HOW TO COME UP WITH A

WINNING
BUSINESS
IDEA
IN 5 SIMPLE STEPS

MARIEFORLEO.COM
Hey there multipassionate soul. I see you.

FUN SHEET

Step 1: What are you great at?

“Follow your passion” is terrible advice. Most of us have multiple passions that ebb and
flow over our lifetimes.

Instead, ask yourself this question: “What am I great at?”

For your business to be profitable and joyful long-term, you must build it around your
natural skills, talents, and abilities. The things that come so easily to you, you think, “Duh!
Anyone could do this!”

Action Step: Take a few minutes to complete the Interest Inventory below. Write
everything that comes to mind — without editing yourself. Don’t stop until you have 5-10
items in each column.

Use these questions to get you started:

— What tools or online applications do you know how to use better than anyone else?

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— What do people thank you for doing for them?
— What do you do in your free time?
— What skills do you have that could be translated into services?
— If you could get paid to do or make something for others, what would it be?
— What have been your most enjoyable work experiences?
— What are you able to do naturally, quickly or with joy that other people aren’t able to?
— What gives you the most satisfaction at your current job?
— What day-to-day tasks do you enjoy?
— What do you love researching, reading, talking, and thinking about?

INTEREST INVENTORY

SKILLS INTERESTS ABILITIES

Example: Wordpress design, Baking vegan Example: Reflexology, Renaissance Example: Mental math, Finding great
tarts, Paragliding history, My dog clothing deals, Holding a handstand
for 1 minute

Great work!

Now read through each column one by one. Cross off anything that feels flat, blah, or
tiring. Circle the skills, interest, or abilities that spark or inspire something in you.

Trust your gut and don’t overthink this! Now you’re ready for Step 2.

Step 2: What problem do you solve?

For who?
The essence of all business is problem-solving. You solve a problem for someone, they pay
you for it. Simple as that. So to uncover your perfect business idea, you need to know what
problem you solve and who you’re solving it for.
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The Problem Solver Chart below will help you answer this question.

Action Step: For each skill, interest, and ability you circled in your Interest Inventory,
ask yourself: “What problems do people have that I could solve using this skill?” Put those
“Problems” list in the left-hand column.

Then, in the right-hand column, ask yourself: “Who needs help with this?” Brainstorm a
list of different people you could help.

For example:

Ability: Mental Math

PROBLEM WHO I COULD HELP

— I could help 3rd graders learn their

multiplication tables
— I could help parents of 3rd & 4th
graders learn how to tutor their kids
— I could help math teachers design
lesson plans and activities for
Kids struggling to learn their struggling students
multiplication tables in
elementary school

Now, it’s your turn.

Come up with at least 5 different problems you could solve, and at least different groups for
EACH that could use your help.

PROBLEM SOLVER CHART

PROBLEM WHO I COULD HELP TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM

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Well done!

Once you’ve finished your chart, circle the ideas from the Right-Hand column that excite
you the most. Don’t limit yourself just yet. But DO use your circled solutions as your
jumping off point for Step 3.

Step 3: How will you make money?

Brilliant work! At this point, you should have an idea of who you can help and what
problem you’ll solve using a skill or ability you already have.

To turn this idea into a BUSINESS (not just a hobby or volunteer project), you must ask
yourself the ultra-important question, “How will I make money?”

Your business’s revenue model is WHAT You Sell + HOW You Sell it.
To keep it simple, you only need to determine the WHAT at this stage. Will you sell
products, services, or both?

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 Products Services Mixture of Both

Action Step: In the Money Maker box below, come up with 25+ ideas for products or
services you could sell. Mark them ‘P’ for product, and ‘S’ for service.

Let’s look at some examples:

— Design custom websites for chefs or food bloggers - S

— Sell vegan tart recipe books - P
— Teach vegan baking classes - S
— Start a Renaissance history podcast and sell advertising - P
— Tutor kids in mental math - S
— Sell an online fitness course about how to master your first handstand - P
— Design capsule wardrobes for professional women who travel a lot - S

Note: Guess what? ALL of the examples above are real, existing, profitable businesses! So
don’t hold yourself back. Even if you think an idea seems ridiculous, write it down anyway.

Now it's your turn:

MONEY MAKERS

1.
2. 3.
4. 5.
6. 7.
8. 9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
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 22.
23.
24.
25.

You’re on a roll!

Before you move on to Step 5, read through your Money Makers above to make sure each
one:

1. Solves a problem from your Niche-Finder Chart in Step 2

2. Aligns with an interest or skill from your Interest Inventory in Step 1

Cross out any that don’t meet the requirements. Then circle the Money Makers that jump
out at you.

Step 4: Has this been done before?

