Ideas: the foundation of any good business. As an entrepreneur, or creative, inspiration can strike at any time, sparked often by everyday activities.
What can you do with all of your ideas? Implement them immediately? Tell yourself you will come back to it later when you have time, but then forget? Dismiss it altogether because “it won’t work anyway”? The answer? Keep a running ideas log.
Some of the best products and services have been borne out of a passing thought that could easily have been ignored, so note down every idea in a way that works for you. Here are some ideas below to get you started:
- Use a notes app on your phone. I love Apple Notes, Evernote and Google Keep because you can tag your ideas and easily access them when needed.
- Post Its. Jot down your ideas and organise them in to folders or put them in a jar on your desk for easy access.
- Pen and paper. Keep a small notebook with you wherever you go, prepped to write in when you need it.
Once you make a note of your ideas, make sure you set aside time every week to go through your list and file your ideas in to one of the following categories:
- Action immediately: is it a quick idea you can test immediately? Is it something you can be “first” in launching? Is it a blog post or newsletter idea that your customers can benefit from straightaway?
- Bucket list: is it a great idea, but you don’t have the time, budget or resources to action now? Do you need to brainstorm it further to be sure? Are you waiting for data to back it up? Keeping ideas on the backburner can give you time to reflect, plus you always have an “ideas bank” full of goodness when you need to change something in your business, which will save you time when you’re looking to innovate.
- Discard: you should have a valid reason before completely disregarding an idea, for example, is it completely out of budget? Is it off brand? Has your research told you that the product/ service won’t be viable?
Bonus tip: follow accounts and businesses on social media that inspire you, especially if they are not in your niche. Look at what they are doing and how they communicate with their audience-are you inspired? Looking outside of your target market can often lead to innovation.
Finally, if you want someone to help you brainstorm or research a particular idea you have, or an areas of the retail market to test its viability, get in touch! I have experience in market entry strategy, research and competitor analysis.