1. How to get business ideas?
It began with an idea… sound familiar is it? Many successful entrepreneur starts with an idea. Likewise you can too.
What do you see yourself as? What will be your biggest satisfaction if you can achieve your dream? But what is your biggest frustration that is stopping you from achieving this?
A big part of starting a business is first having an idea which then requires having a plan then having the discipline to act on it. Being part of a startup isn’t always glamorous, and often requires simply submitting yourself to the process.
Examine yourself and ask these questions to spark business idea –
What are you good at?
What do others tell you that you’re good at?
What service do you wish existed that currently doesn’t?
Then look at helpful sources to spark new ideas –
Study successful entrepreneurs
Can you find similar products or services?
Turn to social media
In your business idea are you creating a solution for something that you find really annoying or painful in your life? Are you creating a better solution for something that you do every day — e.g. make the process more efficient, less expensive or more enjoyable? Or are you solving a Problem for a niche audience?
Train your brain to come up with ideas by writing down 10 ideas about one topic every day. They don’t need to be business ideas but they need to be related to just one topic. This will force your brain to get really creative. For example: write down 10 ideas to make cooking easier, 10 ideas to loose weight, 10 ideas to sell books, etc. personally I did exactly that, I write down 10 ideas in my brain how to make cooking easier.
Read, Read, Read. The more you read about different things in all sorts of areas, the more ideas will come to you naturally. By expanding your knowledge, you are expanding your realm of business ideas. Apply a well-known business model to an industry or product that you are thinking off to kick start your business idea.
2. Kick starting your business idea
It is not difficult to kick start your business idea. I wrote earlier, apply a a well-known business model to an industry or product that you are thinking off to kick start your business idea.
How do you do these?
- Firstly analyse trends
- Explore your passion
- Build on your strengths
- Become an idea machine
Entrepreneur who has fantastic business idea needs to unplug and do something different. Idea is great but don’t do the mistake of making it too simple that it can done overnight and your business will boom! This is where business ideas will fail! The fallacy that your business ideas will work instantly in the market without stress proofing it.
Many of times I see entrepreneur is paralyze by analysis. They think too much and they act simple. They do what they see fit now from the business idea that they have. Well what will go wrong is they don’t think it through enough. A business idea in today modern world, I supposed is to solve society problem. Think of Netflix – content on demand not merely watching movie or some Korean sob-drama only.
When kick starting your business ideas look these factors –
i. How to determine if you have a good business idea?
ii. Does it solve a problem?
iii. Will people pay for it?
iv. What’s your price point?
v. Is there a sizable niche market for it?
vi. Are you passionate enough about it?
vii. Have you tested your idea?
viii. Are you open to advice?
ix. How will you market your business?
x. Are you being realistic about your goals?
Bottom line is stop talking and start writing. Talking about an idea prior to doing, do some initial processing on paper by tricking your brains into thinking that you are actually doing something about the concept!
Start by –
i. Talk it Out with Trusted Allies
ii. Research the Market
iii. Draft a Business Plan
iv. Build a Prototype
v. Raise Funds
vi. Commence your business operation
I don’t think the steps above will be misleading towards your goal in starting a business. These are proven steps in kick starting your business ideas.
Start writing your idea on paper and document it because your potential business partner and your potential investor will demand to see something.
Your money will never be enough to kick start your business, you need funding for your business to realise your dream, isn’t it true?
Take your creative thinking and put it on paper. A business plan is your tool to sell your idea to lenders, investors and existing shareholders. Lack of clarity, poor information, and the absence of a strategic orientation are the main deficiencies in most business plans.
Make sure you allow time to put a plan together with all the appropriate details, such as positioning, market analysis and financials. Projects developed with the help of an expert in the target market get the best reception.
3. Big Money, Big Responsibility
Check your ego at the door!
This is the most important thing you need to do.
If you let your ego get in the way, you will fall into the trap that many entrepreneur fell into before.
Know that to be in charge, you need to accept the fact that you don’t know everything. You’re not the smartest person in the room even though you may have all the monies you need to start your business. With big money, comes big responsibilities.
You are ultimately responsible for the monies investor gave you.
In an interview with NEW MEDIA magazine, Jack Ma said: “Entrepreneurs must be clear about the role of money – to make our world a better place. When you have 1 million dollars, that’s your money. When you have 1 billion dollars, that’s not your money. That’s the trust society gives you. As entrepreneurs, with huge money comes great responsibility.”
Have you ever thought about the responsibility that comes with the huge amount of monies that landed on your door step just because you have a business idea and people believe in you, people believe in what you going to do with the monies to change the world?
I had seen entrepreneur saddle with cash making wrong decision in their business expansion, making wrong decision in their product development and making wrong decision in hiring.
Your investors will demand due diligence from you and accountability from you when you spend their money.
My take when starting a business with a good business idea –
Get yourself a mentor
Getting a business off the ground is not an easy task. Many projects never amount to much because they are not taken seriously, or because they lack adequate follow-up or support.
You will increase your chances of success considerably by seeking advice from someone with business experience, often called a mentor. These business leaders provide management advice, suggest sources of financing, and frequently offer their young proteges internship opportunities to hone leadership qualities in the field.