Having a big list of Money Makers is great. But how can you know there’s demand for
your product or service before you put hours and hours into creating it? This exercise is
the fastest way to validate your idea using quick and dirty market research.

You’re going to answer the question, “Has this been done before?” And the answer you
want to get is… YES!

Many folks waste time and energy trying to come up with a brand new, revolutionary idea.
The truth is, the best business ideas have usually been done before — and that’s a good
thing!

Action Step: For each of your Money Makers from Step 3, do a QUICK* Google or
Amazon search to find similar products or services that are already out there.

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 Extremely Important

*Set a timer for 20 minutes MAX to do this exercise, and close your internet tabs
as soon as that alarm goes off!

Do NOT use this as an excuse to go down an internet rabbit hole.

While research is important, it’s also an easy way to procrastinate.

At this early stage, comparing your idea to established businesses who are further
ahead than you can be incredibly discouraging.
Don’t do that to yourself! It’s the fastest way to crush your business dreams before
you start.

If you can easily and quickly find 3+ examples of others selling similar products or services,
this idea passes the test. If not, move on! And take notes of any other ideas you get along the
way.

For example:

Business Idea:
Sell online handstand course

Who else is doing it?

— Fitness App #1

— Women’s private fitness coach

— Circus school

Notes:
LOTS of options out there, Opportunity for targeting new moms…
Idea: “6 Weeks to Conquer Handstands at Naptime”

Now it’s your turn.

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 QUICK & DIRTY MARKET RESEARCH

Business Idea 1: Business Idea 1:

Who else is doing it? Who else is doing it?

• •

• •

• •

Notes: Notes:

Business Idea 1: Business Idea 1:

Who else is doing it? Who else is doing it?

• •

• •

• •

Notes: Notes:

Repeat this process for as many of your Money Maker ideas as you’d like.

Ideally, rack up 3-7 Money Makers that pass this test before you move on to the final
step — discovering which of these business ideas land in your Profit & Passion Sweet
Spot.

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 Step 5: What’ll bring me the most
money and joy?
Congratulations! You’ve made it to the final step. Now it’s time to look at the ideas still
on your list and identify your profit and passion sweet spot.

Action Step: Fill in the Passion & Profit Diagram below. Highest-profit ideas go on the
right. Most passionate ideas go on the left. Business ideas that can bring in money AND
make you psyched to work on it go smack dab in the middle.

HIGH PASSION POTENTIAL PASSION-A-PLENTY! LOW PASSION POTENTIAL

LOW PROFIT POTENTIAL PROFITS-A-PLENTY! HIGH PROFIT POTENTIAL

HOW TO COME UP WITH A WINNING BUSINESS IDEA IN 5 SIMPLE STEPS

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LABOR OF LOVE

These are problems you’d LOVE to solve or projects you’d LOVE to complete, but
nobody’s gonna pay you for it anytime soon!

PROFIT & PASSION SWEET SPOT

These business ideas have the highest potential for both profit and joy. People will pay
for these products or services and they align with your natural strengths and interests,
too!

RICH & MISERABLE

These business ideas are definite money makers, but there’s just one problem — you
don’t wanna do the work! While you might make a heap o’ cash, you’ll be heading
straight to Burnout City.

Note: If none of your business ideas make your profit and passion sweet spot,
CELEBRATE. You just saved yourself the incredible waste of time, energy, and money
of starting the wrong business. Go back to Steps 2-4 and mine for more ideas.

Fabulous job! Now take 3 deep breaths and look at your center Sweet Spot.

Circle ONE business idea from the center — the one that feels most exciting, expansive,
and alive in you — then write it down below.

MY NEW PROFITABLE BUSINESS THAT I LOVE IS:

WALK AWAY FOR 24 HOURS.

Seriously! Keep this somewhere safe and don’t peek at it until tomorrow.

Then, come back and do your final gut check.

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 FINAL GUT CHECK
Read your winning business idea and ask yourself these three questions:

1. Am I willing to do this full-time?

2. Am I willing to focus the majority of my free time on this for at least the next 12
months?

3. Does this idea make me feel expansive, open, excited, and alive?

If you can say YES to all three, you’ve found your winning business idea!

Amazing job!

Now it’s time to turn your brilliant business idea into reality.

Make it happen with B-School — a six-week online program that’ll help you start and
grow your profitable, values-driven business and profoundly change the quality of your
life.

→ Learn more about B-School & get on the waitlist now

PASS / FAIL

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 Fail-Proof Your Business Idea
Checklist
Find the right business idea that’ll feed your soul — and your bank account.

Am I good at it?

Does it solve a problem?

Will it make money?

Has it been done before?

Will it bring me joy?

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