15 ways to find the next winning business idea

In the last post I talked about what makes a great and profitable idea: for you. Now let’s talk about how really find That idea. I’ll also follow this up with how to get inspiration for your ideas. Even if you don’t have a creative bone in your body, keep reading.

1. Take an existing business model and introduce it to a new location or industry. Instead of coming up with a new idea, why not take something that already works and implement it somewhere else? An American businessman I spoke with recently introduced the “agency” method of finding and managing professional baseball players in Japan. Before him, a great barrier separated the talented players from the professional baseball clubs. Without inventing anything new, he took a successful business model and implemented it in Japan.

2. Take an existing idea to a related market. Similarly, you can take something that works in one market and introduce it to another.

3. Make an improvement to an existing product. You are a consumer and you have the opportunity to try all kinds of new products. See if you can improve them for yourself or others. Often a good resource for this is to look at customer reviews on sites like Amazon.com. A helpful tip: many times, simply making a better product is not the answer. Try to see if you can make a cheaper product with fewer features to meet the demand of a customer base that isn’t willing to spend as much and doesn’t. You need a premium product (this area is often overlooked by large companies). Read The innovator’s dilemma for more details on this topic.

4. Create a whole new solution to a pain point in an industry. People love to complain. Go to forum boards in your business area of ​​interest, read blog comments, and peruse Amazon.com product reviews. Hear what people hate and develop a solution to their problems.

5. Pay attention to new trends. Don’t try to create something really cool that nobody cares about. Go where the buzz is and you’ll probably get more clients and investors. “Green technology”, “social networks”, “cloud computing…”: these are the areas that are growing the fastest and companies within these industries need new solutions to their problems as they grow, just pay attention .

6. Find out what the government is wasting money on. Governments (at least in the US and Europe) are notorious for spending money on things they think are important but have no idea about (“climate change mitigation, anyone?”). All you need is to read the newspaper to find out what kind of hot topics are prevalent so you can find your niche.

7. Take something existing and put your own spin on it. What does Southwest Airlines do that US Airways can’t? Nothing. If it weren’t for the slight differences in service, the airlines would be as similar and commoditized as coal. But Southwest chose to market itself as an airline that cares about customers, could make their lives less stressful by targeting less congested airports, and allowed them to choose their own seats. If they didn’t do this, they would be competing on price alone, and as a small entrant, they would be crushed by the big airlines.

8. Find out how to make something cheaper. If you can convince a CEO that your company is spending X thousand dollars a month on a certain service, but you can do the same for 50% at the same level of quality or better, you have a business.

9. Talk to professors and read academic research on hot topics. Academics are notorious for coming up with brilliant ideas without acknowledging or having the time to implement them into practical solutions. Visit some labs and interview some experts in an area of ​​interest to you. Universities are often more than happy to provide you with the people you need to make the business work (lawyers, venture capitalists, experts).

10 Hobbies and passions. Need I say more? If you enjoy something enough, you probably know exactly what your fellow fans want.

eleven Buy a business in an area of ​​your expertise/passions. If you want to be in business but can’t come up with an idea, why not? acquire an existing business in your area of ​​expertise? Presumably, you would invest in something that is already proven and generates a cash flow. This offers some benefits: it quickly teaches you how to operate one (although I would recommend having an industry mentor along the way), and it’s easier to finance because lending banks feel confident that it’s already proven.

12 Find untapped distribution networks. Distribution networks are ways for a company to get its products to its customers. A restaurant, for example, is a way for a wine company to distribute its bottles to paying customers. If you find distribution networks that may be good avenues for a product, yet the product isn’t there, you may have found an opportunity to distribute a similar product, especially if demand is high.

13 Identify lazy incidents. Incumbents are large companies that have sustained rather than accelerated growth in a market. Although they appear to set up insurmountable barriers to entry, their sheer size makes them inflexible and often lazy. They may forego many new technologies, ignore customers, sacrifice quality, or be slow to capture social and fashion trends. If you can figure it out faster and satisfy your customers’ hunger, you win.

14 Identify an existing idea/business that could use better branding, content, or service. It’s sad that many great ideas die because people don’t like them or just don’t get a chance to see them. If your talent is in branding products and making them more attractive, undervalued opportunities abound.

fifteen. Add value to a process. A furniture maker might use the help of a sawmill to take wood cut from loggers and turn it into chairs and tables. Sure you could grow and cut your own trees and save money, but you’re better off paying a small premium for lumber from the sawmill so you can focus on what you do best: making furniture. Think about the ways in which you can add value in the value chain of an industry.

Inspiration for your idea

These are some initial types of ideas, but you might want to brainstorm and dig into what’s right for you. For that you will need to be in the right state, one that inspires you and makes you feel creative. When are you at your most creative state? I want you to think about what kind of environment you need to be in to have positive thinking. Is it water running down your back in the shower? Or are you like me and need the rumbling white noise on a transatlantic flight to free your mind? Here are a few more things/environments that can motivate you and allow the free flow of ideas: reading business books or autobiographies of successful entrepreneurs, brainstorming with other MBAs or entrepreneurs, attending conferences/seminars, bathing, skiing, driving, freewriting , drawing… and the list goes on. Good luck and get inspired!