\nOkay, this is pretty obvious. This approach to finding an idea for your startup is hit or miss – with a lot more misses than hits. You\u2019ll find plenty of lists of ideas like: \u201c55 Business Ideas You Can Start Today\u201d and \u201c101 Small Business Ideas\u201d. The problem is that most of these ideas require specialized knowledge (bookkeeper, direct mail marketing service, and genealogist\u00a0for instance) or have dubious prospects for turning a profit (candlemaker, cake decorator, and chimney sweep). Yes, all of those \u201cbusiness ideas\u201d are included on the various lists Google turned up. They simply don\u2019t apply to you<\/em>.<\/p>\n
2. Turn Your Skills into Your Business<\/strong> 3. Turn Your Knowledge into a Business<\/strong> Incidentally, we offer an online course that covers everything you need to know about logo design<\/a>. It\u2019s free. If interested, click the link.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 5. Watch for Good Ideas that Others Aren\u2019t<\/em> Working On Yet<\/strong> 6. Check out ProductHunt.<\/strong> 7. Get Ideas from the\u00a0Future Before They Happen<\/strong> 9. Attend a Hack-a-thon<\/strong> 10. Check Your Local University\u2019s Tech Transfer Program<\/strong> 11. Consult the Yellow Pages or Wikipedia\u2019s List of Occupations<\/strong> 12. Review \u201cBuy a Business\u201d Sites<\/strong> 14. Reverse Assumptions and Think of an Old Business in a New Way<\/strong> 15. Turn Your Hobby or Passion into a Business.<\/strong> 16. Read a Book<\/strong> The Very Best Way to Discover\u00a0a Great Business Idea:<\/strong><\/p>\n 17. Find a\u00a0Problem that Needs Solving.<\/strong> Startup guru, Paul Graham<\/a>, says it this way: \u201cIf you find something broken that you can fix for a lot of people, you\u2019ve found a gold mine. As with an actual gold mine, you still have to work hard to get the gold out of it. But at least you know where the seam is, and that\u2019s the hard part.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a long list of successful entrepreneurs who have followed this path to success. A few examples:<\/p>\n Cliff Bar\u00a0was invented by Gary Erickson after a 170 mile bike ride during which he ate\u00a0five Powerbars. He was at the point of bonking and desperately needed energy, but he couldn\u2019t choke down the processed goop of a sixth bar. His idea: a better tasting energy bar made from natural ingredients. Today Clif Bar is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n Morgan Lynch\u00a0was a marketing manager who needed a logo designed for a new insurance product he was launching. But after working several weeks with a design agency, then several more weeks with freelancers and still not getting a logo he loved, he started his own online design firm\u2014which eventually evolved into\u00a0Logomaker.<\/p>\n Tivo was invented by Mike Ramsay and Jim Barton in part to fix what was wrong with how video recorders work. Their invention allowed to change the way they watched tv\u2014shifting viewing from when broadcasters aired content to when customers wanted to watch it. And allowed them to skip annoying commercials. You probably have a DVR connected to your television thanks to their foresight.<\/p>\n Many of the best new businesses are the result of fixing a problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, as we mentioned above, coming up with the idea is actually the easy part. There are thousands of good ideas for businesses (and millions of bad ones). The real questions are:<\/p>\n Can you make money doing it?<\/a> Do you have another resource for finding great business ideas? Let us know in the comments!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo Credits: Sean MacEntee<\/a>, A Bennett<\/a>,\u00a0nhisman<\/a>, C Potter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Coming up with an idea for a new business isn\u2019t hard. Or at least it shouldn\u2019t be. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle\u00a0to come up with the \u201cright\u201d idea. This is partly because entrepreneurs tend to\u00a0overvalue business ideas and undervalue the effort it takes to turn them into successful companies. We want to find the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-start-ups"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThis one is easy. Turn your skills and time into money by creating a business around them. \u00a0Do you know how to create and program websites? Are you famous among your friends for being able to troubleshoot their computer problems? Can you write or design or create something others need or want? Do you have a collection of recipes you love to make? Do you have specialized skills using\u00a0email, or PHP, or Drupal, or preparing tax returns, or bookkeeping? If you have a skill that others are willing to pay for, you can turn it into a business.<\/p>\n
\nDo you know something valuable that others don\u2019t know, but need? Then you might be able to turn that knowledge into a consulting business or create and sell content online (ebooks and educational courses). That\u2019s what high school teacher,\u00a0Rob Percival<\/a>, did. He created several online web development course\u00a0and an accompanying web hosting business.\u00a0And made more than $3 million in less than a year. What do you know that you could teach others? Answer that and you have the beginnings of your startup.<\/p>\n![\"Smart](\"https:\/\/startwp.logomaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Smart-Ideas.jpg\")
4. Watch for Good Ideas that Others Are Working On<\/strong>
\nThere are several services that collect the latest entrepreneurial thinking and business ideas and let the world know about them. Springwise<\/a> is one. CoolBusinessIdeas<\/a>\u00a0and IdeasWatch<\/a> are similar. You can sign up for regular\u00a0emails or follow their RSS feeds. While you\u2019ll find lots of\u00a0solid ideas to start a business here, someone is already working on them, which means you\u2019ll have competition if you decide to tackle the same thing. But it\u2019s also a good indication that there\u2019s a market for the ideas you find there.<\/p>\n
