05 May Entrepreneur’s Tip of the Week: When to Pursue a New Idea

Your business has gotten started. Maybe even gotten through a few years. Or more than a few. Then it happens. The next great idea hits you. You know it’s a winner. But you have this business going. How do you find time to pursue the new idea? Should you?

The best entrepreneurs are big dreamers. In fact one of their favorite things is focusing on how to do things better, differently, or just with better salesmanship, than before. My great idea: sell socks in 3’s so that when you lose one in the dryer you have an extra (no one’s picked up on that one yet). But when a business is moving ahead, deciding when and how to pursue a new idea is really challenging.

My advice? Typical lawyer answer: it depends. Is your business going well? If so, think hard about spending time on something new. Do you have a great team in your main business, allowing you some time for the new project? If so consider it. Is the business struggling? If turning away or shutting it down makes sense, consider that as well. Is the new thing accretive or complementary to the existing business? If so maybe give it more serious consideration. But most of the time, it’s 2-3 AM for the new idea so you don’t give up your “base,” as my business hero shock jock Howard Stern likes to say.