Today on the Heart-Centred Business Podcast, I’m doing something a little different—and a whole lot of fun! I want to take you on a journey through the last 15 years of my entrepreneurial life, sharing all the business ideas I nearly started, but didn’t… and most importantly, what I do with those ideas, what I learned from them, and how my overflowing “idea brain” actually helps my business and my clients.
If you’re anything like me—a creative thinker and entrepreneur—you’ll know the feeling. You see a problem you could solve, spot a gap in the market, and BOOM: your brain won’t let go until you’ve mapped out the whole business! But having lots of ideas doesn’t mean you have to act on all of them.
Let’s dig into what I do with those sparks, why I leave some for others, and why I never want to shut down that part of myself.
Let’s dive in!
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Why I’m Obsessed With Business Ideas
First things first… I have A LOT of business ideas. It’s just how my brain works! If I notice something missing in the market, or a way to do things better, my mind instantly starts planning out a new business. What would I call it? Who would it serve? What services or products would it offer? I can go from zero to mapped-out-business in a matter of minutes.
Over the last 15 years, I’ve had dozens (honestly, probably hundreds) of business ideas that caught my fancy—some of them got a little momentum, others remained in the “daydream” stage. Today, I’ve rounded up 18 for you. I’ll share where they got to, why I didn’t start them, and the lessons along the way.
1. Career Coaching
When I started out, I thought I’d be a career coach. I took on three clients, quickly discovered I just wanted to tell them all to quit their jobs and start a business instead, and realised helping people survive in the corporate world wasn’t for me. That was the first (accidental) pivot to supporting entrepreneurs.
2. Boutique Consultancy
With my background in workplace investigations, change management, and executive coaching, setting up my own consultancy seemed like a logical next step. It’d actually be super easy for me to do even now… but I’m not drawn back into the government or corporate space. These days, I just refer inquiries onto my clients who run consultancies instead.
3. Real Estate Agency
I actually have my real estate agent’s licence! Every few years, I get annoyed at the bad service I see and think, “I could do it better!” But then I remember how miserable I was in the real estate industry, so thankfully, this one never gets off the ground.
4. Stationery Store
I’m a stationery nerd, and left-handed to boot, so I’ve fantasised about launching a stationery shop, especially when I can’t find products that work for me. People often suggest it, but for now, it’s a no—and especially not right now. (Maybe one day.)
5. Coworking Space
There are a few empty buildings on the Sunshine Coast that I dream about turning into a killer coworking space (I even know which ones would be perfect for it!). But I love my mobile, flexible lifestyle, and running a space like that would pull me away from what I really enjoy. Still, if you want to start one, let me know—I’ll point you to the best buildings!
6. Events Business
After hosting the Heart-Centred Business Conference and loving the events process, I got the itch to start a full events facilitation business. But those businesses already exist and work well. These days, I just refer people to fantastic event specialists instead.
7. Formula 1 Corporate Box Events
After attending the Melbourne and Singapore F1 races in 2025, both in corporate boxes, I realised how little of these events are actually about loving the sport—especially for women. I got so far as waiting lists and initial planning for a women-focused F1 corporate box experience but had to shelf it when costs skyrocketed due to demand. Still, it’s not totally off the table if the opportunity comes up again!
8. Virtual Assistant Agency
When I lived in Bali, I met so many talented VAs I wished I could hire more myself. I dreamed up an agency to connect them with business owners. In the end, I kept it simple—just referred the VAs to others who needed them, and it was beautiful to see them thrive. Sometimes you don’t need to be the middle person; you can just help for the sake of it.
9. Facebook Ads Agency
In 2022, I was deep into Facebook ads, and my partner Davey even did training with me so he could help manage them. We nearly started an agency together. He took on a few clients, but the extra admin and time just weren’t as impactful as putting that energy into my core business. Sometimes, if it dilutes your main thing, it’s not worth it!
10. Mindset and EFT Clinic
I trained as an EFT practitioner in 2020, just for fun (hello, COVID project!). My brain immediately started mapping out a whole “clinic” to help people with mindset. Instead, all my wisdom and ideas went straight into helping my EFT practitioner clients do it better. Now, I refer people to amazing practitioners whenever needed—no need to create a competing business.
11. Talent Management and Speaker Agency
Because I get so many requests for event speaker recommendations (over 100 a year!), I dreamed up a full talent management business—training and developing speakers, running showcases, and matching speakers with events. In the end, much of this got absorbed into mentoring my clients and the CEO Circle. If you want to be on my speaker registry, it’s still there—400+ strong! Head to tashcorbin.com/speaker
12. Networking Franchise
In the lead-up to my first Heart-Centred Business Conference, there were 50–60 meetups happening globally through my community. Friends convinced me I could monetise it as a franchise. The logistics and admin (plus my hourly rates) made it not worth it, and it would have ruined the beautiful organic community vibe. (That’s another “maybe-never.”)
