How to find a good idea for smallbusiness?

When looking around for business ideas, bear in

mind that these could be based on any of the

following approaches:

a manufactured product where you buy materials or parts and make up the product yourself

a distributed product where you buy product from a wholesaler, retailer, or manufacturer

a service which you provide

In other words you can

Invent a new product or service Think back 30 years ago. Was there a huge demand for anti-virus software? No! The key to coming up with business ideas for a new product or service is to identify a market need that's not being met.

Every really new idea looks crazy at first.

Alfred North Whitehead

Add value to an existing product The difference between raw wood and finished lumber is a good example of putting a product through an additional process which increases its value. You might also add services, or combine the product with other products. What business ideas can you develop along these lines? Focus on what products you might buy and what you might do to them or with them to create a profitable business.

Improve an existing product or service What do they say about the person who builds a better mousetrap? That person could be you! A local entrepreneur has created bigger and heavier version of hula hoop so hula-hoopers can do more tricks. How did she come up with this idea? She thought hula hooping would be a fun thing to do with her child, but found the existing product too flimsy.

Get on the bandwagon Sometimes masses of people suddenly want or need something, and the resulting demand can't be immediately met. Look at existing businesses and the products and services they offer and determine if there's a need for more of those products or services. If there is, develop business ideas to fit the market gap.

Regardless which approach you prefer the starting point for

developing new business ideas is...

YOU

Do what you love It's important to pick a business that you will enjoy running. If you don't enjoy what you do, you will not be successful, at least not from a mental point of view.

Your strengths and weaknesses should dictate areas in which to seek ideas Make honest assessments of your strengths and weaknesses! Don't be afraid to ask other people for feedback!

Sit down and make a list of 10 things that you like to do and are really good at and 10 things you don't like to do or aren't good at. Write down 10 things what other people like and dislike about you. List 10 products or services that would make your personal or work life better!

Don't overthink! Write down the first things that come to mind. When you are done, look for a pattern and ask whether there is a need for a business doing one of the things you like or are good at!

The need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas. It is better to have enough ideas for

some of them to be wrong than to be always right by having no

ideas at all.

Edward de Bono

Next steps could be ...

Observe consumer behaviour What do people and organizations buy? What do they want, but can't buy? What do they buy and don't like? Where do they buy, when and how? Why do they buy? What else might they need but cannot get?

Look at existing products or services with a view to: Making them larger or smaller, lighter or heavier, faster or slower. Changing their color, material or shape. Altering their quality or quantity.

Look at existing products or services with a view to: Increasing mobility, access, portability, disposability. Simplifying repair, maintenance, cleaning. Adding new features, extensions and accessories.

Look at existing products or services with a view to: Changing the delivery method, packaging, shape. Improving usability, performance or safety. Improving the quality or service.

Try to notice things that annoy you and should be improved. It does not mean that you make yourself more irritable, but if you

notice all the times you run across something that can be improved, those are

opportunities

To understand what people might need - it can be easier to start with thinking about the things

you think ‘’sucks’’. Do you wish you can get from point A to point B without having to drive? Do you wish that it was easier to clean your

bathroom? Are the current solutions for these problems really horrible in your opinion? There are just tons of things throughout the day that

you wish were better. Make just a long list of all of these things and then see if there is anything that you are interested in and for what you could

find some better solution!

Look around you. What products or services are missing from your community?

Have you heard or read about interesting businesses in other places that might work in your area? Ask your friends, neighbors,

family and co-workers what products or services would make your community better

You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can

dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is, you just don't see them.

Jay Abraham

Be the opposite of secretive. Create a Google spreadsheet where you list every idea you can think. Then show it to every smart person you can get a meeting with.

The odds that someone will hear an idea and start a competitor are close to zero. The odds

you’ll learn which ideas are good and bad and how to improve them are very high.

Good ideas are common - what’s uncommon are people who’ll work hard enough to bring them about.

Ashleigh Brilliant

Be on the look out for: Emerging Trends - for example, the population within your area may be getting older and creating demand for new products and services

Keep up with current events! If you read news regularly with the conscious

intent of finding business ideas, you'll be amazed at how many business opportunities your brain generates. For instance, same-sex

marriages are now legal in few countries. There are now also entrepreneurs who are

selling travel packages that include a marriage ceremony to same-sex couples

from other countries. Would you have identified that business opportunity?

Be on the look out for: Expanding market niches - for example, local industries may be outsourcing more of their services

Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another

way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no

longer exists.

Edward de Bono

Write your business ideas down. Let them swirl around in your head and coalesce. And keep an

open mind and continue to assess everything you read and hear from an entrepreneurial point of

view. You don't want to run with the first business idea you think of; you want to discover the idea

that's best suited to your skills and desires.

Dream, think, plan - and you'll be ready to transform that business idea into the

business you've always wanted.

This project has been funded with support from the European Union. This presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission and cannot be held responsible for any use which may made of information contained therein.