Ideas are the foundation on which businesses are built. Every business has one thing in common; “an idea” which was followed up and converted into a money spinner. Some business ideas are so technical that you would have to wonder how anyone was able to come up with such, while some are very spontaneous and would leave you wondering like “Oh! I could have thought of that too.”
Every business owner needs to know how to come up with great business ideas regardless of the stage which their business is in. If you are a new comer into the business scene, you would need smart business ideas to work with and if you have been in the business world for several years, you would also need excellent business ideas to grow and expand your business.
Business ideas are mostly spontaneous in nature. They can come at any time or place. Sometimes, they can be like dreams in the sense that if you do not record them as soon as they occur to you, you may end up forgetting them totally.
So, if you are in the process of searching for a good business idea, the first thing I would recommend to you is to always be with a pocket notebook or a notepad on your mobile device which you would use to record business ideas as soon as they occur to you. Let’s discuss 10 other kick-ass ways to come up with an excellent business idea-:
How to Come up With Great Business ideas
1. Improve on trends and technologies
You can leverage on other people’s efforts when thinking up a strategic business idea. A lot of trends and technologies are coming out every day but no innovation is perfect. Think about our computers.
Someone came up with the idea of building a computer centuries ago, then later, another person thought, “wow, these things are too big, people need something that they can carry around so that they can work from anywhere they choose, even when they travel” and boom! Laptops were built.
Another person thought “laptops are still too big to be carried around easily, let’s build something smaller and easier to carry around” and along came the tablets and I can assure you that we haven’t seen the end; other devices that seek to improve the experience of computer users are still going to come up.
The first surefire way to come up with a good business idea is to think of how you can improve on existing trends and technologies.
2. Find solutions to problem
Another way is to look for solutions to existing problems. As a full-blooded Nigerian, the first problem that I would find a solution to is the inadequate power supply in the country. I know the damages which these epileptic power supplies have caused and I know several businesses out there that had to pack up because of the excessive costs of alternative power supply.
Now if I had the financial means, I would develop a product that would help supply alternative source of power at a very cheap cost.
But since I do not have the financial means, I make it a point of duty to inform and educate people about the existence of these business opportunities so that hopefully, someday, someone who has the financial resources would read up and do something about it.
Think of things around you that you are unsatisfied with, think about ways which you can improve these things; boom! You have a business idea!
3. Fill in missing gaps
It is normal to think “oh, what can I possibly do that hasn’t been done already” but that line of thought is incorrect because there are thousands of new things that you can do that no one has done yet. You just have to learn to think outside the box.
4. Go after ‘quiet’ industries
I don’t mean quiet like graveyard kind of quiet, in fact, I don’t mean quiet literally; what I mean is that you should go after industries with less recent innovations. If you find out that the fashion industry has had less recent innovations, think of ways which you can improve on that.
5. Make things cheaper for people
Another good way to come up with smart business ideas is to come up with cheaper versions of existing products. I recently saw a project on a crowdfunding website and I was impressed. The guy was trying to build cheap houses for homeless people using a very cheap kind of transparent plastic that looked like glass. There would always be ways to make things cheaper and make life better for people.
6. Talk to consumers
By conversing with consumers, you would be able to learn about some of their needs and come up with a business idea from it.
7. Engage your mind
If you are serious about developing smart business ideas, you have to learn how to keep your mind active and get your creative juices flowing. You would be surprised with the tons of business ideas that run through my head daily in the course of writing these articles. You have to learn to keep your mind busy through reading, writing, engaging in smart conversations.
8. Surround yourself with people who will inspire you
The quality of people you surround yourself with is also very important. You would come up with smart business ideas faster when you surround yourself with people who are strategic and forward thinkers.
9. Have a mentor
Also, you need a mentor to assist you. A mentor would not only help you come up with good business ideas; he would also help you to sieve the wheat from the chaff and show you the right steps to take way after you have found that smart business idea.
10. Always do something about the ideas you come up with
Your mind may start to become weak if you keep on coming up with business ideas which you never do anything about. Don’t just keep getting ideas and shoving them under your pillow. When you are lucky enough to come up with exceptional business ideas, be very sure to do something fruitful with it.