13. Online Coworking Network
I even mapped out an online version of a coworking network—little rooms you could pop into for virtual coworking, more structured and facilitated than a Facebook group. About six months after I filed it away, a platform launched doing exactly that! Sometimes, the universe gives your idea to someone else.
14. Social Media Platform
Yes, I even worked with a specs person on creating my own social media platform—absolutely not doing that. Let’s move on.
15. Content Development Service
I’m always struck by how many business owners could shine if someone could just extract their genius and package it into content. I’ve thought about creating a service (or training others) to help with this, including accountability and tech hand-holding. There’s such a need! If you do this kind of work and need marketing help—call me! My partner-in-ideas for this would be Denise Duffield-Thomas, but our day rates are so high the retreat would be $50K just to attend.
16. Selling My Pottery & Art
I make pottery and paint. Davey thinks I should launch an online store. But people would just buy it for the novelty (“Tash Corbin’s mug!”), and if I made it a business, it’d kill the joy for me. Instead, I sell pieces at my annual conference for pocket change, just to fund more clay and art supplies.
17. Craft Cooperative
There was an old medical building near me with perfect shelf space—my brain went wild imagining a coworking, crafting, and office hybrid. It just would’ve been such a fun community. It recently sold, so it’s off the table, but what a fun daydream!
18. Social Enterprise for Good Content
My idea: a not-for-profit where people team up to boost high-quality, ethical content in social media algorithms—especially for First Nations creators and those exposing important issues. Members would engage with each other’s content and donate to fund promoted posts. Beautiful idea, but I decided to look after myself first and focus on my health and main business. Plus, with AI and bots, who knows how long current social media even lasts?
What’s This “Toy Box” of Ideas?
Where do all these half-finished dreams live? On my computer, in one big folder called “Toy Box.” Inside it, there are subfolders for all kinds of ideas—new businesses, offers, freebies, marketing campaigns. Every time my brain gets hyper-fixated, I give myself 15 or 20 minutes to dump every detail into a document, sometimes nab the socials and URLs, then tuck it away. That offloads the obsession so I can focus on my current business.
Frequent “Toy Box” sessions also bring surprises! Sometimes, I’ll revisit an old idea and realise it’s suddenly a great fit for a client, or for my own work, or it might just become a free lead magnet. Better yet, sometimes I can hand over the whole plan—domain, strategy, and all—to someone who really needs it.
Turning “What If” Into “Here, Have This!”
In the last 15 years, I’ve gifted more than 20 URLs, strategy docs, and marketing plans to other business owners. Sometimes it’s a full business plan; sometimes just a brilliant freebie idea. The universe often brings me someone who needs just what I’ve mapped out.
I’ve even had clients try to pay thousands of dollars for these gifts, but honestly, I get so much joy from seeing an idea I didn’t need turning into someone else’s success.
Why I Never Want to Shut Down My Idea Factory
If you’re someone who feels frustrated by your non-stop idea machine—maybe you judge yourself for not following through, or wonder why you can’t focus on ONE thing—I invite you to reflect on how you treat this side of yourself.
The reason I treat my ideas with respect (and give them a home in my toy box) is simple: I never want to shut down the creative part of my brain. If you start shaming yourself for having “too many” ideas, you risk cutting off the spark that makes you resourceful and innovative in the first place.
It’s my ideator brain that lets me solve problems fast, whip up business models in 15 minutes, and create value for clients that blows them away. That’s worth protecting!
Embracing What Makes You Brilliant (Even If It Feels “Too Much”)
For a long time, I hated that my neurodivergent brain was so restless—why couldn’t I just be “normal” and finish things like everyone else? But it’s that exact brain that helped me create my business (and keeps it growing). The same goes for my laziness! As a child, being fast or efficient was often seen as bad. In the workplace, it just meant I got more work piled on. But as a business owner, these are the things my clients pay premium prices for—the speed, the insight, the energy.
So if you beat yourself up for your ideas, or your “weird” brain quirks, I want you to know: the thing you think is too much can actually be your biggest asset.
Key Takeaways
- If any of these “almost” businesses got you excited and would fit your world, please go for it. I promise, I won’t be upset!
- If you’re a collector of business ideas, give yourself a way to process and honour those ideas. A “toy box” approach works wonders.
- Not every idea needs to become a new business. Sometimes, it’s a product, a lead magnet, or something to give away with love.
- Make sure to direct some of your creativity into your core business: spice up your marketing, experiment, and play—with boundaries!
- Treat your idea brain with kindness. The “too much” may actually be your best thing.
If you want to join my speaker registry, head to tashcorbin.com/speaker
And if you’d like to join the CEO Circle, find out more at tashcorbin.com/ceocircle – we’d love to welcome you in!
Thank you for sharing this stroll down my business ideas memory lane with me today. I hope you walk away validated, inspired, and ready to let your biggest ideas fuel your best business.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
