by Edward Bryce
© 2006
http://businessopportunityhub.info
Chances are, if you think your idea is original,
it isn't. You will need to do a lot of research to make sure that
nobody else is currently doing what you are doing. Even then,
you will have to consider that somebody, somewhere, is also thinking
the same thing you are, and at that point it's a race to see who
can get the patent and or copyright first.
1. Modify An Already Good Thing
Even if you don't have your own idea, you can
modify someone
else's pre-existing idea. For example, many people like popcorn
but want butter on it. Origionally, the only way to get butter
flavored popcorn was to literally heat butter and then dip or
spread the butter over the popcorn, and this required putting
butter into a pot or bowl and melting it over a stove or in the
microwave. Eventually, popcorn makers had built-in repositories
to place butter so that as the hot air passed over the popcorn
kernels, popping it, it also heated the butter so you didn't
have to dirty a separate dish. Then, someone came up with the
idea of coating kernels of popcorn in a butter spread so that
they butter themselves as they pop. Of course, the idea was
very messy and unusable in hot-air popcorn poppers because the
butter would drip down into the machinery, so instead, a foil
bag was provided to contain the buttery explosions and, as it
turned out, double as the bag you could eat the popcorn out of
(assuming you didn't then pour the popcorn out of the bag and
into a bowl for eating). Always think to yourself, what's the
next logical step? What doesn't change the product itself, but
might make it faster or easier to use?
2. Avoid Impractical Ideas
If you stumble upon something that has a lot
of potential, be
sure to evalute how realistic and practical it might be. For
example, you might come up with the idea to manufacture
something, but there ends up not being a market for it. You
might think kids will love your particular product, but then
parents don't end up buying it, or you have limited success but
your product gets known as a fad at best.
3. Do Market Research
The best thing you can do is actually get out
there and talk to
potential customers. Never be afraid to ask them what they want.
At the same time, you will get a general sense of how many
people out there might be interested in such a service.
4. Find A Niche
Let's face it, youre not going to be big. You
don't have a lot
of capital, nor do you have a big advertising budget. You don't
already have a million customers so you can't price your product
less and still make a profit because youre still getting a
little bit of money from each customer. What you can do,
however, is find a niche market. You might know what industry
you want to work in, and that's about it - now's the time for
you to narrow your options and cater to a specific type of
customer.
5. Get It On Paper
Once you have an idea, it's time to flesh it
out into the most
basic elements - products or services, suppliers, customers,
and work. For example, if your idea is to provide web design
for small businesses, then this is where you need to sit down
and figure out what suppliers you might need (web hosting, for
example), and what services youd be providing for customers.
Think of it as inputs and outputs. The next step, of course, is
to determine a price that is profitable.
