Some people are able to come up with business ideas as easy as counting from one to ten. Other people find it incredibly difficult. Coming up with ideas can be very simple. It’s not just an innate ability, it’s a skill that can be honed with practice. Most of this practice is subconscious, but it’s a matter of training your mind to spot areas of opportunity. Anyone that puts in the time and makes a conscious effort to identify problems that people are facing, can improve their ability to generate ideas effortlessly.
Think about it like this. Ideas are networks. They connect together through different experiences that we have. The ability to make new connections is known as plasticity. As you allow your brain to make more connections and rewire old connections, your brain becomes more efficient and more- well, plastic. What you need to do is return to the habit of creating new connections Keep your mind in an active state of coming up with different ideas by doing the following:
- Permit ideas to develop over time
- Enjoy the process of discovery
- Continue to explore and experiment with new areas
- Tinker with old conventions and inventions
- Ask people what challenges or problems they are facing
- Try to improve dated systems
To make new connections, plant yourself in places that recreate the intricate networks of the mind. When humans started settling in dense populations, more connections were possible. This allowed for knowledge spillover. Keep in mind, that it’s easier to come up with ideas when you have wave of ideas flowing in your direction. It doesn’t need to be that you are situated in a specific location, you can emulate this environment digitally, through reading, and different forms of connectedness.
Solving Problems That Affect You
One of the simplest ways to come up with new business ideas is to look into your own life. What are the problems that you are facing currently? How can you solve these issues? Next, peer into problems that other people are facing. You don’t have to solve world hunger- your idea could be much smaller. Think Otterbox: a company that creates impact-absorbing iPhone shells. Ultimately, it reduces the risk of your phone’s display from cracking.
A number of products that we use daily were invented to solve a problem. Stylus’ were designed to make writing on electronic devices easier, Thermoflasks were created to keep drinks temperature regulated, Peloton’s were made so that people could exercise in the comfort of their home. The list of innovations goes on. What’s important is that you become keen on identifying problems. When you start noticing your own frustrations, that’s when you are able to change those annoyances into innovations.
One of my frustrations is the lack of healthy fast food options. While there have been some company’s that attempt to make their menu more attractive to health conscious consumers, I would appreciate going to a drive-thru restaurant that serves a balanced meal. One of the problems for restaurants is the shelf-life of vegetables and fruits. They don’t last long. Therefore, they will have a lot of waste if inventory is not managed properly. The costs can add up for the restaurant, and subsequently the consumer.
That’s just one of my frustrations, but try to look around you and notice areas that are frustrating for you. Have a pulse on what is going on in your industry, by looking outward. You might be working for someone else right now, but get in the habit of looking around you problems that you can solve. For every problem, there is an opportunity to innovate.
Anticipate Future Problems
We covered one of the ways that you can come with new ideas. That is noticing problems that are in your life, or problems that other people face. However, why not imagine some problems that might happen, but aren’t yet a problem. This takes a more futuristic approach, in that, you will have to look at trends or anticipate what will become of a certain industry.
A famous innovator that matches this approach would be Elon Musk. He noticed that a dearth of fossil fuels would promote problems in the coming years. While it is not problem now, he is able to look at the data and determine that this will be a lucrative industry down the line. He created two businesses that fulfill that potential threat: Tesla Motor and Solar City. Tesla Motors uses electric batteries instead of gasoline. Solar City creates solar panels for clean energy production. Innovating gives his company’s a first mover advantage and the opportunity to capitalize on full market share.
With the initial innovations, you want to appeal to people that believe that the problem needs to be resolved. Some of these problems may be very obvious, like desalinization plants in California (since the state is in a drought) or preventative disease medicines. There will always be problems that arise; if you can foresee potential issues, you will be able to uncover new opportunities.
Adapt to New Needs
Our needs are constant. We need food, water, shelter. We have emotionally needs that stay relatively the same. However, what changes over time is the services or products that help with fulfill the needs. Some of the easiest products or services to market resolve these needs, especially since you don’t have to educate the customer.
What would be a good example of this? Albums were a technological advance for storing music, which moved into CD’s. People started downloading songs online for free through torrents, which completely decimated the music industry. Pundits thought that the industry might collapse. Next, Apple developed iTunes for their iPod. Next adaptation restored the music industry, at least for the mean time: Spotify and other music streaming services.
Help People Save Money
Another way to generate new business ideas is to find models that help people save money. Usually, economies of scale and low cost leadership are the primary ways to reduce the sticker cost for your consumer base. Economies of scale happen when you are able to save in cost by increased level of production. Whereas, low cost leadership can occur by reducing your profit margin or taking a loss on certain products in order to gain a bigger market share.
One of the first companies that come to mind when I think of businesses that help people save money is Walmart. Nobody shops at Walmart for their exclusive clothing lines or exceptional customer service; they visit the store because it has all of your essentials at some of the lowest prices available. In order to do so, they have leverage their size and brand to negotiate favorable deals, they accept very limited margins, and have efficient supply chain models.
For people that are in the high earning category, this may not apply to you, however for the majority of people cost is critical in making buying decisions. Much of modern selling is emotionally-based and needs-based, yet moral decisions are challenging on a tight budget. Therefore, if you can figure out a way to help people save money, you are on to something. You can look at ways that you or friends try to save money.
