So, here we are again and, as promised, here are the final four tips for generating business ideas. How did you get on using the tips I gave last week? Did you get some good ideas? If not, don’t worry, there’s plenty below to give your grey matter a good work out; so let’s get on.
Tip 6 Could you Produce Something Locally That’s Currently Shipped in From Abroad?
This is simple really. Is there something that gets shipped in from overseas that you could have manufactured here? As we know, these days much of what we buy is manufactured and shipped in from places like China. This can present certain problems, such as quality control, and problems can be difficult to sort out due to distance and language barriers. Take advantage of the current trend of buying local. Not only does this make it easier for the customer, as they’ll have someone to contact if there are any problems, you’ll also be building up your green points as you’ll cut down on the carbon footprint of the items.
Tip 7 Loot at Existing Solutions to Problems and see if you can Improve on Them
This one might be more difficult, as if solutions already exist, it might be hard to envisage better ones. But it’s always worth a try. This can, potentially, generate a lot of ideas for you to explore. A common-sense way to go is to take out features that are not really needed. Companies are great at making us think we need this and that, when the reality is often very different. Computers are a good example of this phenomenon. Most people agree that PCs are a good idea, however, most people don’t realise that the computers that they are being encouraged to buy have way more power than the majority of people would ever require for average home use. This gives the clever entrepreneur an opening. Could you pare back what’s on offer and produce a product that’s budget-priced for a different market?
Tip 8 Think About Whether you Actually Like the idea
I know, I know – the rest of this blog has focussed on generating ideas to make money from your business. However, there is one more important factor to take into consideration – your happiness. You will, if you want your business to be successful, have to like doing it. After all, you’ll be spending a long time at it each day. For example, if you are a vegetarian and hate the killing of animals, there’s no point thinking about starting us a slaughterhouse, regardless of how much money you think you’ll make at it. You’ll despise going into work pretty quickly and, when this happens, your business will start to suffer. I know that is an extreme example, but I’m trying to make the point that any business idea you decide on has to be a combination of what you like doing and what will make money. If you can find something you love to di, that’ll also make you money, you’ve hit the jackpot! A good way to find a jackpot idea is to write a list of the things you love – music, film, make-up, cars etc – and then see if you can brainstorm a business idea from them.
Tip 9 Use Technology to Your Advantage
There’s so much information at our finger tips these days, it’d be a shame not to use it to our advantage. A great way to generate business ideas is to look at what the current trends are. You can do this using a tool such as Google Trends. This tool allows you to look at what people are searching for, including regional interest and alternative related terms being used too. It can offer a great base for brainstorming other ideas.
Honestly, if you can’t come up with an idea after all those tips – I think it’s time for you to think again about starting your own business. However, if you now have a great idea and want some more help getting it off the ground, our Start your Own Business course is a great place to start. Here are some more articles about starting a business, read them to get a better idea of what’s involved:
