In Conversation: The idea that would not go away

In Conversation on building a business idea alongside work and family life

“I know my destination, but I couldn't find how to get there.”

That was how one of my Reset clients described the idea he had been carrying around for six years. He could see what he wanted to create. He believed it was needed. What he couldn’t see was the route from the thought in his head to a business of his own.

He has spent many years in financial services and asset management and works with technology and AI solutions in a business that is developing quickly. There is plenty to learn, plenty happening and a working day that, as he puts it, is never really nine to five.

He is comfortable in that world. He knows the people, understands the market and has spent his career finding ways through commercial challenges. His own idea took him somewhere entirely different.

It began while he was on holiday with his son, noticing a practical problem and wondering whether there might be a better way to solve it. We’re keeping the product details under wraps while the protection work is being explored, but the personal connection matters. This came out of the life he enjoys and the people he enjoys it with.

Suddenly, he was contemplating creating a physical product and setting up a business for the first time.

“It was completely out of my comfort zone and in an area that I had no contacts whatsoever.”

When an exciting idea becomes overwhelming

The idea stayed with him. It came up in conversations with friends and family. Suggestions multiplied. One possibility led to another, until the simple thing he wanted to make had acquired a whole future of potential versions and additions.

“It took on a mind of its own. It really did.”

Alongside the excitement sat questions he didn’t know how to answer. Who could make it? Would anybody want it? How would it reach the market? What did setting up the business actually involve?

“This had far too many unknowns to be comfortable,”

There was another concern, too: what would pursuing it ask of the life he already had? A demanding job, his partner and son, a big circle of friends and the things he loves doing, including football. Those were all part of the picture. He wanted to move the idea forward without sacrificing the people and experiences that mattered to him.

“What if this takes over the day job?”

He had the desire. He was less certain about the sacrifices it might require, and whether he had the bravery to commit. Looking back, he could recognise the optimistic assumption that it would happen eventually, without quite knowing how.

In our Reset, we also talked about how he would feel a year later if the idea still hadn’t moved. The disappointment he anticipated was personal. He wanted to know he had given something that mattered to him a proper go.

Giving the idea a workable sequence

When we sat down together, we looked at what was in his head, what had already happened and what needed to be understood next. That included the prototype, the right specialist advice, ownership and protection, and who could help with each part.

His cousin had opened a door to fabrication help. My role was to help put a workable sequence around the opportunity, identify the questions that needed answering and bring in the relevant expertise, including specialist IP advice.

The plan gave him a view of the wider journey, with a small number of actions to concentrate on now. As answers come back, we can use them to shape the next steps.

“I can see the end goal but now we’ve got three or four steps at a time.”

He compared it to his five-mile running route. Thinking about all five miles at once can feel daunting. Knowing the first landmark is a mile away makes it easier to get going.

Then he offered an image I loved. The idea had felt like a big ball of wool. Through our conversation, we had teased out a strand he could follow.

“All I’m doing is now following that single strand.”

That captures something important about the Reset. We can keep the ambition in view while making today’s work clear enough to act on.

Finding its place in his life

That question about sacrifice stayed at the heart of the planning. His job matters, and so do time with his partner and son, his friendships and the interests that make his life his own. A plan that only worked by squeezing all of those out would miss the point.

We also looked at bringing his partner and son into the planning. The idea began with his son, and there is something lovely about giving it room to become something they can build together. Involving them means talking about what excites them, how they might contribute and what time they want to protect together. It helps make the next steps part of a shared life, with an understanding of what taking them will involve.

For me, this is an essential part of a Reset: understanding the life an idea needs to fit into, then planning the work, pace and boundaries around that. It takes time and effort to build something. Being clear about where that time will come from helps protect family life, friendships and existing work commitments as it grows.

I asked him whether the plan was helping him see how this could fit around his work and the rest of his life.

“Completely. It’s so, so doable.”

He has begun using time on his train journeys to explore the questions we’ve identified. Sometimes he carries on at home, looking into possibilities and organising what he finds. Time that previously meant headphones and half-dozing now includes something he is looking forward to working on.

“It’s almost a hobby now to try and get this to fruition.”

He meant the enjoyment of it. The idea is becoming something he wants to spend time on, rather than something he keeps postponing because the whole task feels too much.

He hasn’t had to abandon his existing career to begin. He can see what needs doing and start giving it a place alongside the work and life he already has.

“I’ve got clarity now on what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and what time I need to set aside for it.”

There are still questions to answer and a business to prove. But he is now taking steps and speaking to the people who can help him answer them.

When I asked what he would say to someone else carrying an idea around, his answer was immediate: “Jump into it, both feet.”

Then came the line that, for me, explains why he feels able to say that now:

“I just needed somebody to set me off on the path.”

For him, beginning a business in his fifties feels daunting and exciting. This idea has been part of his story for six years. Now he can see how to begin the next part.