Make People’s Lives Easier
Lawn mowers make people’s lives easier by saving time and manicuring the yard space. Alarm clocks make people’s lives easier by helping them wake up on time. Bag re-sealers, that makes people’s lives easier so that bagged items stay fresh longer. You don’t have to be an inventor or scientist to create new business ideas, you can easily simplify people’s lives by introducing a new benefit to an existing product or service. White boards make my life easier because I am able to organize my thoughts and ideas in a visual manner.
There are so many ways that you can imagine that will help make people’s lives easier. If you keep thinking about how to do this, you find that you can create a minor innovation to improve a product or service. With the iOS 14 update, Apple made people’s lives easier by adding an application list. Simple improvement, major results.
Can you look around you and consider ways that would make your life easier?
Start a Business Around Your Passion
Is there something that you do on a regular basis? What do you absolutely love doing? Perhaps, you could start a business around this hobby. I love playing basketball. There are a number of basketball businesses that I could potentially develop that would tap into hobby. I could create a basketball gym, become a trainer, sell basketball merchandise, etc. Sometimes I consult sports performance facilities as it closely relates to my passions.
A friend of mine has always loved the creative process of creating music and movies. He would fantasize about Star Wars movies and what it would take to produce a cinematic piece of that magnitude. I’ve known this friend for nearly twenty years. He decided to offer his passion to the world by starting a studio that makes music and movies. Now, every day of his life he gets to work on a business that brings him happiness.
Another strategy is to combine two or more passions that you have. Lets say you love graphic design and candy. You can specialize in creating the branding for sweets. It’s a different approach, but it adds a layer to your ideation process.
Do be mindful that your passion may be your refuge from a hectic day. So, eventually, this passion may become less enjoyable as you start adding stress to profit into the equation. A way to reduce this frustration is to make sure that this is not your only source to pay the bills. Build up your passion project slowly, while you have another revenue stream as a cushion. Also, make sure that the business is on your terms. Usually, customers come first, but your passion and happiness are important to avoid fizzling out.
Fulfill a Need for People
Use any of the human needs from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to think of business ideas. Which areas would you be able to create a model around. On the physiological level how can we develop products or services that compliment or improve the following: sleep, water, breathing, food, or sex. From a safety standpoint, what protects the body, preserves resources, enhances health, or safeguards the family. Is there anything that you can think of that would improve friendly, familial, or intimate relationships? What can help people boost their self-confidence or gain respect?
I’ll give one example of each level. For sleep, think about the the mattresses that are delivered to your door instead of you having to shop in big box stores. If you were to think of business’ for family safety, imagine Ring. Move up one more level on the hierarchy of needs and realize how Facebook connects family and friends together to emulate love and belonging. In the second to highest tier, someone like Tony Robbins makes a business around motivating and inspiring people to be their best.
You can come up with business ideas that fulfill a specific need. Many of the products that you use everyday meet or reference one of these needs.
Appeal to People’s Emotions
What are some things that make you happy, angry, or jealous. You can come up with ideas that fundamentally exploit emotions that everyone experiences. Humans make decisions on seven emotions:
- Anger
- Envy
- Gluttony
- Greed
- Lust
- Pride
- Slothfulness.
As you consider business ideas, you’ll start to realize how many products and services appeal to these emotions. Consider slothfulness. It’s one thing to relax. It’s another to relax while watching a 4K television. And with your television, you download Netflix, which streams various shows. Now, you need a comfortable couch to enjoy your entertainment. Perhaps a sound unit to amplify or enhance the listening experience. Companies are able to sell each of the products and services because they are exploiting our base needs.
When looking at the seven base emotions, can you think of any products or services that would take advantage of those needs? Now peer into what other companies are doing to appeal to your emotions.
Experience More in Life
The more that you are able to experience in life, the more that you will have at your disposal to pull from when coming up with new ideas. As a child, our creativity didn’t stem from a years of routine. Instead, every day was novelty; every day was an adventure. We learned quickly and stitched seemingly unrelated ideas together.
You have the opportunity to do this by taking a journey through different literature across subjects. Be curious. Look outside of your direct industry. Visit places that are outside of your typical regimen or interest. While you are experiencing more be fully present in the moment and take note of what you notice around you. If you don’t take time to go outside of your comfort zone, you’ll be limited to only the things that you do know. Pursue serendipity, and every once in a while you’ll have an interesting spark of ingenuity.
Great Artists Steal
The late Steve Jobs said that good artists copy, great artists steal. Most good ideas are built on someone else’s idea. In principle, a painter will copy a sunset at golden hour. A good artist can very well be measured by how well he can duplicate the emotion of the natural scene, by way of imagination and not by seeing the sunset. Applied to Steve Jobs, he was a notorious “idea-stealer”, in that, he would realize the potential of newer technologies, learn what he could to remake them, repackage, and deliver concepts to the masses. All of this, he would do before the first movers capitalized on their market share (and market the product or service better than they could).
In Conclusion
There are a multitude of ways to come up with good ideas. Ideas that people want. Ideas that people buy. Ideas that inspire others. I hope that the examples above will help you come up with different business ideas or improve idea’s of other people.