The $100 MBA Show — MBA2712: How To Find Your Best Business Ideas

Host: Omar Zenhom
Date: December 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Omar Zenhom shares a practical, step-by-step approach for uncovering your best business ideas—especially as the year draws to a close. Drawing from personal stories and 20+ years of experience, Omar explains that clarity and innovation come from intentional stillness, not from hustle or trends. The episode is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs create space for genuine insight and walk into the new year with actionable, impactful ideas rooted in personal reflection.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Need for Space and Stillness

• Main Message:
  • Great business ideas don’t arrive in moments of busyness or consumption; they arise in moments of quiet, away from constant input and noise.
• Omar's Insight:
  • “Your best business ideas, they don’t show up at your desk. They show up when you finally get quiet enough to hear yourself think.” (03:16)

Step-by-Step Process to Generate Powerful Ideas

Step 1: Remove Inputs (03:00–06:20)

• Action: Eliminate all digital and informational input (no phone, laptop, music, podcasts, etc.).
• Why:
  • “Ideas don’t come from consumption…they come from reflection.” (03:03)
  • Being uncomfortable in silence is the beginning of creative breakthroughs.

Step 2: Go Somewhere Unexpected

• Action: Go to a non-work, creative environment—ideally in nature (walks, hikes, beach, etc).
• Why:
  • “Ideas…come from a creative environment. Nature, in my opinion, is the best environment…The goal is to disarm your brain so ideas flow instead of being forced.” (05:39)
  • The subconscious mind continues working on problems while you’re relaxed.

Step 3: Ask the Right Questions (06:21–09:39)

• Essential Questions to Reflect On:
  • What do I want to achieve—and why is it important to me?
  • What kind of impact do I want to make, and how do I want to show up every day?
  • What excites me? What frustrates or drains me right now?
  • What am I secretly wishing to change or avoiding?
  • Who do I admire, and what about them inspires me?
• Omar's Perspective:
  • “Your best ideas come from your desires, from your frustrations and your honesty with yourself—not from the trends out in the world.” (07:50)

The Power of Stepping Away

• Personal Anecdote:
  • Omar shares how the $100 MBA Show itself was conceived during a road trip—when he and Nicole were literally off the grid, without distraction.
• Reflection on Stillness:
  • “Most entrepreneurs…try to think their way into great ideas. But you can't think clearly in noise…Inspiration comes after stillness, not during the hustle.” (11:00–11:30)

The Three-Session Game Plan

Omar proposes a practical method to leverage holiday downtime for idea generation.

Session 1: The Release (12:00–13:08)

• Duration: 2 hours, alone, in nature.
• Focus Questions:
  • What have I been carrying mentally?
  • What’s frustrating or feels off?
• Objective: “Your goal here is to empty your mind. Don’t solve anything yet...Just empty. See this as a worry list.” (12:35)

Session 2: The Discovery (13:09–14:28)

• Duration: 2 hours, different spot in nature.
• Focus Questions:
  • What do I really want next year?
  • What do I wish existed in the world?
  • What excites me or gives me energy?
• Objective: Let desires and possible ideas bubble up. No need for perfection yet.

Session 3: The Selection (14:29–15:52)

• Duration: 2 hours, can be indoors.
• Focus Questions:
  • Which ideas energize me the most?
  • Which solve real problems?
  • Which could I make progress on in 90 days?
• Objective: Refine and select the most compelling idea(s) for further exploration.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Embracing Discomfort:
  “If this idea of having no input gives you a little bit of anxiety…good. That’s where the magic happens.” (04:13)

• On the Source of Ideas:
  “If you want to be a game changer, you can’t be doing something trendy. You got to be doing something that is coming from within you, that’s unique.” (08:47)

• Metaphor on Clarity:
  “It’s like you’re trying to see your reflection in water that’s constantly shaking. You need the surface to get still…Only then you see what’s really there.” (11:44)

• On Silence:
  “Silence is not emptiness. Right? Silence is information. Because you’re left with your thoughts. Your thoughts are…important.” (12:00)

• Practical Encouragement:
  “Ideas don’t show up when you push, they show up when you pause. Give yourself the space and your next big idea will reveal itself.” (16:26)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 03:00 – 06:20: Step 1, Remove Inputs
• 06:21 – 09:39: Step 2, Change Environment & Ask Better Questions
• 10:03 – 12:00: The Power of Stepping Away; Personal Examples
• 12:01 – 15:52: Three-Session Game Plan (Release, Discovery, Selection)
• 16:26 – 17:06: Final Encouragement on Embracing the Process

Summary Conclusion

Omar Zenhom’s episode is a call to pause, reflect, and deliberately create fertile ground for business innovation. By removing itself from noise and digital distractions, changing environments, and asking honest, introspective questions, any entrepreneur can uncover authentic, actionable ideas. His structured three-session method empowers listeners to finish out the year with clarity and walk into 2026 with a sense of renewed purpose and an actionable plan born from within—not from trends or external influence.

To share this wisdom:
“If this episode has sparked something for you, share it with somebody else…It’s that initial start, okay, that first 5, 10, 20 minutes is a little bit rough. And then you start to really enjoy it. You start to realize you needed this.” (16:38)