Innovation and creativity are some of the most important traits you need to have when it comes to entrepreneurship. In the current market, where companies get created nearly every hour, having success largely relies on your ability to offer something new, different, and in some ways better than what can already be found. By definition, entrepreneurship is a pursuit of opportunities that are not yet explored, and so as an entrepreneur, your main job is to find a new way for something to be done or a new product that solves a particular problem.
However, that’s easier said than done. For aspiring entrepreneurs, coming up with intense, engaging, and innovative business ideas is often a big hurdle. Most entrepreneurs can’t get past it as they get stuck in the loop of the same old ideas such as dropshipping, ecommerce, etc.
That’s why, if you genuinely want to become an entrepreneur, you need to get better at brainstorming and coming up with different ways to solve problems. A vital rule to remember is that there are no bad ideas – you need to let yourself go and not judge the thoughts that pass through your mind (regardless of how crazy you might think they are). Later on, once the brainstorming session is over, you can go over everything you’ve come up with and start focusing on what you believe are the strongest decisions.
With that said, some people struggle with brainstorming and need some extra inspiration in order to get their creative thinking going. In this article, we will go over some thought-starters that will help you come up with innovative solutions. We will also provide some examples of how successful businesses used these same methods to build their reputation.
How to Come Up With Innovative Business Ideas
There are some individuals who come up with crazy, novel ideas with the snap of a finger. However, there are not many, and if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, the chances that you’re not that type of person are high. But, it’s not all lost – you can still start coming up with terrific ideas with the help of our thought-starters. Let’s see what they are.
Is There a Better, Easier Way?
The first question you can ask yourself at the beginning of a brainstorming session is, “How can I make this task easier?” One great startup that asked itself those questions is Notarize – an online platform that allows users to notarize and legally sign documents. It’s the first one of its kind, and it makes a necessary task (such as signing legal documents) more convenient. If you come to think of it, there are many other things we do or have to do daily that can be made easier with suitable software or through excellent service. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to consider what these things are in your life, as every single one of them presents an opportunity. It’s likely that others also feel the “difficulties” you face daily, so if you manage to come up with a solution, the target audience will already be present and ready.
Can I Make This More Accessible?
Many products and services are extremely useful but aren’t accessible to the vast majority. That creates a business opportunity to make a similar but more accessible service or product. A great example of this kind of thinking is AirBnB. Its creators saw how difficult it is to book hotels during big events and so decided to list three air beds in their apartment, just as a test. Once they saw the market opportunity, a third member joined their team and built the platform that we know nowadays. These three individuals took the need for temporary housing and came up with a solution to fulfill that need that’s cheaper and more accessible for people. Keeping in mind this inspiring example, you can start thinking about other industries and companies that have inaccessible offerings to most people and consider how you might fill those needs in a better way.
How Can I Make It Better?
Every successful product has multiple offerings that claim to have made it better. Just take the iPhone as an example. When the first iPhone hit the market, it was a one-of-a-kind tech device that had no competition. Now, several years later, a ton of companies make a similar product and claim that it has better features, price, and so on. You can do the same. Just think of products you enjoy using and imagine how they could become even better. Consider things like cost, delivery, accessibility, customer experience, and use cases. Surely, you will be able to find the needed improvements sooner or later.
Not Every Idea Will Be A Great One
You have to know that it’s highly likely that most of your ideas won’t be great. When starting your own company, it’s vital to be able to know when you need to turn away from one idea and pursue another. The market is moving at lightning speed, and new needs emerge often. If a business wants to remain successful, it needs to respond and adapt to the market changes quickly and efficiently. That’s why you need to think like an entrepreneur constantly – you need to analyze the market, the competition, and the changing environment so that you can spot the new needs and demands just in time.