Ideas for a Business. Where and How to Find Them?

People looking for guidance to start a business need to find ideas to produce and sell something. And taking into account that nothing is produced that cannot be sold later, they are looking for an idea to sell something. This is what the eagerness to identify ideas for a business refers to.

How can answers be found for this?

Ideas can be anywhere. But those that maximize benefits will be those that come from something that you know how to do better than other people.

This is the shortest and most effective way to start a Business. The source from which the highest quality ideas emerge. All people know how to do something better than others, either because of some particular skill, as a result of knowledge, experience, etc. And this distinction is the vein that must be explored to identify the ideas that are sought.

Two paths can be followed for this: the vertical path and the horizontal path.

The vertical route passes through the SPECIALIZATION.

In this case, the idea for a Business is based on producing and selling something very specific, different, and particular. When a person has a lot of knowledge and skills in their field, they will go this route, because it will be easier for them to identify distinctions.

In the vertical path, ideas arise from tasks that are already known or practiced. A process, task, or operation is identified that can be improved or specialized. All business activities are made up of multiple tasks and processes, and any one of them can be a cornerstone for specialization and a new Business.

Business ideas that are sustained “vertically” tend to be more solid, and of greater scope and magnitude.

Some of the best-known and most important businesses are born from this aspect. From Ford in car production to Microsoft. Those businesses were established by people who offered something specialized on the basis of what they already knew. They found a deeper vein in the activity they were already doing for other companies or individuals.

The horizontal route passes through DIFFERENTIATION.

In this case, the idea for a Business arises from doing something different from what is already known. It is a broader path than the previous one. Since it is easier to find a difference in production, service, image, distribution system, sales method, etc., from what is already practiced.

There are countless options to differentiate yourself and establish a Business. Many times the differences can be small, but if they are exploited well, they emerge as a concrete option. Ideas on the horizontal path don’t have to be very sophisticated.

Business ideas that are sustained “in the Horizontal” face greater competition than those that arise from specialization criteria. And they can have a shorter life cycle. But on the other hand, they are very flexible, they can be renewed and reinvented with ease.

There are millions of such businesses. From those who make new packaging for a known product to those who design different distribution systems for established products (the case of Amazon).

To do Business it is not necessary to think about the formation of a “structure”. Individuals can produce and sell knowledge, experience, or ideas. In this way, they are also doing Business, either based on the criteria of the vertical or horizontal route.

Basing the development of a Business on something “that you already know how to do” is recommended, but not exclusive.

You can also do business in little-known areas. However, in those cases, it is better to focus on generic-based or “common understanding” activities. These are known as “commercial operations”.

There are many examples of these businesses, most of them related to “intermediation or triangulation” operations: buying and selling something with a price differential, connecting the seller and the buyer, finding and providing what others are looking for, and so on.

These businesses can be very productive. They do require skills, aptitudes, and experience, but have lower barriers to entry. As they are not part of the knowledge that “few have”, they can be quickly replicated.

Since people who are in a business of this type do not “own” the products they sell (because they do not produce them), they must “protect” their customers quite well. And this is not easy in open markets.

Finding capital for good business ideas is not easy, but it is much easier than conceiving and developing the idea.

Capital is a “fungible” good, it is consumed with use. Ideas are an asset. There will always be someone n   in transforms a consumable into an Asset. Therefore, the capital for a good business idea is more accessible than it is believed.

Many people who are convinced that they are potential entrepreneurs, eagerly search for ideas to start a Business. They read a lot, study the market, exchange opinions, etc. However, in this way, good business does not arise.

It is not coherent that someone who “has decided to be an Entrepreneur” does not know what undertaking he will carry out.

Entrepreneurship is not an easy task, on the contrary, it is a life decision. You don’t go down that road just because the prospect seems attractive, you think the tickets to riches are there, or you are “tired” of working life.

In reality, entrepreneurship eventually takes shape, after many ideas hang around in the head for long periods. After various options were weighed in sleeplessness and feasibility were put to the test by challenging the imagination. Endless hours of reflection, of dreams, but also fatalistic visions, doubt, and fear.

No serious Entrepreneur walks around asking for “ideas” to do something. There is not a book, not even a brochure, that lists “guaranteed ideas for successful businesses”.

That is completely superficial. There are no “experts in business ideas” unless they are those who record the history of those that have already been made.

The conception of the Entrepreneur occurs when an idea takes root in the mind. Then there is a long gestation. The idea takes shape and body over time, with the feeding it receives from visions, dreams, information analysis, surveys, and awareness.

The Entrepreneur is like a “pregnant” person, but with an idea. Until the moment that “delivery” occurs and the Business is formed. There begins another part of the story, a new life.

If someone expected to find some business idea in these lines, I hope they found something better. Because reality indeed exceeds fiction in weight and value. And someone should save time and money by knowing the truth and not anticipating easy money that does not exist.