5 Steps to Killer Business Ideas

Everyone would love to find the new It, the business idea that rains money. But whether you are looking to create the next Facebook or turn a gardening hobby into a healthy business, you need to do your homework before you grab the brass ring. Here are a few tips to generate new ideas.

1 HIT THE STREETS

To formulate good business ideas, you need to talk to people. Lots of them, because good business ideas are not born in vacuums. “First-hand observation,” says Charles Steilen, dean of Hawaii Pacific University’s College of Business Administration. “Go out on the street. Talk to people. See what the issues are, see what the problems are, see what the needs are.” Some of the best opportunities for new businesses are finding solutions to common problems or offering affordable alternatives. Exhibit A: Super Geeks.


2

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Ideas can come anytime, anywhere or anyplace. It’s really a matter of ensuring you have an open channel to receive those ideas, says Steilen. Ideas can stem from problems you experience directly in your day-to-day business, from customer feedback, or even suggestion or idea boxes. Another source for business ideas is current events. Analyzing trends and developments and tapping into emerging markets is not just for global companies. Just ask the guy who sold face masks after the SARS outbreak. Or how about retiring baby boomers with discretionary spending? Notice any new health spas lately?


3

BUILD A BETTER MOUSETRAP

Everyone wishes they had invented Velcro, but most great business ideas are born out of analyzing a market and simply seeing how you can better the competition. Sometimes, depending on the business sector, it might not be just looking for a new idea, but a whole new way of thinking. So deconstruct the system and look at its bare parts. Then again, sometimes it just requires building a better mousetrap, as in the case of Maui mom Karin Frost, who created the ERGO baby carrier in 2002 that has since gone global in sales.

4KNOW THYSELF

It’s an old business adage that you should do what you love. You should be good at it, too. That means applying the skills you’ve accumulated in your current profession to starting a small business. You are also much better suited to size up the viability of a new business idea and produce an efficient business structure. Passion is also what helps you get through the rough spots.

5CHECK AND RECHECK NUMBERS

You might have 100 ideas at your disposal, but you can bet 99 aren’t going to make it. “You have to go through a fairly structured process of elimination,” Steilen says. Once you’ve narrowed down your ideas to workable concepts, figure out what resources you will need, if you have them already or if you will need to acquire them. “You have to set certain parameters for yourself,” Steilen says. A good business idea can easily be diluted by unwise additions to the scope of business. Since many new products and business ventures fail, minimizing risk is critical.

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