Are you trying to come up with a great business idea?
For some people that’s a struggle. They have the desire to start a business, but they don’t have the right idea.
Maybe they have a few ideas, but usually they know deep down they’re really no good.
Back in college I was in an entrepreneur program. Over the summer one of our goals was to keep an idea journal.
I wish I could go back and tell that kid how to think about business ideas. I did the typical thing of trying to come up with cool ideas like the next Facebook or Apple.
Now I know a little better…
What I’ve found over the years is that most good business ideas come from the little places in life. They’re not big ideas to change the world. They often germinate from little ideas and become big ideas.
Here are some of the best ways to generate a good business idea.
1. Frustration
Jerry Seinfeld said this was how he got the idea for his new online show, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.
Hate is probably a strong word for it, but he was getting sick of the usual talk show routine. He wanted to do something different.
So he did.
That’s where a lot of ideas come from. They come from the simple frustrations in life. Some obvious ones might come from big frustrations.
But usually it’s something little. They’re the types of things we don’t even realize need to be fixed, but when we dig a little deeper we see that maybe life would be better with a new idea.
2. Boring & Practical
Oftentimes when we’re brainstorming ideas we think big and bold. We think of cool things.
But some of the best ideas, even ones that later turn out to be cool, start as boring and practical.
And even if the idea doesn’t turn out to be cool it can still be very valuable to people, highly in demand and very profitable.
Look at the boring things you do every day in life. Over and over again. These areas are places where opportunity could lie.
Who knew we needed the Keurig before we got it?
Drinking coffee is pretty boring, but that industry has gone through a few big paradigm shifts (Starbucks, Keurig, etc.).
3. Startup Costs
One thing with ideas is the startup costs.
There are two sides to this coin.
First, you have opportunity where startup costs are low. This means you don’t have to break your bank to start it or to try it. This is a pretty good area to look for ideas especially if you’re new to business.
There are a number of service businesses you can start with low costs. You can do the service on your own and figure out processes. Then you can hire people to fulfill those processes for you.
Second, obviously is the cost barrier is low then more people are likely to jump into the field. So you could look at high startup costs. This might require partnerships, which we’ll look at more later.
One thing with low costs is that it might not cost money, but it might cost effort. That’s also an opportunity where most will give up because it’s too difficult or they don’t have the patience.
4. Things People Don’t Like Doing
My business, blog writing, kind of came out of nowhere. Someone asked if I would write a weekly article for their business blog.
Then I found another guy asking for a blogger on Twitter. Then I finally realized there was demand for this service…
It turned out that lots of people liked the idea of blogging, but they didn’t actually like doing the research and writing.
So there was a natural demand there and it was extra good because people don’t like doing it.
Remember that show, Dirty Jobs? That was a great show and one of the cool things was that many people were making money, real good money, simply by looking for things that people demanded, but that they didn’t want to do.
The more people want something and the less they want to do it the better the opportunity.
5. Partners
Sometimes ideas come from partnerships.
You could compare this to songwriting. It’s common for songwriters in Nashville to go to daily sessions with other writers.
Their publishing companies will pair them up and they write every day just like they’re punching the clock at a regular job.
They’ll often write on their own, but over time it seems that it’s worked out so that most of the best songs are co-written.
Putting yourself with people that are good with business is a good idea. You could come up with partnership ideas.
And other times you might need a partner to build a business that is capital intensive. You might have a good business idea, but don’t have the capital.
If you spend time with successful people and earn their trust you could find a willing partner.
And if you haven’t already, look for ways to spend time with successful people.
Community groups, golf leagues, etc.
6. Combine Things
James Altucher calls this “Idea Sex“.
You take two unrelated things and combine them.
Uber for air travel.
Golf + Bowling = Topgolf
Beer + Whiskey = Beersky (it’s a thing)
7. Reading
I love reading so I’m probably bias on this one. But I do get inspired from reading.
The other week I was reading about James Hill, a railroad baron from the early 1900s.
He survived and actually thrived during the Panic of 1893 with an innovative idea. Grain was on the downswing, which had made up a large portion of his freight so he needed a new idea.
He found it with the logging industry in the Northwestern US. It led to an even better product to ship on his trains.
That got me thinking about ways we could use our skills as bloggers at my company to move into other industries.
Even if it doesn’t lead to ideas this time it might with another book in the future.
8. Eavesdropping
I like this one.
You can do it in a few ways.
One way is to surround yourself with successful people. Go where they hang out.
Happy hour in the business districts. Lunch in the business distracts. Conferences. Events. Country clubs. Etc.
Hang out and listen to the conversation. See what they’re talking about. You can even join in conversations, but focus on doing more listening than talking.
Also eavesdrop on regular conversations. Family, friends, strangers, etc. Listen to their complaints. What is really bothering them? What gets brought up over and over again with all types of people?
Remember, people don’t often know they need something until a businessperson sees the need and creates the solution.
You have to be a unique listener and a problem solver to find a solution.
9. Creative Limitation
Putting limits on your resources.
This happens in music too…
Artists find success and they get more “freedom” to do their own music. The label stops telling them what to do.
This can be great, but also a negative. It’s a negative in the way that the artist could have too much freedom.
Access to all instruments, any inspiration for songs, etc.
Yet the most creative moments we have are often the result of limitation.
Instead of “Make a song with any instrument you want” it’s “Make a great song, but you can only use this piano”.
When we’re challenged we come up with great ideas.
Look at an area of your life and take something way. Limit your creativity. Force yourself to look at common things in new ways.
10. Doing A Task Not Meant To Be Done
One of the interesting things in this article is the idea of trying to do a task with a tool that wasn’t meant for that task.
I’m sure a number of inventions have happened because of this. In fact, I know they have.
One example would be WordPress.
That started out as strictly a blogging platform, but people forced it to be their entire website content management system. WordPress listened and slowly build their platform to accommodate blogs and websites.
You might already be doing this.
What tools are you using to do tasks they weren’t really meant for?
Conclusion
Most business ideas aren’t cool. They start in pretty boring places. Sometimes they become cool, but more often they probably stay boring.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not valuable to people or profitable. In fact, boring can be the source of the best ideas.
Two other little tips…
First, it can be good for your brain health to push yourself to daydream.
Also look to nature for inspiration. Some of the best solutions to our frustrations have already been invented by Mother Nature.
