The question on the entrepreneur’s mind is how to develop the next million dollar idea? Business ideas and enterprise innovation are limited only by the imagination. “Chance favors the prepared mind,” said chemist Louis Pasteur.
Entrepreneurs Think Outside of the Box
Spotting the idea is the first step towards creating a start-up business or to solve an existing problem in a firm, according to Sam Harrison, author of Idea Spotting: How to Find Your Next Great Idea. Harrison lists a five step method for generating ideas.
- Explore: observe and listen
- Freedom: brainstorm and visualize
- Pause: stop and detach
- Embrace: edit and select
- Life: prototype and implement
A great way of looking at idea spotting is that a cube viewed head-on is simply a square, but looked at another angle and the cube’s full dimensions are seen. When a business idea pops up, write it down. If a business idea comes in a vision, sketch it out.
Is There a Business Market for the Idea?
Hugh MacLeod, author of Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, says: “[t]he more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you. When I first started with the cartoon-on-back-of-bizcard format, people thought I was nuts.” MacLeod has since developed a unique and innovative business centered or this concept.
Conversely, Nancy A. Shenker, president of the ONswitch LLC, a New York marketing firm warns in the Entrepreneur.com article “ How to Research Your Business Idea”, by Karen Spaeder, to not let their passion get in the way of objectivity. “Rather than taking the time to thoroughly plan and research, [entrepreneurs] sometimes plow ahead with execution, only to spend valuable dollars on unfocused or untargeted activities,” Shenker warns.
Tapping Into Supply and Demand
The fuel that drives any business idea is supply and demand. Can potential customer be identified? Who are the competitors and how will the business idea be unique?
"The most important thing an entrepreneur needs for success is a vision of what consumers need," states author Steve Mariotti in his book "The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business." A desire to make money is not enough to start a business.
Assessing Business Risk
Also, to avoid business ideas crashing and burning after investing time and resources, assess the business risks before bringing it to others. For instance, does the business idea comply with relevant laws and regulations?
Study potential competitors using similar business ideas. How did they solve business problems that arose along their road to success? Information about the business idea can also be gathered from federal and state agencies, industry association, business schools, and through library and internet searches.
Business Brainstorming
Brainstorming is one group method for generating both business solutions and ideas. It is most effective if performed within a criticism-free zone where group members are encouraged to freely contribute ideas during the brainstorming session.
“Google is well-known for giving its technical employees the chance to use twenty percent of their time to work on new ideas, new products, and new businesses,” said author Jeff Jarvis in What Would Google Do? In Jarvis' book, Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google, called this “[a] license to pursue your dreams.”
Business Focus Groups
Focus groups are another way of driving business ideas. These sessions are design to gain feedback on a product or service. For instance, if research reveals that there may be a problem reaching a segment of the market, representatives from that market are included in the focus group to gain valuable feedback.
Business ideas can come from an individual or from the group. Brainstorming and focus groups are just two examples of well established business methods for generating business ideas. Most important is to remember to peek around the box. Epictetus said it best when he said that it is impossible for people to learn what they think they already know.
General Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for tax or legal advice.
Vanessa Cross - Vanessa Cross is a freelance writer who writes about international trade, business law and small business development issues.
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