There are many beautiful places to contemplate a startup. But Charlie Bigham, a food entrepreneur who’s ready-made food items now bear his name, may have found the most unlikely place of all.
Bigham was sleeping in a camper van somewhere between Pakistan and Iran when the idea for his business hit him.
Bigham told the BBC recently:
“It was very, very hot, and we were in a really tough place. I couldn’t sleep, so I just laid there restlessly thinking about what I was going to do for a living when we got back home.”
When he returned to his home in the UK, Bigham started his own company making handmade meals for supermarket chains and other food retailers in London.
He had limited food experience, except for a few months spent working in a delicatessen specifically to gain some background in the industry he hoped to enter. His previous job had been as a management consultant.
Entrepreneurs are sometimes intimidated by their lack of experience in the market they’ve chosen. But getting in there and rolling up your sleeves is a great way to get started.
Also, remember that great idea can strike you anywhere and at any time. So don’t worry about waiting for just the right set of circumstances when looking for your entrepreneurial inspiration.
Camper Van Photo via Shutterstock
Aira Bongco
That’s definitely true. You’ll never know how a particular business works unless you go there and gain some experience. It is with hard work that you learn some basic knowledge and that is also where you can think the best ideas and become great.
Shawn,
Pretty inspiring. Inspiration often comes at unexpected time – and location. That happens to me 🙂
The eureka moment or ‘aha’ time can come when one least expects it. Call it divine intervention or miracle ideas during moments of serendipity.
Ideas can pop up anytime and anywhere, even when you’re sleeping or in the bathroom having a one-to-one with nature (ahem). The more open you are, the more the ideas come a-knocking, well not all the time (some ideas can be stubborn or shy, you see).
Saying that, ideas are just that without action — ideas. So I’m glad Charlie ran with his and made it happen.