8 Ways To Come Up With An Idea For A Business

Business ideas might be two-a-penny, but not all of them are viable. When all you want to do is get on the first step of the entrepreneurship ladder, you might be tearing your hair out looking for inspiration. Here are eight ways you can search for a business idea that might just come to fruition.

1. Stop trying to be original

Via pixabay.com

Who says you have to be original when starting a business? Look at an area of the market that is already covered, but not saturated. There might be thirty Etsy sellers with the exact same store premise, but if they are all making sales, you might as well join them. There are bakeries in every town around the world, but we still need more bakeries.

2. Solve a problem you have

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Think about problems that you have in your daily life. Every time you meet a problem, wonder about ways to solve it. Keep going until you come up with something you can market. If you’ve got the solution to your own problem, other people are going to want it as well.

3. Do an experimental word map

Via datastical.com

Clear your mind and start thinking about a business. Write down any words that come to mind, and let more words flow out of those. If the first thing you think of is health, then see where it takes you – supplements, food, recipes, exercise – and go down the rabbit hole. You might end up with a compelling direction.

4. Put your skills outside of the box

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What are you good at doing? Think of your skills and put them into a different industry to the one you work in. What could a good photographer bring to a catering business? How can a gifted salesman change the market for graphic design? See what new combinations you can come up with.

5. Give an existing business a makeover

Via canadabiz.net

Think of a business out there which is outdated, or overpriced, or poor quality. Now think about how you could give it a makeover and bring it up to a better speed. Can you make things cheaper or better, or make them more modern?

6. Mix and match

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Walk into a shop and look at the shelves. Pick two items which are displayed opposite one another and consider whether combining them would create a new business idea. Keep going until something pops up. A lot of the ideas will probably be awful, but stick at it until something isn’t.

7. Talk to your friends

Via bizstats.co.uk

What do your friends want to buy or do? Talk to them about what they feel is missing. If your friends are business owners, you might find them even more on the money with some B2B ideas. This could be the starting point of your first few deals very easily.

8. Teach what you know

Via bizset.com

You know how to do some things. Whether you learned them on the job, have a natural talent, or studied, you have knowledge that other people don’t. Set up a business teaching that knowledge. Whether you are coaching businessmen, or tutoring college students, or acting as a mentor, there’s bound to be something.

Via businesscheck.co.nz

There are a lot of great business ideas out there waiting to be claimed. Whether they are entirely new, mixes of existing models, or just rehashes of the same old story, many of them are waiting for someone to make them work. Use these techniques to get them into your head, and you might just be the one to do it.