How to generate Business Ideas?

Enthusiasm has no limits when it comes to talk about ideas. Oftentimes, you bump across the guy who says to you “Listen, I have an idea”. Depending on the circumstances you are in generating ideas can be quick or time consuming. During an emergency everybody starts thinking and an excellent workable idea pops out. But in the case of family, business, educational pursuits, sports, military ventures and political manoeuvring, creating the right idea is time consuming. There are seven ways in which you can generate successful ideas that work in most of the fields. As a business adviser I give pride of place to generating business ideas:

1. Reflective Thinking: This is the fountain that springs most successful ideas in business, technology and activities that border on the profit motive. In reflective thinking you regurgitate like a cow in the gate, of what you have learned, what you have heard and what you have felt. You marshal these facts of wisdom; re-visit these and make connections between you and the facts gathered. Thereafter, you examine the facts, correct the errors tie the loose-ends and embark on the journey of re-learning. You fuse many limbs of the idea into a cohesive whole and arrive at a business idea that has the potential to be turned into a practical and successful one

2. Studied imagination: I rate this process as the second most important way to generate good business ideas. In this process you enmesh both subjectivity and objective analysis. What you have studied in college, business and family relationship is your objective part which you will weld with imagination that flies out to realm of un-fathomed areas. Icarus saw how birds fly and fitted him with wings made of wax he soared over the sky. For his bad time he came close to the Sun which resulted in the melting of the wings. Consequently, he started to fall. You are not going to repeat this. Instead, you will steer your imagination backed by your objective facts could easily land in a workable business idea

3. Bright Sparks: Unlike studied imagination bright sparks give you an idea all of a sudden. It may be related to the circumstance you are in or something un-related but connected to your circumstance. Archimedes found his theory of floating body after immersing in the water tub. His theory ran thus: any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. This theory has worked wonders in business applications

4. Observing Nature: Newton found his theory of gravity after observing the fall of apple from the tree. Natural phenomenon has objective lessons for you. Scriptures talk about this as a measure of reward or punishment from the God. Naturalists think otherwise. They opine that these phenomena are result of cause and effect which were later tested in science and arts. By observing nature, business persons have fashioned ventures from food to outer space-physics

5. Your Experience: As you agree with me, experience is a better teacher. Your track experience in a chosen career can give you plenty of ideas whose success rate is much higher than the ones your green horn colleague boasts about. A seasoned person with plenty of experience and insight generates quick and workable ideas than MBA graduates because he prefers to err on the side of caution rather than jump head along into a hole of fire

6. Brainstorming: It is not necessary that you should do a brainstorm session in a class room setting to get brilliant ideas. When you meet up with friends, colleagues and family members make it a point to talk about new idea for a business. Allow them to speak their heart out. Never interrupt. Garner points and trends. Now you do your own calculus picking one point here one trend there and bring together to get a raw idea. After refinement and faceting you will end up having a remarkable one. Call it gold mine

7. Recycling Ideas: For want of better expression, I am using the phrase recycling ideas. in fact you are borrowing it lock, stock and barrel. Lest you are accused of plagiarism or indicted for copyright violations you calibrate the idea; tweaking and tinkering. The result can be anything: Improvement, Adaptation or Re-make. Sadly, 90 % of the ideas that float in the market are just re-cycling stuff.

Muthu Ashraff

Business Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

 

Six Situations where Ideas are generated

In business and in family life you generate ideas as a response to the situations where you are in. There are six situations that compel you to do something. More often than not you come up with an idea to extricate yourself from a situation. Many a successful business idea came to sunlight as response to such situations. Here are the six situations:

1. Need: A need is defined as un-fulfilled part or whole of a desire. If you look for a fat salary and get only a portion your need is un-fulfilled partly. If you do not get a salary at all your whole desire is gone barren. There is slight distinction between need and want. Whereas a need is not fully supported by the means to achieve it, a want has every means that support in getting it over. Yet another point is that need ranges between what is voluntary and what is necessity. A person needs a TV for entertainment and can do without it though. When it comes to food it is vital necessity as he cannot do without it

2. Requirement: Definition of requirement is thus: something expected, demanded or imposed upon as an obligation. On personal basis a requirement can be voluntary and does not speak of strict obligation. When it passes to the realm of inter-personal relationship requirement becomes much stricter and denotes authority, necessity and perhaps norms & standards. For example one can be nude in his room, whereas when he walks on the street he is expected to be decently dressed

