It Starts with an Idea or a Knack

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I was responding to a comment on one of my other posts, and it made me think about something I say often, and that's that one can start a business or be successful in one without two things: Money, and a knowledge of the business you want to be in. It starts with an idea, and grows from there, and if it's a good one, other people will give you the money and other people will take care of the technical stuff. Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft, was NOT a computer software engineer. He just had an idea. The technical stuff came from Paul Allen. Steve Jobs was no computer brainiac. But Steve Wozniak was. In both cases, Gates and Jobs were the business minds and the idea guys. They had other people bring their ideas to life. Howard Schultz knew nothing at all about coffee, and while he was not the founder of the company, he still managed to turn Starbucks into the biggest coffee chain on the planet. Billionaire Elon Musk did not START Tesla. He bought it. And then turned it into the powerhouse electric car company it is today. He's a smart guy, but he didn't create the technologies he dreamed up. He had a vision, said here's what I want and what I want it to do, and someone else handled making it possible. It starts with an idea and the only requirement is having a knack for finding the right people to bring your ideas to life and convincing other people it can be done and be profitable, and the next thing you know... You are in business. Jeff Bezos started Amazon with virtually no money. It all came from investors. Look at what starting a business penniless can create. What separates many of us from them is one simple thing. They are willing to pound on doors and we're not. They don't just think of something and then wish they could make it come true. They find people who can MAKE it come true. They also take the time to know and understand, what starts a successful business is not expertise in whatever it is you want to sell or having a big bank account. It's the idea.