Business Ideas By Andres Roemer
Great business ideas are all around you. Just open yourself to the possibilities, and you're bound to find a winner. To start your search for that drop-dead idea that's going to set the world on fire, start with the following sources. Culled from marketing guru Al Ries, chairman of Roswell, Georgia-based marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries and co-author with Laura Ries of 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, and business trendwatcher Perry Lowe, professor of marketing at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts, these can be the first steps in your search for the business of your dreams. Andres Roemer intend to share with you: Questions, criticism, doubt, inquisitions, proposals, fears, hopes, ideas. In short:
1. Start with family.
Tapping family for great business ideas may not seem like an obvious first step. Sure, you'll hit them up for cash once you've developed your idea, but what can your aging father or cousin Margaret contribute this early in the process? Plenty. Donald Trump certainly wasn't bashful about learning the real estate business from his dad, Fred, who ran a thriving real estate development company, says Ries. Trump had the good sense to get some priceless training before going off to become one of the country's foremost builders and real estate developers. "If his father hadn't provided the foundation and training [he needed] to create a profitable business, Trump wouldn't be where he is today," Ries explains. "Unfortunately, many people insist on [creating a business] themselves without any help from their family. That's foolish."
2. Get a little help from your friends.
Ries says you are severely limiting yourself if you rely solely on your own ideas--especially when your creative juices run dry. "This is reason enough to listen to ideas others may have," he says. "If you have 15 or 20 friends, chances are a couple of them have some incredible business ideas."
Great Business Ideas By Andres Roemer
If it weren't for Steve Jobs' good friend Steve Wozniak, there would be no Apple Computer today, Ries points out. "Jobs didn't know anything about computers," he says. "Wozniak, on the other hand, was the computer genius who developed the first Apple." Jobs had an eye for great business ideas and saw the marketing potential for developing a new type of computer. The important lesson is to keep your antenna up at all times so you can retrieve good ideas when you stumble across them. Ries insists you can make more money recognizing someone else's idea than creating one yourself.
3. Look at all the things that bug you.
It may not sound profound, but Ries says this is fertile ground for great business ideas. He cites how upset Kemmons Wilson was in the 1950s when a motel owner wanted to charge him an additional price for each of his five children. He was so ticked off, he launched Memphis, Tennessee-based Holiday Inn, today one of the world's largest hotel chains.
If King C. Gillette hadn't been fed up with the tedious process of sharpening his straight-edge razor, he wouldn't have founded the massive disposable razor industry. When he took his idea for a portable razor with a blade that could be used several times to a research university for assistance, engineers questioned his sanity. Gillette followed his instincts and the rest is history.