3. Problem: A problem is a situation that is harmful or unwelcome implying an impediment to the progress of anything; as a corollary problem mandates that corrective action must be taken. On the same token a problem conveys a gap between what it is and what it should be; what is desired and what you have finally got; for example a city hall meeting is expected to be peaceful; when fracas occurs in between tow antagonists inside the hall it is a definite problem. Insufficiency is something that woven around a problem occurring in every conceivable areas including data, norms, budget, performance and degree of satisfaction

4. Issue: An issue can be a minor one forming a part of the problem or major one engulfing the entire problem. A salutary point is an issue can be sorted out by discussion, explanation, exploration or by consensual talk. Centrality of an issue can impact the problem at hand. For example sending troops abroad is a military manoeuvre where willingness of the uniformed corps to serve elsewhere could turn out to be an issue

5. Question: A matter that demands information, answer confirmation or clarification. Alternatively question means deficiency in terms of knowledge, connectivity, personal conduct etc.

6. Query: A query is a question that is addressed to someone who holds public or private office. It denotes legal or moral compulsion on the part of the receiver of the query and authority and standard on the part of the issuer.

When you are faced with any of the six situations, you have no alternative other than developing an idea to counter it. In doing so you may land with brilliant idea, really.

Muthu Ashraff

Business Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

 

How to Improve your Business?

When you see a business not doing well you have got to find the ways and means of improving it. That is lot of catching up to do. You have to see how the problem arose in the first place; thereafter you have to take the stock of the situation you are in and plan out a solution. Admittedly, many of you have no patience to study and analyse what must be done to take you out of the fire. Furthermore, many of you may not be aware what action is right and what is wrong in the given circumstance. Right actions on your part elicit positive response and lead you to a workable solution; incorrect actions on your part bring in negative response and lead you to disaster. Here are few steps that you must follow in improving your business:

Six Easy Steps

1. Find out what is the Problem that impedes your progress in life
2. Understand the Nature of the Problem
3. Checklist the Causes that led to this Problem
4. Find out a Solution yourself, if this Problem is just a minor issue that can be corrected by you alone
5. Chart out a Solution after consulting your colleagues and staff, if and when the issue is mildly complex
6. Where the problem or issue is fairly complex you call in a Business Adviser to guide you in solving your problem and in improving your business

What you should look for in a Business Adviser?

1. He must be neutral, independent and confidential person well versed in business management.
2. His advice is designed exclusively for you after considering your problem, your issue and your question against your own background rather than churning out generalized hum-drum advice 
3. Any solution must be as distinct as the case may be in relation to your business, your industry or segment, your area or region etc.
4. The business adviser must assist you in making your business better, meaningful, rewarding and satisfying
5. Moreover, he should be able to analyse, understand and evaluate your business along with your personal cosmics
6. Finally, he must give you proper direction and guidance to facilitate taking risk and making decisions.

Muthu Ashraff

Business Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Should Business Idea must be original to Succeed?

 

When you speak to someone about your business idea the first question that pops up is whether it is an original one. So business persons are more concerned with innovation and make their business ideas sound original. But they have not looked at the performance angle. Should every business idea must be original to succeed in the market place. Let us find out.

Your business ideas are sparks of your studied imagination. You get a bright idea in your mind based on your experience and learning and from what you read and reflect upon about how others have gone through. I just looked at the Fortune December 12, 2011 issue and read about the list of 50 Movers and Shakers profiled there. Afterwards, I superimposed the originality or otherwise of the business idea represented by four of those movers and shakers. My findings are as follows:

Original Indeed: Mark Zuckerberg Co-founder and CEO of Facebook ranks as a businessman who brought the original platform on social networking in style and relevance. Leader of the social media, Mark founded Facebook in 2004 and today its sales top 4.3 Billion U S Dollars. The present valuation of the privately held share capital is between 79 to 82 Billion U S Dollars. The financial market awaits the initial public issue of the Facebook expected to open in early next year hovering around 100 Billion U S Dollars. This is remarkable success of an original business idea

