People say that entrepreneurs are risk takers. I believe that people who start businesses are no more interested in risk than anyone else. They just have a higher tolerance for failure. Entrepreneurs view failure as just another possible step in the process: try, fail, brush yourself off, learn from the mistake, try again. They don’t see failure as the end of the road, because for them, it isn’t.

That is to say, for less adventurous types, trying and failing sends them running back to the presumed safety of a paycheck and thus their entrepreneurial days are behind them. The entrepreneurs we admire the most are the ones that never stop trying, no matter how many failures they experience. Each one actually makes them stronger and smarter.

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Ten years ago, Adam Morgan, believed by many (including me) to be the Challenger Brand guru, wrote the first edition of Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders. Morgan, who worked for one of the largest ad agencies in the world at the time, wrote from his experience with second, third and fourth-place brands. Nevertheless, the Challenger Brands he used as examples were still industry behemoths compared to the regional players or early-stage types that I am accustomed to working with. He outlined eight credos in his book to guide others to succeed, and I became one of his disciples — or as Seth Godin might say, a member of Morgan’s “tribe.”

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Having been in business for more than 22 years, I’ve seen a number of ups and downs. These years of experience have made me, while not exactly “mellow,” at least a little calmer in the face of bad economic news. Back in the day, as a newly minted entrepreneur, I had this illusion that after some time in business, I would reach a level of stability that could no longer be destroyed by external forces. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.

Now I understand that the rollercoaster of business is actually more like riding a Möbius strip – it’s never-ending and you sometimes find yourself upside down.

Now for the good news…it is never a bad time for a great idea. In fact, it is difficult economic times that often nurture the best ideas!

So what great ideas are likely to see the light of day this year?

1. Waste not, want not – smaller package sizes for convenience foods, bakery items, pre-packaged produce…almost any perishable
2. Reuse it, baby! – more and better reusable containers for lunch kits and deli items
3. Rent’s due – rental everything from toys to transitional sizes of clothing for dieters (check out our January ‘09 OJ Newsletter)
4. Cargo bikes – a cross between bike messengers and Smart Cars for delivering packages (or people) in urban centers
5. Green house gases – home energy assessment services to lower costs of running a household
6. Backyard farming -vegetable garden service that plants, weeds and harvests in your backyard, leaving you the goodies, in exchange for a fee of course
7. Move over babysitting! – instead of babysitting or lawn mowing, teenagers can make a few extra bucks teaching technology to oldsters
8. Park Avenue – don’t be surprised if you see leases offered for off-street parking or garage spaces through craigslist