When searching for a new business, ask yourself if your idea meets at least one of these criteria.
Filling a need in the marketplace: Previously, I struggled with my coffee cup while grocery shopping but, last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see drink holders attached to my shopping cart. Somebody saw a need and came up with a solution. Do not think that because someone has already improved on an idea, that there is no room for improvement. Take a close look at your shopping cart. Have you ever been loading groceries and have your cart roll away. Is there possibly a need for brakes on shopping carts? If you look carefully, there may be need to fulfill that no one has discovered yet.
Discover a better use for an existing product: Dyson is a great example of this. He reinvented the vacuum cleaner. While, you may not reinvent a vacuum cleaner, you can examine the products you use and see if you can come up with a better or different use for them. My friend was a manicurist and she accidentally spilled cuticle softener on top of freshly painted fingernails. She was amazed to find that the nail polish dried faster and protected it from smudges. She brought that idea to me and we worked together to produce a great new product. The competition in the cosmetic business is fierce. They were able to copy and distribute their product on a grander scale. I learned a valuable lesson: Sell inventions or products to large companies when competition can distribute faster and on a grander scale.
Produce an entirely new product: This is where your creativity kicks in. If you are an artist, paint on a rock or driftwood. If you have a knack for growing orchids, grow them in unique containers and sell them to local nurseries. If you love talking with the elderly, provide dinner meals or grocery shop for them. Design purses and make them with old quilts or tablecloths. Offer a service to drive pets to the vets. There is no limit to what you can do.
If you already own a business but your sales are lagging, see how you can adjust your product to fit into one of those categories. Evaluate your product and look for ways to re-introduce it into the marketplace. If you are selling beaded jewelry, try making jewelry for dogs. If you specialize in used books, add a new feature such as used educational Cd's. If you have a drive through coffee business, try adding pastries or sandwiches.
If you have trouble looking for new ideas in your existing business, try getting away from it for a while. Take a vacation and look at it from afar. When I visited Hearst Castle, it appeared large and overwhelming but when I viewed it from a small plane at 3000 feet, it looked small and manageable. The same is true for your business. To get a fresh look, step back and look at it from a different perspective.
Brainstorming for new ideas is probably the most enjoyable part of a new business so have fun with it. Investigate your competition, locate new trends in your area of interest and look at existing products in a new way. The ideas are out there, you just have to find one that fits you and the market.
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