What is a business idea and how to choose it
One of the most valuable resources in any market is fresh and original business ideas. If you have them, you can really change the world! If you are the type of entrepreneur who raises work problems 365 days a year and does not find time for new ideas, here are some techniques and practical tips on how to turn the search for original ideas into a process.
How do you usually look for ideas? Sitting in your office in front of the screen and working with what comes to mind? Perhaps you gather the most intelligent employees in the reception and set a task? Or surfing websites, referring to Google and even keeping up with new developments in your industry? Here are alternative exercises for finding ideas and developing new solutions.
Storyboard
The method is borrowed from the film industry. By default, you have a team where each employee is responsible for their own direction, interacting with other people and being part of an ongoing business process. Storyboarding allows you to get a collective look at your business and see problems from an unexpected angle. To do this, everyone in the team should write their ideas and assessments of the current situation on small sticky notes. Not necessarily complete or complete sentences - just thinking out loud.
Once you get ideas from everyone, start posting them on the board as a progression or scenario of your business process: first this, then this. Taking a parallel view from multiple angles and building different perspectives into a continuous and coherent series will help you see your company from a new perspective.
Mind mapping
A fairly common and well-known technique. To create such a map, write the task or problem in the center of the idea sheet. Then expand the problem by surrounding it with terms that better describe what you need.
If your problem is related to site traffic, the terms “traffic”, “content”, SEO and “strategy” will work. When the first layer forms on the map, add a second layer to each of your needs, describing how you might address these individual mini-problems. Keep adding to your map using the steps above until you split your problem into manageable pieces.
Group Sketch
You don't need to be an artist or designer to benefit from sketches. Visual thinking helps to initiate and develop ideas that the discussion or description would leave intact.
The stereotype that you can't earn much on creativity is very tenacious. From childhood, many of us were taught that for work it is necessary to master a serious profession, and creativity is suitable only for a hobby. We figured out whether this is really so, whether your favorite pastime can bring you income and how much you can earn on creativity.
Is there a demand for handicrafts now
In the modern world, it has become difficult to surprise a person with a souvenir or gift bought in a store. A completely different matter is manual, author's work. Original and exclusive, handmade gifts have a special value, because no one else has such a thing. Therefore, the main buyers of handmade are lovers of unique things, people in search of a non-standard gift.
The handicraft market is quite saturated. However, this industry has many sub-sectors by product type, so finding a niche for a new company with a unique product will not be so difficult. You can start by selling your products to friends and acquaintances, and by distributing business cards and promoting products on social networks, gradually increase the sales market.
How to start a handmade business
Handmade, as a rule, does not require large financial investments. At the same time, it is still worth starting an activity with drawing up a business plan, determining the target customer segment and analyzing the demand for this product. If you have experience in the field in which your business will be opened, you will not have to spend money on training. It is enough to purchase consumables and you can start production.
It is easy to start a business alone - the first orders can be processed independently, without attracting additional personnel. Later (if things go well) it is advisable to hire workers.
It is most likely that you will not be able to start making good money right away. At the initial stage, recouping the cost of materials is already a successful indicator. Many give up at this moment. It is necessary to go through this difficult time, because it is at this moment that the customer base is formed, information about the new manufacturer is disseminated and the recognition of the product increases. If the thing is really original, of high quality and useful, the business will definitely come out in a plus.
Business for Creative People: Ideas
Generating ideas for creative people is not a problem. However, not all creative ideas can become entrepreneurship. Some skills sell very well and the demand for certain categories of handmade items is only growing.
Portraits
Have you decided to start your own business? So there are many questions in your head now, the main one of which is how to organize your business? Where to begin? When you find the answer to this question, you can be sure - you are halfway to success!
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Find a niche
Determining the field of activity and the role in the market is not an easy task, and everyone understands it. Surely, you have a bunch of ideas in your head, and it seems that one is better than the other ... But which of them can form into a clear business plan and can be implemented? If there is one, that's great!
And do not forget that your idea must certainly be of interest to you, you must strive to develop the business you have conceived, invest in it not only material resources, but also your soul.
When you have a choice - to proceed with what you are really disposed to (for example, selling exotic products or organizing holidays for children) or what is of no interest to you - by all means it is worth stopping at the first option. Even if you choose the second scheme, and it will quickly bring you profit, answer yourself - how long will you be able to enthusiastically do what you don’t like?
Smart approach
Now you clearly know what you plan to do in the near future, what kind of business you will organize. But you will not be able to use the idea right away, because you need to draw up what you have conceived into a competent business plan. If you compose it correctly, it will be able to help you with more than one task. With the help of a business plan you can:
- determine the main goals;
- discern the strengths and weaknesses of your project, foresee mistakes;
- engage in attracting investors.
Writing a business plan is not an easy task that requires a lot of effort. But this work will certainly pay off, do not hesitate!
Practical tips for writing a business plan
Why write it yourself? Indeed, on the Internet, you can find many ready-made ones - borrow and use! Drive such thoughts away! Such information, which is called business plans in loud words, is actually irrelevant. Nobody will put a plan that will work on the Internet!
Sometimes an excess of ideas hurts a business. Choosing between enticing business models and niches can be tricky and take longer to make.
Don't rely on intuition to pick the right idea. These 10 questions will help you make a conscious choice.
What problem are you going to solve?
First of all, you need to be clear about what problem or pain point your audience is facing. Your product, idea or service should solve it.
A common mistake many startups make is to start with an end product and look for a problem for which it can be useful.
You will have to think like a product designer, use clear, concise language and validate it against real customers or end-user data.
For this, it is useful to trace the entire cycle of interaction between the brand and the customer.
How to get to know your user and make money from it
Problem statement can take several forms - text description or user story format. This helps identify the current situation and the user experience gap. This allows you to simulate a situation in which your product or service will fill this gap. In addition, you will understand the scale of the problem and whether it is critical enough to spend time or effort on it.
How useful or unique is your proposal?
Put yourself in the shoes of the buyers. How does your product or service differ from what is on the market? Does it add value? Does it improve the current process in a way that competitors cannot?
You don't have to invent something completely new or be the first on the market. For example, Facebook was not the first social network. SixDegrees and SocialNet already existed seven years before it appeared. However, Facebook was the first social network built around real people. It has become a platform where you can share news, express yourself and connect in new ways.
Today those who are familiar with the world of entrepreneurship and are planning to start their own business are familiar with the concept of "business idea". Modern business methods teach that without this idea you should not expect success, this is the cornerstone of the enterprise, whatever it does. But often an entrepreneur freezes at the stage of choosing an idea, and some are not at all familiar with this concept. What is a business idea and how to choose one?
Concept
Let's first understand the word "idea". Even the ancient Greeks were familiar with this concept, they put into it the meaning of "form, prototype." And today, an idea is understood as a mental representation of an image, essence, object, with all the characteristic features and important features. Imagining an idea, a person sees it already realized, existing in the real world, and together with the goal, imagines the ways to achieve it.
A business idea is a kind of management tool, a concept around which the entire work of an enterprise and the direction of its activities is built. In simpler words, it consists in creating a certain product or service that can be sold for money. Supported by a competent business plan, the business idea must be transformed into a valid business model. Otherwise, it is recognized as unviable.
Not so long ago it was considered good luck to submit a business idea on time, anticipating the growing demand for the goods or services that it offers. This guaranteed 100% success for the entrepreneur and high profits for his business.
Today, small and medium-sized businesses are developing at an impressive pace, and almost every niche of the market has a stable active growth. This creates conditions of fierce competition. Under these circumstances, it has become fashionable to generate business ideas that knowingly offer an unclaimed product. The entrepreneur relies on innovation and then independently generates demand.
Where to get inspiration from
It is not an easy task to define for yourself the sphere of activity on which you will have to spend your own money and time. The entrepreneur will have to deal with the chosen direction all his free time, at first - 24 hours a day. Therefore, the chosen idea should give him pleasure.
How to find an idea for your business? Experienced business consultants recommend using one of the following five methods:
Make your dream come true, transform your hobbies or interests into business.