Improvement: Larry Page Co-founder and CEO of Google went on to improve the business idea of internet search engine in competition with Microsoft. He improved the technology of search engine by introducing innovative platforms such as Android Operating System and implemented it seamlessly across various products offered by Google. From Android it was easy to get into telephony and the hand set market. Just look at Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and you will realize how effective Google as search engine is. It is giving strong competition to Facebook in social media by introducing Google+ which has more than 40 million users right now. Revenue for 2011 expected to touch about 40 Billion U S Dollars

Adaptation: Hamdi Ulukaya Founder and CEO of Chobani is dubbed as the King of Greek Yogurt. There is no such thing as Greek Yogurt or Armenian yogurt. What Hamdi did was to adapt the business idea of yogurt in pleasing flavours including vanilla, strawberry, peach, blueberry and honey and mixed with pomegranates and other fruits. He then presented Greek yogurt to the American market obsessed with Greek yogurt and crazy over health food. Founded in 2005, Chobani is now ranked as third largest yogurt company with sales targeted around 700 U S Dollars in 2011. Its market share in Greek Yogurt is almost 50 % while in the overall industry Chobani has about 10.4 % market presence

Re-Make: Robin Li Co-founder and CEO of Baidu is a classic example of a shaker who just did a re-make of an internet search engine in the fast growing Chinese market. Robin saw an opportunity of re-making the business idea when Google made a graceful exit from Chinese market. Modelling on Google, Robin has everything that Google did or offered. He integrated with Android Operating System and expanded his web portfolio to include search, on-line business and auction based marketing methods. Baidu is now controlling 75 % of the internet market in China

Cosmics: All four business persons profiled above took their business idea and fashioned it differently. But the binding thread that runs across them is the way their cosmics helped them succeed in their chosen ventures. It is because cosmics make each businessman succeed in a particular field or sector. Cosmics are aspects residing within everyone shaping and influencing his idea and business. 

 

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Who can Evaluate Your Business Idea?

 

You have a got a business idea. You think that it is really great. Having mulled it over, you feel that it can be translated into commercial success. All the while, it is you and your idea that mattered. Now comes the third party angle. You have to find someone to look at your business idea and evaluate it for you. Here are persons whom you should approach:

 

1. Charity begins at home so does evaluation of your business idea. Firstly, you sound your family about it. Your wife is an important resource person who, knowing you very well, can give an informal assessment. She may not be a business person but she possesses insight into how you work and what will work for you. Next you should turn to your children who are adults and can understand many things in proper perspective than you. The reason is that you are emotionally attached to the business idea you have developed whereas they can bring a rational approach to bear upon it. When discussing within family never load them with facts and figures. Just explain them broad principles and major matters

2. Secondly, you must talk few of your relations over. You can choose to speak to one who has succeeded in business or career. Additionally, you must also have a rendezvous with a relation who is more of academic bent. This way you can mesh academia with practical life; a method often brings you a via-media approach. During this discussion you should wait till they finish and pose them questions, taking the stand that your business has definite fault lines. Why do I say this; if you profess loyalty and possessiveness towards the idea, your relations would often be silent and would not venture making any adverse comments

3. Next in your appointment schedule are close friends who could come from different backgrounds: in business, career, academia, government service, military, social service and so on. When you meet them you explain your business idea and give the pros and cons and await their own appraisal and analysis. You should ask searching questions that include benefit and cost; risk and reward, limitations and growth etc. As you proceed ask them to look at your idea from neutral ground and prod them to give you more qualitative comments

4. Then comes the professionals; you must approach accountant, company secretary, lawyer to give their feedback on your business idea. Once again you must adopt the approach I gave you in dealing with your family members. Give them facts and figures as well as broad principles and major matters surrounding the business idea

5. In the next segment you elect to choose either your banker or venture capitalist for an informal chat. These guys are well versed in seeing, reading and evaluating great number of business proposals and would be a big source not only in critically examining the idea but proffering advice and assistance in translating it into commercial success

6. Finally, you must get someone who can understand you, your business idea and your cosmics. However much bright and usefulness your business idea is, its successful transformation depends on how you understand and evaluate your cosmics. Cosmics are aspects residing within you shaping and influencing your business though these are un-seen and un-noticed by you. If you know cosmics well, you can employ these to your own advantages. For example, let us assume that your cosmics support you in food processing industry and your business idea is on data processing industry. So your success in transforming your business idea stands alone without any support from cosmics within you. No wonder why so many bright business ideas falter in the market.

 

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/