In business, there are only 4 kinds of ideas.

On one hand (imagine a vertical axis) consider whether it’s a Great Idea for you, the business owner. A great idea for you looks like:

• It’s toe-tingling, fun, energizing, ‘passion’, mission or purpose work
• It fits your vision for the long term
• It fits your priorities in the short term
• It’s an idea that you have the resources to complete well

On the other hand consider if it’s a Great Idea for Your Clients/Customers (imagine this as the horizontal axis). A great idea for your clients and customers is:

• Something they have high interest in and desire for
• Great perceived value
• Timing is right
• Style is right
• Something they are committed to solve/have/do or be. (Note: Committed is directly translated to whether they will spend MONEY to solve it. Commitment cannot be measured by how much they are willing to whine about it, talk about it, or ‘should’ on themselves about it)

Now, put both of those measures together and you get 4 quadrants, or 4 kinds of ideas:

1. Win-win: Ideas that are great for you and great for your clients.

2. Win-Lose: Ideas you love and are aligned with but that your target clients aren’t looking for or willing to pay for

3. Lose-Win: Ideas your clients want and value, but that drain you or derail you and your business

4. Lose-Lose: Ideas no one should be investing in. Period.

Quadrant 1 is the ONLY sandbox to be playing in if you are serious about making great money and making a big impact. Yet many creative entrepreneurs get so excited about playing in sandbox number 2 that they forget to consider whether the idea they love so much will actually sell. And then, there are those I see who struggle with a business that primarily plays in quadrant 3. They provide products, services and ideas that clients want and will pay for, but they personally have no love for. It may look good on paper, but in practice it is draining and derailing.

So, the next time you are in a creative whirl churning out tons of cool new ideas, run them through this test. Find the idea that is head and shoulders above the rest and run with that one. Or take an idea you do love, and find a way to turn it into a Win-Win. Whatever you do…keep playing with Win-Win ideas.