I get a lot of ideas. Most come as quick epiphanies that get me excited, and I know I don’t want to put time (or lack the skill needed) into carefully shepherding it to completion, so I think of a person who could and pitch them.
An app, an article, a product, an event, a video, or whatever it may be. I pitch the general idea, hand it off, and excitedly wait for the result. It almost never works. Whatever comes back just lacks that ill-defined inspiration I had in mind upon conception.
I’ve heard coders say that, “I have a great idea for an app, can you build it?” is like an author hearing, “I have a great idea for a book, can you write it?” Most will laugh because writing code is a creative process and the vision can’t so easily be separated from the process.
It doesn’t mean you can’t work with a ghost writer or hire coders to build something, but it does mean you can’t just hand them an idea and walk away. You have to share and re-share the vision, and co-create it with them every step of the way. If you’re not able or willing to do that, it’s probably a waste of time to look for someone to do it for you. You might as well go out with the pitch, “Hey, think up a project and build it.”
This reality pains me. I have more ideas than ability or time I’m willing to dedicate. I want someone to do all these things, even if I can only commit to a few. Scarcity is a bitch.