I would say that the mix is more of

-dreamers (the idea men)
-connecters (the networked men)
-conductors (problem solvers)

and if you can turn yourself into 2 or more of these, than you are more marketable for others trying to start their own projects.

i would also argue that ideas are a dime a dozen, but a good idea person is more valuable than anything.

Focus on consumer needs rather than just cool technology or exciting opportunities/jobs. You can have the coolest product/service on the market, but if consumers have no need for it-- so what?

i think on top of the "work hard" you should couple that with "work smart". Know when you have lost and you are wasting your time. Play the odds game, it may take 25 ideas or business plans to get a good one, but if you stick with the first one you do, you might find yourself spending all of your time and energy patching a boat thats doomed to sink anyways.

but you are doing the right thing by talking to people. Talk is cheap... free actually, and you can't do it too much. The more people you know the better chances you have of knowing someone important.

enjoy.

If you have something that you think is a true winner- get a lawyer. FAST. make sure you have everything you can trademarked, copywrited, and patented. Your fortune may not be found in the business/product itself, but to whom you sell your IP.

I think Kevin is right - making a "quick buck" without doing anything illegal is pretty unlikely.

My philosophy is much simpler - do what you enjoy doing and then figure out how to make it profitable a bit later on. People will be attracted to your passion and doors you never knew existed will start opening. This isn't just some "airy-fairy" hippy speech, I'm talking from personal experience.

YAK-YAK: (skip if you don't want my story...)
I have always been a horn player (tenor sax mostly) and spent most of my twenties working crappy day jobs by day, and playing in bands by night. I took lessons and learned how to transcribe music from cassette tape onto score, and I created a little business in 1986 doing this at home (remember, this was before computers and music printing software were available). Back then, you could make good money doing this kind of work.

As time went by, I met a very hip piano teacher who convinced me to go into business with him, so we set up a little recording studio that recorded music tracks for advertising. Since I was already a horn player and wrote sheet music, I began to do all the horn and string arrangements, and took care of the music publishing and copyright paperwork. We did that for about 3 years, then I sold my part of the business for a tidy sum and moved on to do something else (I needed to get out of the music business for health reasons - I've had four serious hernia surgeries and have trouble playing a horn like I used to).

So that's it - I just did what I liked to do and made it up as I went along, and I prospered. I truly believe that this will work for any creative person, and the fact that you're looking to start your own business tells me you're creative types.

Best of luck!

-->S.