How To...

Generate New Business Ideas

Are you looking for a unique business idea? As you'll soon discover, new business ideas are everywhere! You just need to know how to cultivate them. By following a few simple steps you can generate tons of good business ideas during the course of a single day. Your only challenge at that point will be deciding which business to start!

Here are some fast ways to generate good business ideas:

1. Read your local newspaper as well as at one other large city newspaper everyday. The best choices for a big city newspaper would be The New York Times or Washington Post since they offer cutting edge news stories and are usually the first to recognize upcoming trends. Read these newspapers with a pencil in hand so you can underline unusual ideas, trends and new business openings. Jot down any ideas that come to you as you read.

2. Become familiar with your local yellow pages as well as the yellow pages of other large cities. The yellow pages contain a wealth of good business ideas. By knowing what businesses are already out there, you can add a unique twist to an already established concept and have a completely new business idea. Again, be sure to write down your ideas as they come to you. You'll want to refer back to them later.

3. Go to a large bookstore in your area and flip through some of the many magazines and trade periodicals. Focus on niche magazines targeted to a particular interest or reader. How could you adapt a business idea in one niche to satisfy the needs of a completely different niche or target group? For example, a travel magazine notes that spa vacations where people are pampered and given special treatments are in large demand. As you flip through a publication for the dog enthusiast., you might ask yourself if a vacation dog spa would be a viable new business idea.

4. Learn to eavesdrop. When you're standing in line at the bank, learn to listen to people's complaints. Their unsolved problems and annoyances can potentially be goldmines if you can come up with a good business idea that solves them. Keep your notebook handy to jot down any thoughts that come to you. Some of the world's greatest businesses have been built on the basis of customer complaints. For example, you might be standing in line at the grocery store and hear someone complaining that there's no place to get a quick and healthy sandwich in your area. You then make a note to investigate the potential for a drive through deli serving healthy sandwiches.

5. Question everything! Don't blindly accept the fact that something must be done a certain way. Ask yourself if there's a better way. Learn to look at problems with fresh eyes and an open mind. By cultivating this mindset, you'll be a sponge for new business ideas.

6. Network with others both online and offline. Join a business or marketing club in your area as well as your local Chamber of Commerce. Attend their meetings and get the inside track on you local business environment. Sharing thoughts and ideas will stimulate your mind to make new connections and come up with unique business ideas. Join online business forums that focus on new business concepts. Reading through the old posts should spark a lot of new business ideas.

7. Learn to free associate. When an idea comes to you, don't censor it! Write it down as quickly as possible before you can come up with a hundred reasons why it can't be done. Don't impede the creative process by analyzing ideas at the time they come to you. There'll be plenty of time for that later.
As you can see, you can train yourself to be a business idea machine by surrounding yourself with fresh new sources for inspiration and keeping an open mind.

Discover how rewarding it can be to have your mind flooded with new business ideas. You'll never be at a loss for a good business idea again.

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