New Business Ideas
To start up a business you must get inspiration from somewhere.
There are 2 main sources to draw inspiration:
Internal sources – You get ideas from your own strengths/weaknesses.
External sources – You get ideas from opportunities and threats in the outside market.
Internal Sources of Business Ideas:
· Skills and Hobbies.
If your good at art you could start a sign painting business.
· Experiences
Richard Branson set up Virgin Atlantic Airways because he wasn’t happy with the service he got on other airlines.
· R&D (Research and Development)
A entrepreneur can set up a Research and Development department within their business, They can use creative employees to come up with new ideas.
· Customer Feedback
If a customer complains you could use this experience to develop new ideas to improve the business.
· Employee Suggestions (entrepreneurship)
If a business’ employees come up with a new product or service that would improve the business/sell well, this could be a good source for ideas.
External Sources for Business Ideas.
· Family and Friends.
A entrepreneur could get a idea for a business after hearing his family and friends complain about the lack of a service/product they need.
· State Agencies.
Government agencies provide ideas about new products and new markets. Eg. Enterprise Ireland provides market research reports about business opportunities around the world.
· Media.
Entrepreneurs could get a idea from reading something in a magazine/newspaper or hearing it on the radio or tv.
· Competition.
Businesses can get and idea by copying and adapting successful ideas developed by their rivals.
· Import Substitution.
Entrepreneurs can get and idea for a business by examining products that are imported to Ireland, then create a Irish made version.
Development Process of a New Product/Service
Idea Generation.
The first step is to generate new ideas – Brainstorming is when a group of creative people is brought together and asked for suggestions for business ideas.
Product/Service Screening.
When the group is finished each idea is examined (possibly with SWOT examination – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). This spots the good ideas and gets rid of bad ones fast.
Concept Development.
This involves writing a report on the product/idea. What is its USP – unique selling point.
Feasibility study.
A feasibility study is an investigation into new product ideas and to see how much the product would cost and how much profit it would make.
The business might us a Cash flow forecast or a Breakeven chart.
Prototype Development.
A prototype is the first working model of a new product. The prototype is tested and refined to eliminate any problems, this process is repeated until there is a perfect product.
Test Marketing.
Test marketing is when the business launches the product in small amounts. The business evaluates consumers responses. Their reactions define the price and advertising of a product.
Product Launch.
This is when the full-scale production of the product begins. The company must start a marketing campaign to get the product known.
