I try to explain that even the most innovative idea will fail if it is not a good fit for you at this time, so the question I ask is “why you now?” rather than “why this solution now?” The right person can make any idea a business success, and the wrong one will always struggle. Hence are you the Right Person to Pursue Your Business Idea?

The reality is that I can’t judge any idea in your context, because I don’t know your passions, knowledge base, and experiences. If you show me a written business plan, I can assess it from a technical perspective, but that doesn’t tell me if you are the right person to create the business.

Thus, I can only recommend some context for you to make your own idea and business decisions:

Pick an arena that gets your creative juices flowing, rather than one that everyone says is the next big thing. If your goals in life revolve around social change or the environment, aim in that direction for your startup, rather than maximizing revenue and profit. If you are not motivated you won’t succeed!

Entrepreneur Tony Hsieh, who founded Zappos, was passionate in his belief that he could “deliver happiness” to customers, before making a profit, through innovative moves like surprising 80 percent of customers with free overnight shipping. He succeeded well in both.

2. Trust your background and intellectual strengths.

The most successful entrepreneurs focus on solving a problem that they personally have experienced and are convinced they fully understand. The same applies to dealing with the business elements, such as marketing, business operations, and finances. You may need a partner on this one.

Bill Gates learned to appreciate the power of computers at a very young age but was frustrated that available models were large and hard to program. He helped to invent Microsoft Basic and Windows, snagged Steve Ballmer for marketing, and Microsoft changed the world.

3. Consider your access to resources for startup efforts.

4. Assess the time and effort you are willing to commit.

5. Measure the depth of your relationships with key people.

6. Check your interest in learning how to fill the gaps.

No matter how experienced and knowledgeable you are, every startup is a new learning process. If you don’t enjoy learning, stick to ideas and businesses that are “cookie-cutter” versions of what you already know. Your success depends on enjoying the journey as well as the destination.

7. Test your ability to communicate value to others.

So before you make those cold calls to me or any other constituency for an assessment of the viability of your next great idea, my advice is to take a hard look at your own drivers and resources, per the items listed here.