Where do good business ideas come from?

by Startacus Admin

One technique I use is the Ideas Matrix. Its simple, powerful and I’ve lost track of the number of people who have generated business ideas using it. (You can do this technique on your own or in a group)

Here’s how it works:

Fill in the respective columns i.e. put your hobbies in the hobbies column your passions in the passions column and so on. Then start making links between the words. You can make as many or as few connections as you want to make as long as you come up with ideas. You may only link up words in two columns or you might use all four again that is fine as long you have some ideas at the end of those links.

Example:

This persons passion is dancing. One of the things that really gets her annoyed is late trains. The ideas she came up with was to offer dancing lessons on station platforms when trains are late or when you have a little time before your train arrives. Is this a good idea? At the moment we are focusing on quantity not quality. Also notice what is in the necessity column. As human beings we all need those 5 things. Add anything else you consider necessary to your survival on this planet but be sure to include those 5 basics.

Set yourself a time limit and a target number of ideas then start coming up with them as quickly as you can. Aim for quantity not quality. Quality comes later!

In my next post I will look at how to make sure the idea you have generated is viable in the real world.

Joseph Benn is the author of Brilliant Business Ideas and writes at www.ideasmapping.com

 

 

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Published on: 20th September 2012