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GO IT ALONE!

things, post thought-provoking stories of how other go-it-alone entrepreneurs came up with the ideas for their businesses. Additional materials associated with choosing a business idea will also be posted at the site.

WHAT DO YOU DO BEST?

The do-what-you-do-best approach to choosing a business idea clearly suggests that there is an abundance of good ideas for go-it-alone entrepreneurs. Indeed, the use of the word choosing is deliberate: It implies one of many, as opposed to finding, which might imply something rare or hard to locate. However, it’s possible that you have a terrific idea but are not well suited to carry out the associated business, particularly if you are planning a solo business. Once you have a prospective idea, the first question you need to consider is your own skills: Will the business idea take advantage of what you do best?

The Idea of Core Competence

At the center of a successful go-it-alone business is the central skill or expertise of the founder. The application of this expertise is what ultimately makes the business a success. An essential element in establishing your business is to identify the reason your business will be a success and articulate for yourself the skills that will be involved.

Today, management theorists typically refer to the central skill of an organization as its core competence; a term that is discussed at length by Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad in their book Competing for the Future. They persuasively argue that the long-term success of any business depends on the “potentiality that is released” when it appropriately focuses on exploiting its core competence. The authors define a core competence as “a bundle of skills and technologies that enables a company to provide a particular benefit

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