Really. Once you develop an entrepreneurial frame of mind, you'll see that finding business ideas is just as easy as finding leaves on trees. Here are more ways you can generate business ideas:
5) Investigate other markets.
Some business ideas aren't suited to local consumption - but appeal greatly to a foreign market. My own little town is surrounded by acres of wild blueberries. For years the bushes produced berries that mainly fed bears and birds; B.C. has a thriving blueberry industry that doesn't leave room for a wild blueberry market. But one entrepreneur realized that there is a high demand for products such as these in Japan - and those same wild blueberries are now being harvested and shipped. Finding out about other cultures and investigating other market opportunities is an excellent way to find business ideas.
6) Improve an existing product or service.
You know what they say about the person who builds a better mousetrap. That person could be you! A local entrepreneur has created an improved version of the hula hoop; it's bigger and heavier so hula-hoopers can control it more easily and do more tricks. How did she come up with this business idea? She thought hula hooping would be a fun thing to do with her daughter, but found the commercially available product too flimsy.
There are very few products (or services) that can't be improved. Start generating business ideas by looking at the products and services you use and brainstorming ideas as to how they could be better.
7) Get on the bandwagon.
Sometimes markets surge for no apparent reason; masses of people suddenly "want" something, and the resulting demand can't be immediately met. For example, during the SARS epidemic, there was an insatiable demand for facial masks in several countries - and many entrepreneurs capitalized on this business idea.
A "bandwagon effect" is also created by larger social trends. There is much more of a demand for home-care services for the elderly than is currently being supplied. And the trend for pets to be treated as family members continues, creating demand for all kinds of pet-related services that didn't exist even ten years ago.
Look at existing businesses and the products and services they offer and determine if there's a need for more of those products or services. If there is, develop business ideas to fit the market gap.
Are you brimming with ideas for starting a business now? Write your business ideas down. Let them swirl around in your head and coalesce. And keep an open mind and continue to assess everything you read and hear from an entrepreneurial point of view. You don't want to run with the first business idea you think of; you want to discover the idea that's best suited to your skills and desires. Dream, think, plan - and you'll be ready to transform that business idea into the business you've always wanted.
