Six Steps To The Million Dollar Business Idea?Ideas generally will come when you least expect them, trying to force them will do no good, however, you can fill your mind with different environments to help generate ideas later on.
Go to places that like the supermarket, toy store, hardware shop, library, shopping malls, airports, gift shops, places were your senses could be overloaded, just browse and look, don’t get too attached to your thoughts. Just walk the aisle and look at the different products, scenes, buildings and items. Try different music that you normally wouldn’t listen to, and different foods. Why not do all the above in half a day. Travelling is good one for stimulating the senses and you can get some excellent ideas.
The next stage after the sensory overloading is to put yourself in a relaxed environment. For some it could be a walk through the park, for others it may just be to stay at home listening to quiet relaxing music. Make sure you have a note pad and pen.
The next stage is to sleep on it, put the ideas out of your mind. Some other ideas may come later when you are in the shower, driving or even on the toilet when you least expect them. Keep a pen and pad handy, every where you go. The fourth stage can be done with a group or by yourself. Once you have come up with an idea, do five variations of that idea. It could be a slight tweak or major variation of the original idea. Then each of the new variations do another five variations of that one. Pretty soon you will have hundreds of variations of the theme and some will be far removed from the original idea.
The fifth stage is to have set criteria, which will either weed out ideas that will not seem right for you, such as starting a dog training school if you don’t like dogs. The other criteria might be that all your ideas will centre around one core hobby, say as an example your love of wines. This could cover such things as growing grapes for making wines, designing a bottle opener, opening a bottle/wine shop, selling wine books, wine newsletters, irrigation for wineries, vats or equipment for the wine industry, wine tasting tours, wine tips, etc. If the idea somehow can’t work around wines you might discount the idea.
Other criteria might be that you can start the business for under ten thousand dollars, or it could be that money is no option, however, the product has be on the shelf in four months.
The sixth and final stage is now to go through your ideas with your guidelines in hand and eliminate the ideas that don’t fit in with your guidelines. Work the list until you narrow it down to a few ideas. Keep working it until a couple come out as being the best. Some will be great ideas, but at the moment you may not have the resources to get them going at the present. (However, keep the list safe as your circumstances may change later on down the track.) Now sort out the last couple of ideas, put “A” beside your favourite, then “B” beside your next favourite then “C” etc, down the list. Bingo, you have plan “A”, now get to work. You also have plan “B”, “C” as well if plan “A” doesn’t work out.
Remember ideas without actions, are a dime a dozen.
Have fun!A few friends having some drinks, is a good way of getting new ideas. Throw out some problems to the group and see what solutions come up. Just in case you have too many wines or beers and you can’t remember anything in the morning, have the pen and paper handy.
It doesn’t have to be a controlled focus group or master mind session to come up with new ideas. Who said it can’t be fun and productive and the same time.
Honey did you clean out the room?Clear out the spare room of any mess or junk. Sell it on eBay, give it to your local charity or trash it. Be harsh and have a good clean up. Great ……. but what does a tidy room have to do with coming up with the million dollar idea? Well here are a few reasons:-
When you are tidying up you will come across maybe old photos, toys, junk and lots of memories. A flood of ideas may come to you, so have the pen and notepad handy when cleaning up. Memories of people, places, feelings and emotions may put your mind into super drive. 
After everything is clean, lay down on the floor in the middle of the room. Relax and think of the items you sorted through or threw out. You might even have a nap if it was a big job, that’s okay. Just let your mind think about the past, what experiences did you have? What problems did you have? You might be surprised about how many different ideas you can come up with.
Another reason is that a clean, uncluttered environment will help you think clearer. You feel more relaxed and free, not cluttered. An uncluttered room or even the garage, in fact, any space that has minimal distractions is a good place to let your mind wonder and come up with ideas. The old saying messy desk, messy mind, clear desk, clear mind has a ring of truth to it.
The third reason, without getting too mystical and airy fairy, is that to attract more things in your life, you will have to get rid of some things. It is like when you buy new clothes and try to squeeze them into a full draw. If it is full, you can not put any more in. Well what would happen if the draw was empty? You would have plenty of room for your clothes. You are getting rid of old attachments and junk, ready for new items. On a mental level this works as well. You are getting rid of old attachments and junk in your mind, if you have a clear mind you have room for new ideas. The forth and final reason is that there is a good chance that you have procrastinated on cleaning up the shed or spare room for a while, so it’s a good time to do it. This action of cleaning up the space, will keep your momentum going ….… Well all these ideas can’t all be gems! P.S. As an added bonus your partner or other half will love you for it!
Yes, Grasshopper
The real hard crucial, critical truth about inventions!For the inventors out there, without busting your bubble, the hard truth of the matter is, only a few inventions make it. I have heard statistics ranging from only one in a thousand, to about one in ten thousand of inventions make it.
Countless of inventors have lost their shirt and many years of their life trying to invent new things only to wind up disillusioned and finding out that the market does not want to buy their new widget. Test cheap and quick and that way if something doesn’t work out you can go on to the next one.
Thomas Edison didn’t spend all his life on one invention doing the same thing again and again, he tried different ways of doing things and also different inventions. Don’t mistake persistence with ignorance.
You may be better to take an existing gadget and improve it by about ten percent. Can you make it better, cheaper, can you make it faster, slower, more ingredients, less ingredients, organic, more high teck, thicker, thinner, more colours, less colours, hotter, colder, more vitamins, heavier, lighter, more exclusive, easier to operate, more complicated, bigger, smaller, ultra tiny, massive, shinier, save people time or money, more environmentally friendlier, uglier, etc. Having said that, without good marketing your invention or improved idea will go unnoticed. It is no good coming up with a winner if no one knows about it.
Another critical truth about inventions is timing. Timing is everything, even if it is a brilliant idea; it might be too early for customers too hunger for it. Think of how long it took for the microwave or video player to be accepted. The Sony walkman is good example of correct timing. The new jogging craze, the growing love of more music, with it being easier to play and portable, plus teenagers, all combined to make the walkman a winner.
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Disclaimer - The articles aim to provide general ideas. Neither the authors nor publisher shall take any responsibility for any loss or damages occasioned to any person or organisation acting or refraining from action as a result of this information. As always the advice of a competent legal solicitor, accountant or other professional advice should be sought.
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