How to come up with a business idea
One of the key things in starting your own business is that ideally, you should work at something you love doing. This is why so many hobbies turn into successful businesses because its something that people have loved doing for some time and now they have decided to make some money out of it!
A lot of work goes into starting a business: you need to draw up a business plan, develop your presence online, and develop your marketing material.
Before all that, however, you have to come up with your idea for the business. This could be a new product, service, or method, but it has to be something that customers will pay money for.
Finding that great idea takes thought, creativity, and research.
Spend some time considering your own experiences. With some time and creativity, you can probably dentify several products or services that would help you.
Please hand-write your responses in paper, this way it will get you thinking more about your answers and help you to be more creative with your content.
For a new product, you'll have to develop one, or improve upon an existing one, then consider manufacturing to produce it. This is an expense, but a successful product can be very lucrative.
Providing a service will eliminate the need for developing and manufacturing a new product.
Both choices will involve marketing and advertising, so plan on investing time and money in this process whichever you choose.
A USP is a factor that differentiates a product/service from its competitors, such as the lowest cost, the highest quality or the first-ever product/service of its kind.
Is it a product? describe what your product is:
Next posts will address how to evaluate your ideas and making your idea a reality.
You can read it here: How to come up with a business idea - Part 1
To find out more about this topic you can watch these videos here: Business Idea Videos (a curated list)
A lot of work goes into starting a business: you need to draw up a business plan, develop your presence online, and develop your marketing material.
Before all that, however, you have to come up with your idea for the business. This could be a new product, service, or method, but it has to be something that customers will pay money for.
Finding that great idea takes thought, creativity, and research.
Developing an idea
Think about what goods or services would improve your life. Keep a list of your personal strengths and weaknesses in mind. When you look at that list, does anything come to mind that would improve your life?Spend some time considering your own experiences. With some time and creativity, you can probably dentify several products or services that would help you.
Put on your thinking cap
Take a moment to write down what you enjoy doing, what you are good at, and what skills and specialist knowledge that you have that will help you develop your business idea?Please hand-write your responses in paper, this way it will get you thinking more about your answers and help you to be more creative with your content.
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What am I good at?
- What skills do I have?
- What specialist knowledge do I have?
Decide whether you will be providing a product or a service
A new business idea will likely either be based on a product or a service, each requires some thought and creativity. They both have advantages and challenges that you should consider before focusing on one or the other.For a new product, you'll have to develop one, or improve upon an existing one, then consider manufacturing to produce it. This is an expense, but a successful product can be very lucrative.
Providing a service will eliminate the need for developing and manufacturing a new product.
Both choices will involve marketing and advertising, so plan on investing time and money in this process whichever you choose.
What does USP mean?
No matter if you decide to provide a service or a new product, you need to define "A unique selling proposition" (USP is also seen as the unique selling point)A USP is a factor that differentiates a product/service from its competitors, such as the lowest cost, the highest quality or the first-ever product/service of its kind.
A USP could be thought of as “what you have that the competitors don’t"
Coming up with your business idea
Please keep the following in mind when trying to come up with your business idea.Is it a product? describe what your product is:
- Product Name
- Describe the product (what does it do)?
- Who will buy this product?
- What geographical area will the product be sold in?
- What is my Unique Selling Proposition for this product? (USP)
- Service Name
- Describe the service (what do I offer)?
- Who will pay for this service?
- What geographical area will the service be sold in?
- What is my Unique Selling Proposition for this service? (USP)
Write down all your ideas
Every idea, no matter how small or how seemingly pointless, could have value. Get into the habit of writing down every idea you have in a notebook or on your smartphone. Carry this with you at all times, because you never know when inspiration could strike. This way all your ideas can be kept in one convenient place. Flip through it regularly to see if you can expand on any of what you've written down.You can read it here: How to come up with a business idea - Part 1
To find out more about this topic you can watch these videos here: Business Idea Videos (a curated list)
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