\nY Combinator has published several lists of ideas they wish entrepreneurs would tackle. Here is their latest one<\/a>. Similarly,\u00a0Requests for Startups<\/a>\u00a0is a regular email that focuses on what a particular investor is interested in funding and\u00a0wants to see someone start working on. Most of these are very big ideas that a single founder is unlikely to take on. Here are a couple of other lists of ideas people say they want (some better than others): IdeaWishList<\/a>, Lone Prairie<\/a>, Wise Sloth<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nProductHunt<\/a> is a massive collection of existing products, apps, and software recommended by people to solve various problems. They\u2019ll send you a daily email of new ideas every day. There are some great ideas here, but many could be improved upon. It\u2019s those \u201ccould be better\u201d ideas that you might consider turning into your own startup.<\/p>\n
\nTrend hunters are experts at evaluating and sometimes even predicting emerging trends before they become popular. Watching as trends develop and focusing your startup on meeting the needs they will soon create can be a great way to start a successful business. Check out Trendhunter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Faith Popcorn<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0ideas about what’s coming in the future.<\/p>\n![\"Another](\"https:\/\/startwp.logomaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Another-Idea.jpg\")
8. Find a Co-founder with an Idea<\/strong>
\nOften you can find someone else who has a great idea, but doesn\u2019t have all the skills to make it happen. If you have skills that compliment theirs and are willing to work on someone else\u2019s idea, this can be a good option for founding a startup. Or you might find a startup idea that you can execute better than the person who came up with it. (Ideas aren\u2019t copyright-able. If you can do it better, go for it.) Check out Founder2be<\/a>, CoFounderLab<\/a>, or FounderDating<\/a>\u00a0to find people working on new ideas.<\/p>\n
\nHack-a-thons are meetups for people with programming, product development, and marketing skills or ideas that might become viable businesses. The purpose is to concept and build a basic product in a day or two (often working through the night). Most end with a presentation of each team\u2019s\u00a0product. Some result in real businesses. When\u00a0you go, you\u2019ll see lots of ideas that with a bit of tweaking, could be great businesses. You might even help create one.<\/p>\n
\nUniversity researchers often invent new technologies that can be turned into viable businesses. But they don\u2019t always have the business know-how to make those ideas successful. So, many universities have created tech transfer programs which license inventions and technologies to entrepreneurs and companies that can take the ideas to market. You\u2019ll be partnered with the university and the inventor, but you\u2019ll have access to patented technologies.<\/p>\n
\nYou don\u2019t need to re-invent the wheel or come up with something no one has ever done before in order to start a successful business. In fact, doing something that others have already proven works is a good way to give yourself a chance at success. Browsing the yellow pages or a list of occupations<\/a> may spark an idea or open your eyes to existing businesses that you hadn\u2019t considered before. If you live in a small town, are there businesses in larger cities that simply haven\u2019t arrived in your area yet, but would be viable?<\/p>\n
\nThere are several websites designed to help people buy and sell their businesses: BizBuySell<\/a>, BusinessMart<\/a>, and Flippa<\/a> are among the most popular.\u00a0We\u2019re not suggesting that you purchase one of these (though this may be the right way for some people to get into a business), rather visit these sites to get ideas you might use to start a business. One caution: many of these businesses are for sale because they haven\u2019t been successful enough to earn a profit. So if you find your idea here, make sure you can make it work.<\/p>\n![\"Bright](\"https:\/\/startwp.logomaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Bright-Idea.jpg\")
13. Listen to Others<\/strong>
\nIf you don\u2019t have your own ideas for something to fix, listen to other people talk about their problems. Talk to customers and front line employees where you work today. What problems do they have that your current company isn\u2019t meeting? Have your partner or spouse do the same where they work. What do they say takes too long, is too expensive, or doesn\u2019t work like\u00a0it should? What do they wish they had?<\/p>\n
\nThis is a great way to invent entirely new products and discover new customer needs. The inventor of the ATM asked, what would a bank look like if it didn\u2019t have tellers? How would we do that? Jon Coon, co-founder of 1-800-CONTACTS, asked why people had to buy their contact lenses from their doctor (and pay a big mark up for the privilege). Think about the businesses you\u2019re familiar with. Is there a different way to do things? How can technology improve the way they operate? Can you take an existing business online and create something better?<\/p>\n
\nIf you have a hobby or pastime that others do for money, you could turn it into a business. Do you collect baseball cards, make t-shirts, or blow glass? Can you sell what you create or teach others how to do the same thing? Then your passion may be a potential business. But be careful, once you start making money doing what you love, you may find you don\u2019t love it the same way. You might lose your hobby in order to start a business.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019re big fans of reading, but to find great business ideas, you can\u2019t read just any book. Start with The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideass and Make Them Happen<\/em><\/a>, which promises to show you how to how to find the best ideas for you. Then check out The Business Idea Factory: A World-Class System for Creating Successful Business Ideas<\/em><\/a>. These books, and others like them, will help you develop a habit of identifying new ideas that you could use to start a business.<\/p>\n
\nDoes something bug you? Not work right? Is there something you wish you had? Find a\u00a0process that is broken, a food that doesn\u2019t taste right, a market that isn\u2019t being met, or something that works today, but could work better with a few tweaks. If you need a new product, there\u2019s a good chance others will need it too.<\/p>\n
\nAre you the right person to take on this idea?<\/a>
\nWill anyone buy it?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n