[jaredandrews]

Very cool! I quit my cushy 9-5 about a year ago and have been contracting off and on since then. It has been amazing and I realized I can never do the 9-5 thing again. I hope to start my own business at some point. The problem is... I haven't had a good idea yet...

I have been thinking about buying an existing online business if I can't think of anything. When I look into it though I am completely in over my head. Do you have any recommended resources for learning about that sort of thing?

[estefan]

Same boat as you. I think this could be the key:

https://www.coursera.org/learn/startup-entrepreneurship-disc...

I can't recommend it highly enough.

[jaredandrews]

Thanks! Definitely gonna check this out! Out of curiosity did you do the 'paid' or 'audit' version of this? I can't really tell if the 'paid' version is worth it. I can't imagine the certification being useful.

[estefan]

I always just audit the courses. I'm doing them for my benefit, not for a certificate. I might buy the lecturers' book though as a thank you.

Pro tip: Use the mobile app, download the videos and watch them at 2x speed to save time :-)

[GeorgeHahn]

Pretty easy to download on a desktop as well: https://github.com/coursera-dl/coursera-dl

[phaus]

Can creativity be learned? I feel like I've been cursed with a stellar memory, which people often perceive as intelligence, but I see lots of my coworkers come up with great ideas for new tools and processes that enhance our core business. Some of them even seem obvious after the fact (not that it discredits them at all), but I seem to lack the creativity and confidence to build anything on my own. Do you think this class would help?

[jaredandrews]

I have done the first week since estefan suggested it to me. After week one, I will say this: It has definitely been helpful.

It gets a little too philosophical at times in a "you need to want to change the world sort of way" but the professor really emphasizes that you need to become aware of your own strengths and suggests different ways of utilizing your particular skills to discover and solve problems. He provides concrete examples of how others have done this which I have found useful.

If you lack confidence and creativity I think it might help you out. Of course there are no silver bullets for this sort of thing but I think I have already learned something from it.

If you would be interested in taking the course in sync with me and discussing the various lectures, let me know. I find that to be helpful when MOOCing. My contact info is in my bio, hit me up if that sounds appealing to you.

[estefan]

They're trying to teach creativity, so you sound like their ideal participant. Give it a go.

[codegeek]

feinternational.com has some really good articles on buying/selling online businesses. But most importantly, you need to also create your own criteria first. I also wrote a blog post on this topic with my thoughts. Feel free to take a look for some pointers.

http://yashchandra.com/2016/04/17/how-to-buy-an-online-busin...

[jaredandrews]

Great post. Thanks for sharing man!