Who hasn’t ever come up with a great idea that could turn into a business? Who hasn’t regretted seeing that the business idea he had and didn’t put into practice was developed by someone else and is even worse today successful? Or, who hasn’t wanted to start their own business and be their own boss?
Business ideas arise more than we think. We all have some entrepreneurship at a certain time, only for reasons such as economic stability, lack of knowledge of how to carry out the project, lack of advice, etc., we lose focus on the illusion of being able to undertake this great idea in a business.
But then, if we all have business ideas, what could we say are the ideas that would really lead us to success?
The key is in differentiation
Initially we must have CREATIVE IDEAS or ELEMENTS OF DIFFERENTIATION. This requires being able to create a service or a product that is not available in the market or that has characteristics -whether physical or service- different from those of the market. Characteristics that generate added value for the client. The execution is critical for the business idea, but the correct starting point can facilitate or hinder the process.
Once we have defined our idea we must make a deep analysis of several aspects:
What product or service will we offer?
Is it really an innovative product or service?
Does this product or service currently exist in the market?
How can we make a difference in the market?
Who will be the main clients and ideal clients?
How will we generate value in them?
How much corresponds to the market size, does it focus on a specific segment?
Is it a good business idea?
A good idea is not necessarily an indicator of good business, but it can evolve. It is advisable to evaluate by means of a segmented market research the perception of our potential client with respect to the service or product. These results will give us greater ideas of whether the business is a “good idea”, if people really use it and also provide us with ideas and recommendations from the client. For example, if your product is herb-flavored cookies, you could do a tasting with different people to identify what they think of the flavor, which one they like best, if they think they would buy this product, etc.
Next we must begin to develop a business and investment plan to identify if our idea will really generate income versus the capital to be invested as an initial part of the project. In this way we will know if it is necessary to opt for strategic allies and / or partners who can contribute to the project.
If you want to assign a value to your idea and know if it is the idea of $0, $20, or a million, see our guide in the article “I have an idea”.
Passion for what you do and new opportunities
A vital feature of successful entrepreneurs is that they deeply love what they do and know how to recognize opportunities in today’s marketplace.
Many of today’s great entrepreneurs have had to make more than 2 or more failed business attempts to finally succeed. Therefore, do not give up ideas that although they may be simple ideas, can become an idea good and original enough to become a successful business.
How to Generate Business Ideas
Import ideas from abroad. Detect the moment when an idea that is working in another market can serve as inspiration to import it to yours.
- Adapt innovation to other sectors. If an application or technique has worked well in one field, why not implement it in another.
- Observe new social trends. Society is constantly changing, as are its needs. A market study will be the perfect ally to detect unexplored niches.
- Locate unmet needs in the market. Identifying unsatisfied needs in the consumer is the main aspiration of any entrepreneur. Do you want to know what the needs of Consumers are?
- Re-adapt existing products. Re-adapting any product that is already in the market implies improving it in order to successfully reach the consumer.
- Attend to changes in legislation. Obviously, changes in legislation modify behaviour and, therefore, give rise to new markets. One example is the increased demand for hands-free car kits under the DGT’s new Road Safety Act.
- Make your hobby a real business opportunity. Discard the thought that a good business idea has to be revolutionary, as it may be more feasible than you think.
Some techniques to generate business ideas
- From an existing product on the market can come very fruitful ideas. Thus, by replacing some elements of an article it can be improved. An example of this is the famous Chupa Chups that arose from adding a stick to a candy.
- Another technique is the elimination of attributes of the original product, while the investment refers to modifying the contraption to its opposite form, such as, for example, the idea of the pen corrector, which was born precisely because the previous one was conceived so that it could not be erased.
- The exaggeration, on the other hand, has to do with the modification of the size or packaging, among others, of the original product. The bicycle for two people is a good example. Finally, another technique is the rearrangement of the attributes of the product.
