There are people that seem to easily come by multi-billion dollar ideas on a daily basis. Some have up to five or six 10-figure business ideas and continue to generate many more. There are people like Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Aliko Dangote, and even President Donald Trump who always seem to have multi-billion ideas coming to them. These people are not saints or genius of any kind; they are simply smart people with proven and uncanny ways to work out ideas that ultimately prove successful.
Forbes writer and author of best-seller book The Art of Startup Fundraising, Alejandro Cremades, a serial entrepreneur, has a few advice on how to generate successful business ideas:
Take a walk in the park or the neighborhood
You may not believe this, but genius ideas often come to highly successful people when they take a long walk. Walking in parks or neighborhoods distracts the brain from pressing issues, creating space for better ideas to come through. If you are ever looking to get inspired, then take a long walk.
Go to inspirational places
When you go to different places, you will realize you get inspired in some places and not in others. The reason for this is largely because some places are capable of generating inspirations. Going to village markets, cemeteries, recreational parks, university libraries, motor- parks, natural resorts, and others inspire you with lasting ideas.
Search for big problems
Problems exist to be solved; and the bigger the problem solved, the bigger the attendant rewards. Big companies solve big problems, and it is the ability to solve such problems that made them big in the first place. Search for big problems to solve – once you identify the problems, the answers will come vaguely to you.
Look for big markets
There is always a big market out there. They may not be readily obvious, but they are out there. For instance, no one needed Facebook, Alibaba or Google decades ago; but since their emergence, their markets have continued to enlarge. And in case you need to know – food, shelter, clothing, communication, healthcare, and finance will always remain big and eternal markets.
Get a model that works for you
Where it is not easy to generate your own idea, then you must look for others’ ideas and see how you can modify or key into it. You can even create your own products and market it with the model developed by more successful companies.
Locate an old industry
Locate an old industry and bring it to life again by putting your own spin on it. The taxi business had been in existence forever, but Uber and Lyft came around and did something new with it by remodeling it with new technologies. When consumers are frustrated with an old industry, they will welcome a new business sprouting from it.
Work with other entrepreneurs
It is good and gratifying to be an entrepreneur, but sometimes you gain better traction by teaming with other entrepreneurs to plow a common field. Or solve a big problem that may become a business. While thousands of new businesses floated by individual entrepreneurs fail yearly, the chances for this will be reduced if there is a partnership.
Serve a larger corporation
Where your creative juices are not serving you, you can tap into opportunities provided by larger corporations to make things for yourself. Remember that multi-billion dollar companies have millions of customers; you can see how to help them run efficiently or satisfy their customers more to earn a piece of the big cake. Imagine producing a car part for an automobile company for a lifetime royalty.
Turn your passions into a business
Many people have become entrepreneurs simply by turning their hobbies into a business. Do you like knitting? It may become a country-wide business. Do you like baking and experimenting with recipes? You could open a bakery or restaurant that saves an entire city. Do you enjoy drawing? You could serve the needs of the entertainment industry by setting up yourself for business.
Write down your ideas as they occur
Do not be surprised that this point came last. Entrepreneurs and creatives are always writing down things. Jotting down ideas make them clearer over time. When ideas flow on paper, then they take shape in the mind and soon assume a life of their own.
Every big company or organization out there started as an idea. Then they are nourished the way babies are nourished into childhood. Think big and learn to analyze other businesses to see how you can ride on their shoulders to wealth.