Eureka! 5 Ways To Discover The Perfect Business Idea
By Andrew Patricio
November 07, 2013
Teachers & Education
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It’s the first stumbling block many budding entrepreneurs encounter: ‘How do I come up with the perfect business idea?” While there’s no simple solution to this common problem, there are a few tried-tested-strategies you can use to get on the road to business success. Whether you’re looking for your first million-dollar business concept or hoping to start your tenth venture, here are five great ways to spark that ‘A-HA!’ moment and get those entrepreneurial juices flowing.
1. What’s the next big thing?
Trends are a pattern of buying behaviour that will likely an extended period of time, so pay close attention to them to come up with that inspired business concept. Your goal is to attach your idea to a growing trend that’s full of future sales potential, but remember: there’s trends and then there’s fads, and you’ll need to be able to spot the difference. A fad will come and go within six months, whereas a trend (such as, say, social media or mobile technology) is here to stay for years to come.
2. Find a solution to a problem.
Come up with a business concept that saves people time and/or money. Look for an idea that makes people’s lives a little easier, simpler or more affordable. Your business product or service must offer some clear benefit, otherwise people won’t buy into it.
3. Find a gap in the market.
Another approach is to try and identify a need of the market that’s not currently being served by existing businesses. Your niche in the market doesn’t necessarily have to be a ground-breaking new gadget using the latest technology, but can instead be a twist in your approach or a different business model than hasn’t been traditionally used.
4. Leverage your skills, hobby or passion.
Look within to determine what you love to do, what you’re good at doing, and hopefully you’ll find something people will pay you to do. A great business idea will combine your personal passion with marketplace opportunity—in other words, the goal is to run a business that pays you to do what you love. Believe it or not, entrepreneurs who start businesses purely for the profit potential eventually get bored. Entrepreneurs should have it all, so create a business that gives you everything you want.
5. Make a cheaper—or better—version of an existing product or service.
The old adage ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’ exists for a reason. Try creating a business that does something better, faster or differently than other products or services on the market. An original idea that ‘no one has done before’ can actually be risky. Instead, search for a great idea that taps into a proven market with a fresh approach—perhaps in the way you package your product, the way you serve your customers, or how you utilize technology. Remember: It’s not what your business does, but how it does it.
As important as an ingenious business concept is, an idea alone won’t make you rich and successful. It’s all in the execution. The idea is only half of the battle, and the rest—such as how you serve your customers, where you locate your business and how you position your brand—is yet to come.