Aussies ‘forget’ 64 million business ideas: Time, money, technology biggest barriers

NEXT time you think of something in bed, on the bus or in the shower, jot it down. Because you could’ve made a truckload of money if you had.

CAN you remember how many ideas you’ve forgotten? Neither can we.

A new study has found two thirds (67 per cent) of Australians report having had ideas about new businesses, products or services in their lifetime, with an average of 10.9 ideas each.

But more than half (54 per cent) have forgotten ideas, at an average of 7.3 each. This could amount to around 64 million forgotten ideas nationwide, according to Westpac’s Business Ideas Report.

The survey of 1000 Australians and 1000 small businesses found that while two thirds (67 per cent) of people have had ideas about new products and services, fewer than one in five (22 per cent) have acted to bring a new idea to market.

The most common places Australians have their best business ideas are in bed (23 per cent), in the shower (15 per cent) and while commuting (13 per cent).

Three quarters of existing business owners who are familiar with the process of bringing new ideas to market said it is particularly difficult in Australia.

The most common response when asked what would help them launch their business ideas were more time (37 per cent), more capital (35 per cent) and access to technology (26 per cent).

Sydney woman Laura Downie knows exactly how that feels. The 32-year-old recently quit her marketing job with St George to take a “leap of faith” and start up her own interior design company, Studio1 Interiors.

She said trying to bring a new idea to life while working full time is just not possible. “I felt like I already had quite a good understanding of what was required to set up a business, but what I struggled with was having the space to actually think about what it was I wanted to do,” she said.

Laura Downie has taken a “leap of faith” to started her own interior design business.

Fewer than one in five people have acted to bring a new idea to market.

“It’s really difficult to set up a business when you’re working in an office job. A lot of people said, why don’t you set up your business and continue to work part time? But that really wasn’t an option.”

When she quit her job four weeks ago, Ms Downie only had a design course under her belt by way of preparation. “I’m now going through the process, doing logos, setting up my website, doing a few free consults with clients to get my name out there — all those things you know you should do but for whatever reason are difficult to do.”

Julie Rynski, general manager of Small Business at Westpac, said there were a lot of missed opportunities for “could-be” entrepreneurs and existing businesses to bring new concepts to market without specialist advice.

“Business owners are time-poor. They know their business better than anything else, whether they’re a furniture maker or a florist, but it’s not until the end of the day when they sit down do they have an opportunity to think about what they want to do next to evolve,” she said.

The study found people living in NSW were the most likely to have abandoned their ideas, with nearly three in five (59 per cent) failing to launch a business, product or service compared to just over half (53 per cent) across Australia.

The Westpac Business Ideas Report was commissioned by Westpac and conducted by Lonergan Research. Lonergan Research surveyed 1,090 Australians aged 18 and over and 1,007 Australian small business owners or key decision makers between 22 December 2014 and 6 January 2015.

Westpac small business manager Julie Rynski demonstrates Connect Now, a high-speed digital video conferencing service.