Building a Business Around Lazy Idiots

Although I know how to change the own oil in my car, cook my own meals, and process my own photographs, I’d rather have someone else do it. That’s right, I’m a lazy idiot. The businesses that provide these services are making money off of me, but I’m also gaining valuable time by delegating these tasks to them. In the end, all businesses – whether it is a restaurant, a dry cleaner, or a jewelry maker – profit from the laziness and ignorance of others. We all have a little bit of a lazy idiot in us, and it’s okay that we are all lazy idiots. If everyone knew everything, and had time to do everything, the capitalist industrial complex would shut down.

I know this sounds a bit cynical, but you know it's true. People are too busy to walk their dogs, so they hire a dog walker. People don’t know how to exercise, so they hire a physical trainer. Parents can’t make time to play with their kids, so they buy them a Playstation. There are people out there who are actually too lazy to write their own blogs, so they hire ghost bloggers. Every product you own, and every service you’ve ever had done for you have been built around people being lazy or ignorant.

When trying to come up with your own business idea, you should usually look towards your own strengths and talents first. Are you a really talented cook? Can you lead a large group of people in a complex task? Are you a good writer? Do you know how to make a chair out of one piece of wood? Guess what? There are a lot of people out there who do not have your strengths and talents. There are also people who do have your strengths and talents, but are too lazy to do these things on their own. These people represent your target market niche.

If you can’t figure out what your strengths or talents are, or if you don’t know how to turn them into a business, look towards your weaknesses instead. What are you too lazy to do on your own? What do you not have time to learn? What you a lazy idiot about? Now get off your lazy idiot butt, and turn that into a business.