4 Ways to Brainstorm For Good Business Ideas
If you have decided to start a venture and become an entrepreneur, you will need good business ideas.
I would like to suggest 4 ways to brainstorm to spot good opportunities:
- Building on your skills, hobbies or interests
- Copying or improving on an existing successful business
- Combining two existing business ideas
- Spotting a gap in the market
Building on your skills, hobbies or interests
I like this way of finding an opportunity the most. Build on your passion and do what you really like. After all, you are embarking on your own journey.
Take 5 minutes and make a list of all your interests, skills or experience. For each, think of one or more business idea to match it. Here is a list you might make:
| Interest/Skills/Experience | Business idea |
| Cooking | A restaurant for fusion food Recipe Blog Cooking school |
| Meeting people | Taxi proprietor Freelance Insurance Retail business |
| Volleyball | Volleyball Blog Coach proprietor for Volleyball Sports shop |
| Cancer patient | Found a social enterprise Blog that provides resources for fellow cancer patients Match patients to doctors service |
Copying or improving on existing successful idea
You need not have a radical innovation to take the market by storm. Look at iPod, Apple had to pay Creative off for intellectual property infringement, (nice words for copying).
Prior to this, Microsoft had copied the Graphic User Interface concept from Apple. In both cases, it was the copycat that won the business war. Consider the area you want to go into. How can you improve the existing product or service or solution? Can you alter any business processes?
In June 2008, Facebook paid $65m to Mark Zuckerberg’s ex-classmates in Harvard to settle the ConnectU controversy. ConnectU claimed that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had copied their ideas.
Make a list of businesses in your interest area that are successful. Alter, amend or add-on to the idea to come up with your own.
Combining two or more existing business ideas
If you are interested in more than one business area, how about combining two or more existing business ideas and make it into an interesting one? For example, if you like cooking and you love picnics, how about a business that delivers picnic food to the picnic site on weekends? That’s just a random idea from me. I am sure you can think up better ones. But see how I combined 3 ideas? Cooking, Picnic and Food Delivery. If you can spot a gap by combining existing ideas, your business proposition will be even more compelling. Read on.
Spotting a gap in the market
Identify a need of the market that is not currently being served by existing businesses. Spotting a gap is not easy! First, try to identify a current national or international trend. To do this, you’ve got to read newspapers, magazines and periodicals to get updated. Once that’s done, then translate each of these into possible business ideas. Here is a quick list I put together:
You need not have a radical innovation to take the market by storm. Look at iPod, Apple had to pay Creative off for intellectual property infringement, (nice words for copying).
Prior to this, Microsoft had copied the Graphic User Interface concept from Apple. In both cases, it was the copycat that won the business war.
Consider the area you want to go into. How can you improve the existing product or service or solution? Can you alter any business processes?
In June 2008, Facebook paid $65m to Mark Zuckerbergs ex-classmates in Harvard to settle the ConnectU controversy. ConnectU claimed that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had copied their ideas.
Make a list of businesses in your interest area that are successful. Alter, amend or add-on to the idea to come up with your own.
Combining two or more existing business ideas
If you are interested in more than one business area, how about combining two or more existing business ideas and make it into an interesting one?
For example, if you like cooking and you love picnics, how about a business that delivers picnic food to the picnic site on weekends? Thats just a random idea from me. I am sure you can think up better ones.
But see how I combined 3 ideas? Cooking, Picnic and Food Delivery.
If you can spot a gap by combining existing ideas, your business proposition will be even more compelling. Read on
Spotting a gap in the market
Identify a need of the market that is not currently being served by existing businesses.
Spotting a gap is not easy! First, try to identify a current national or international trend. To do this, youve got to read newspapers, magazines and periodicals to get updated.
Once thats done, then translate each of these into possible business ideas. Here is a quick list I put together:
| Trend | Need | Possible business idea |
| Financial institutions failing and needing bail outs | An alternative or more transparent financial institution | Alternative banking or payment systems |
| High unemployment rates and people now have time! | Live on shoe-strong budget Spend their time productively | Cheaper essential products Gym, self-improvement courses Import cheap and essential goods from Asia |
| Increase in divorce and single-parent families | Help to look after children | Baby-sitting service After school care service Home delivery of nutritious food for children |
Once you have brain stormed a few good business ideas, it is time to short list and choose the best. Here a tool on how to choose the best business idea.
