If you are reading this page then more than likely you’ve been thinking about starting a business, but aren’t quite sure about the type of business you want to start. Maybe you just finished watching an episode of Shark Tank or saw an intriguing story on the news that got your entrepreneurial juices flowing, and now you want to take it to the next level and start your own business.
Ideas to start a business come from many places and in the following article we’ll identify some of the most common sources.
1. Where you live and work
By far the most important source for business ideas comes from where you live and work. Look for something that you can improve on at home or in the office.
You might think of a kitchen utensil that will help you get something done more easily or quickly. Maybe there is something you can do in your garage that would make it look better, or a special tool that could be used in the garden. Think of the things you do at work. Is there a way to automate one of your daily routines, or get it done for less money than you are spending today?
Usually ideas will come to you naturally in your environment. One day you’ll be doing a job and wonder whether someone has invented something that would make it easier or quicker to finish. When that happens, it’s time to start doing a little Google research to see if someone has already solved your problem. While the chances are good that someone has already come up with a solution, there is always the possibility that you have thought of something that is not commercially available.
2. Complaints from other people
If you are looking for ideas to start a business, pay attention to the people around you that are constantly complaining about something. People complain when they have an unmet need or something isn’t working correctly, but are often not interested in solving the problem themselves. You may see a solution and be able to turn it into a good business opportunityYou can also use complaints to reinforce your idea. If you come up with an idea to improve something that has been causing you problems and notice that other people have been complaining about the same thing, then naturally they would be interested in your solution to the problem as well.There are thousands of online message boards, chat rooms and Tweets from people that have experienced problems with a product or service. If you are looking to solve a problem a thorough search of online complaints may lead you to a great startup idea.
3. Working with others
To protect yourself, you may want to draw up a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) prior to discussing your idea with others. That way you can feel safer that no one is going to steal your idea when you are asking feedback.
One thing you can do is share your idea with others that specialize in your field. For instance if you come up with a new gadget for the kitchen, reach out to some of the blogging experts in the field and ask them for an opinion. More than likely they will give you some feedback one way or another.
Whenever you put two or three people together in a room and ask them to solve a problem, you’ll be amazed at the different ideas that come out of the group. For instance, someone will come up with a totally different idea than yours, or the others may not like your idea at all.
It is unlikely that your first idea to start a business will be the best opportunity, so you should keep track of your ideas and any associated research that you’ve done. At some point, sit down and review all of your ideas and try to rank them by money making potential, ease of bringing them to market, and amount of investment required. Ideally you will come up with an idea that has a high money making potential, will be easy to bring to market and doesn’t require a huge investment.
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