Developing Your Business Idea

Many sources can be the basis for you to generate a good business idea. It’s fair to say that most are influenced by existing skills, your previous experience or the knowledge that you already have … often coming from your existing work or from a hobby or pastime that you enjoy.

Exploring ALL your options is vital to turning an idea into a viable business – we don’t want you to become another sorry statistic of business failure!

Additionally, it’s worth considering the points below which can help with the process of business ideas generation but always remember that thorough research and planning is required to ensure the idea has the potential to be a successful enterprise.

• Do what you are doing – the simplest and most straightforward approach. Examples might be an accountant for a company who sets up their own practice … or a tradesman, (joiner, electrician, plumber, etc), who becomes self employed. The key here is to ensure you plan and understand how you will make it pay as your own business. You also need to work out ‘what you don’t know’ … running your own business needs additional skills like bookkeeping, cashflow management, marketing and selling, etc. These all become your jobs once it’s your business.
• Turning your hobby into a business – can be a very rewarding way to generate a business idea as it will be something that you enjoy and invariably already have the skills and knowledge needed. Don’t just look at the core idea but ways you can expand or adapt it and make the offer more unique. As ever, it is about making sure that it can work as a business.
• Look for a problem that needs solving – it is often said that necessity is the mother of invention but really it’s inconvenience! Although totally unique ideas are rare, and you ‘could’ have one of those. It’s always worth looking at things that cause inconvenience or irritation to people and seeing if you can generate a business idea that solves the problem.
• Make a better one – there is nothing wrong with a “me too” approach and taking an existing business concept and improving it can provide an extremely viable basis for your own commercial venture.
• Trends – many people have taken inspiration from the world around them to start a business that has become successful. There are so many different sources from travel and culture to fashion and music which can generate ideas. Seeing the opportunity is one thing but research and planning are what will turn it into a viable enterprise.
• WWW – the web can offer countless opportunities to generate and explore business ideas and in many ways is similar to the point above. You’re still looking to find a ‘unique’ element though – something to get you noticed and get people talking about it. Remember, the internet is great whilst you’re doing well but it’s also a noisy place for detractors who want to share bad experiences so part of your strategy has to be dealing with these when they come along.
• Family and friends – talking to them can be a great starting point to generating business ideas but it also offers the opportunity to tap into a broader skill set and explore a possible joint venture. It could well be that somebody you know has a complimentary skill set that, alongside yours, could be a winning combination as a business. Think Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak at Apple – one had the eye for a business and marketing opportunities and the other a computer genius! The rest is history.

However you arrive at your business idea, the key is in the research to show the concept has potential as a business. Initially all you will invest is time but it is time well spent and something which is a repeatable process until you arrive at “the one”. Then its down to the business planning!

It is always worth talking to someone that has been in business for a while before starting. Better yet speak to someone who has already achieved what you want to achieve, they maybe able to share some valuable insight with you before you start.

Business idea thoughts from Yorkshire Powerhouse

Have you any questions?

Here at Yorkshire Powerhouse, we’re happy to help as much as possible – is there anything else we can do to help you, do you have any further questions or can we help introduce you to an expert – please let us know: