One Business Network

It was years after thinking about starting a company that I actually took the plunge – and what was stopping me was a lack of ideas.  What I failed to realise was that there were ideas all around me – you don’t have to find something new.  In fact, there are very few ‘new’ ideas.  What you need to do is find a way of solving a problem people have, or find a better way of delivering a popular service.

Through increased education, you find gaps in the market and new ideas every day – now I have a shortage of time, rather than ideas!

By researching trends, you can think about what people will need in the future…  Throughout history, there have been eras in time where people made their fortunes in different ways – there were the resource millionaires initially, who mined minerals, steel, timber and created the transportation systems, such as the great railways. 

Then came the manufacturing era; following World War 2.  The successful people found cheaper ways of making things and succeeded as rationing came to an end.

In the 1990s people made their fortunes by finding better ways to deliver things – look at Walmart, Amazon.com, FedEx and Tesco for great examples.

Paul Zane Pilzer, a leading economist, suggests the next fortunes will be made in what he calls intellectual distribution – teaching.  Have a look at his, and other, websites to find ideas for yourself that you may be able to create a business from, or add into your business model.  Remember to stick to your strengths though – you’ll have a greater chance of success that way.

If you’re still stuck for ideas, read more business books – they’re full of them.

For more trends information, download our latest copy of ‘ONE Up’ the ONE Business Network newsletter.