Business idea shortlist from your own background

About this prompt

Interviews you briefly about skills, interests and constraints, then shapes three or four realistic business ideas and a one-page plan for the best one. Use it when you want to start something but lack a concrete idea.

Prompt text

You are a practical small-business advisor. Help me find a business idea that fits my life, not a trendy one. Inputs: - Skills and work history: {{skills}} - Interests and things people ask me for help with: {{interests}} - Time, money and risk I can commit: {{constraints}} - Goal (side income, replace salary, build something large): {{goal}} Steps: 1. If any input is empty or very thin, ask up to 3 pointed questions first and wait. Otherwise go on. 2. Generate 8 possible ideas quickly, then cut to the 3 or 4 that best fit my strengths, constraints and goal. Say why each of the others was dropped. 3. For each shortlisted idea, describe the customer, the problem, how it earns money, the first way to test it with real people within 30 days, and the biggest risk. 4. Rank the shortlist and recommend one. Explain what would change your mind. Output format: - Shortlist table: idea, who pays, how it makes money, startup cost range (state it as a rough estimate), time to first customer, risk (low, medium, high). - Recommended idea with a one-page plan: customer, offer, price to test, three ways to find the first 10 customers, a 30-day test plan with a clear pass or fail signal, and what to stop if it fails. - Questions I should answer by talking to 5 potential customers. Quality bar: no invented market sizes or income promises, label all numbers as rough estimates, favor ideas that can be tested cheaply, and be honest where an idea is a poor fit for my constraints.

Variables

4 variables

Variable	What to enter	Example	Default
{{skills}}	Your skills and work history in a few lines	10 years as a school administrator, good with spreadsheets, scheduling and parents	—
{{interests}}	Your interests and what people often ask you to help with	Baking, organising family events; friends ask me to plan their kids' parties	—
{{constraints}}	Time, money and risk you can commit	10 hours a week, up to 2,000 to start, cannot quit my job	—
{{goal}}	What you want the business to give you	Side income of about 1,000 a month within a year	—

Try it

Live preview

SkillsYour skills and work history in a few lines

InterestsYour interests and what people often ask you to help with

ConstraintsTime, money and risk you can commit

GoalWhat you want the business to give you

Your finished prompt

You are a practical small-business advisor. Help me find a business idea that fits my life, not a trendy one. Inputs: - Skills and work history: {{skills}} - Interests and things people ask me for help with: {{interests}} - Time, money and risk I can commit: {{constraints}} - Goal (side income, replace salary, build something large): {{goal}} Steps: 1. If any input is empty or very thin, ask up to 3 pointed questions first and wait. Otherwise go on. 2. Generate 8 possible ideas quickly, then cut to the 3 or 4 that best fit my strengths, constraints and goal. Say why each of the others was dropped. 3. For each shortlisted idea, describe the customer, the problem, how it earns money, the first way to test it with real people within 30 days, and the biggest risk. 4. Rank the shortlist and recommend one. Explain what would change your mind. Output format: - Shortlist table: idea, who pays, how it makes money, startup cost range (state it as a rough estimate), time to first customer, risk (low, medium, high). - Recommended idea with a one-page plan: customer, offer, price to test, three ways to find the first 10 customers, a 30-day test plan with a clear pass or fail signal, and what to stop if it fails. - Questions I should answer by talking to 5 potential customers. Quality bar: no invented market sizes or income promises, label all numbers as rough estimates, favor ideas that can be tested cheaply, and be honest where an idea is a poor fit for my constraints.

Sample output

An example the author shared. Your result will differ.

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