Surely you come to this article looking for “business ideas” or “business ideas to start” already tired by the lack of opportunities in traditional employment .
Another possibility is that you were looking for information on profitable market niches to start or that you are simply looking for an extra income and you wonder what business can I put in?
Let’s now see two more techniques that I did not tell you in the previous video where we talked about how to have business ideas to start.
Table of Contents
7 Techniques to Have Business Ideas
In any case, this article is intended to be a guide that triggers your business ideas to undertake since many times those business ideas are in front of us but we cannot see them.
# 1 Personal analysis
DO YOUR OWN SWOT ANALYSIS
That is, getting to know you, knowing what you like, which of your skills are useful to solve the problems of other people (clients). From the SWOT analysis or traditional SWOT matrix , especially: knowing your Strengths and Weaknesses.
But pay attention! PASSION + SKILL = HOBBY but PASSION + SKILL + MARKET (demand) = PROFITABLE BUSINESS.
For your business idea to be profitable, I recommend that you validate the idea in advance .
WHAT WORK WOULD YOU DO FOR FREE?
This question can solve almost all the problems when looking for a business idea that is sustainable over time.
As long as your business is based on your time or personal brand, knowing what you are passionate about doing will help you tell. Do not forget what I said before: validate the business idea at low cost before moving forward.
# 2 Improve existing business ideas
A good business idea to start doesn’t have to be a new idea. Sometimes it is much simpler than that. It is about improving a current idea and / or making it known to the market.
Google improved the way information was searched and displayed to users. It improved a service that already solved the problem of “ordering information on the internet.”
# 3 Analyze your competitors
In the event that the business idea to undertake already exists, we can analyze future competitors.
COMPLAINTS
Hearing complaints from your competitors’ customers is priceless. It is very simple today. The preferred place for consumers to complain is social media.
By browsing your competitor’s Twitter or Facebook Fanpage (company page), you can easily find unresolved issues with your competitor’s service or product.
It is about analyzing them and seeing if that unsolved problem could generate a business idea to undertake in a similar niche.
REVIEWS
Product or service reviews, also known as reviews in English, usually give us a lot of positive and negative information about the competitor’s product / service.
# 4 What does not work in your company
Just as we can analyze competitors online, we can also analyze the company in which we work in search of business ideas to start a project and finally quit the job.
There is a classic case study that is that of Instagram. Originally this company was called Burbn and it was a kind of social check-in network, just like FourSquares.
This social network included many functions, but when its creators saw that people wanted something simpler, they decided to leave the function most accepted by its users: photographs and images.
This is how Instagram was born as we know it today, removing all the functions that did not contribute or that did not work so well among its users.
I recommend you read: 10 Companies that overcame the crisis by pivoting their business model.
# 5 Analyze market trends
Another primary source of business ideas to undertake is market trends. I’m not talking about fads that are a bit riskier.
GOOGLE TRENDS
Undoubtedly, this free Google tool will provide you with the information you need to analyze market trends.
I use Google Trends to analyze niches and to validate business ideas. I leave you this link and the previous one to see its use: tools for entrepreneurs.
# 6 Extrapolate business models
Another way to generate business ideas is to extrapolate how a business model works and try to fit it into another niche or market sector.
For example, UBER’s business model is to connect vehicle owners with passengers who want to be transported. It is a model where the platform joins the demand with the offer and keeps a commission in exchange.
Once the business model is understood, we can extrapolate it to another industry. Example of a company with the same business model is Airbnb. This company offers a platform that connects homeowners who want to rent them for short periods or seasons to people who want to travel to a destination and do not want to stay in traditional hotels.
# 7 Ask and listen
ASK
As simple as that, ask people what problem they have unsolved. Any unresolved problem or unmet need are excellent business ideas to undertake.
Who to ask?
- Close people, friends, family.
- Work colleagues.
- in your online and face-to-face groups.
- Current customers.
- Community.
HEAR
Activate the “entrepreneurial radar” .
#Bonus: More sources for business ideas
These are other ways and sources to have business ideas. I hope that everyone can do them.
TRAVEL
On each trip we must have the “entrepreneurial radar” activated and be attentive to any business idea that comes our way.
Other countries may be more advanced or implemented new businesses that perhaps we could incorporate in our country as long as the market accepts them.
READ, READ AND READ
In general, reading contributes to everything in life but reading is also an important source to generate business ideas to undertake.
The sources that I recommend:
- Newspapers, newspapers and current magazines.
- Blogs and specialized press of your niche.