How to Get Great Start-up Business Ideas
Successful businesses begin from exciting business ideas. But where do they come from? Do you have to jump through hoops to come up with good start-up business ideas? And how can you test whether your idea is actually good or not?
What makes a business idea good?
There are three key ingredients for a high-soaring business:
- You should have enough money for covering the setup expenses and staying afloat until the business becomes profitable.
- Next, you should have the knowledge, skills, and willpower to begin from home.
- Lastly, you need a good business plan that generates sales.
Good ideas need not be unique – most aren’t. In fact, many successful businesses just offer their own version of products or services that are already available in the market – with the promise of better quality, convenience, cheaper cost, or appeal.
Inspiration for most businesses comes from identifying and addressing the pain points of consumers that available products cannot solve. The ultimate test of any idea boils down to sales. Your business idea must generate enough profit to stay afloat and provide salaries to your staff and yourself.
How to come up with a good business idea?
Watch TV and listen to the radio.
Seriously?
Yes.
Watching shows like Dragons’ Den or The Apprentice might inspire you to come up with your own start-up idea. News on radio or TV reveals the current market gap between products and consumers that you can bridge.
Read newspapers and magazines.
Many publications such as the Harvard Business Review include case studies and profiles of small businesses. Often, there’s no better teacher than the experiences of others – and reading about their success story will enable you to come up with something of your own.
Follow social media and websites.
Websites like Inc. and TechCrunch not only profile successful businesses but also feature brilliant and thought-provoking content that you can save and read/listen to later. These websites also have social media handles that you can follow to get inspired anytime, anywhere.
Travel and gain first-hand experience.
“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
Travel broadens your mind. You become more receptive to the surroundings around you. Seeing a successful start-up somewhere in the world might inspire you to replicate it back at your home.
Talk to people.
A good business idea can also be the result of a silly conversation with a friend, or a stranger in the grocery store. Be open to meeting new people or getting together with friends, family, or colleagues from time to time. You never know when inspiration might strike!
Can you think of any other way to come up with good business ideas? Don’t forget to share them with us!
