idea has to go to market and today it has to happen fast and clean.  The business idea, no matter how great, will likely be old new in 6 months to a year.

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