How do budding entrepreneurs find ideas for their business? Scouring the internet? From the masses of garbage emails ("Work from Home - earn millions!") that hit the inbox?

Scott Shane who is a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western (now that is a title!) has written a book, "The Illusions of Entrepreneurship", which addresses this. He states that only 1/3 of entrepreneurs systematically searched for an idea for their new business. 70.9% responded that their interest wasn't a "one-time thing," but instead, developed over time. And they found them in their own previous industries in many cases (55%). Shane suggests that ". . . most entrepreneurs come up with new business ideas by noticing gaps and problems in how customers are being served, while working for someone else."

I suggest that a lot of entrepreneurs might be smart - they know and, hopefully, love the industry they're in, but want to do it themselves. It may be they think they can do it better than what they've seen, as Shane suggests. Or it might be that they want more independence in what they themselves do - more autonomy, more responsibility, more direct input into the success of the company.

And they stay in the business they know.

Smart, right?

Well, only if they have a passion for their new business, not just comfort. Not if they are trading one job in an industry (widget analyst) for many, many jobs (widget analyst and budget analyst and accountant and lease negotiator and manager and HR specialist and and and . . .)

You still have to do it for the right reasons, not matter how you find it.