Business Opportunities Weblog

Finding New Biz Ideas

By on June 19, 2008 in Ideas


The Wall Street Journal:

Ideas are everywhere. It’s execution of good ideas — not the ideas themselves — that makes for successful businesses.

That said, uncovering real opportunities and fleshing them out requires some foresight and research. Aspiring entrepreneurs should generally stick with industries or subjects they are already well-versed in, since they’ll then be in the best position to spot opportunities and take advantage of them, says Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo., entrepreneurial research organization.

“If you don’t have a unique skill set in a space,” he says, “it’s going to be very hard for you to just jump in and compete with everyone else who does.”

The best ideas, Fishback adds, are those that solve vexing problems — and often spring from firsthand experiences. Of course, some trends, such as the aging baby-boomer population or the boom in online social networking, naturally present lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Fishback recommends identifying the “smartest” people you can find in any industry you’re considering starting a business in and speaking with them extensively about the industry and the issues they face. These people will not only feed you ideas, but can also act as a sounding board for any ideas you have. Closely monitoring the news, blogs and industry Web sites also can help sprout ideas.

Photo by monique72.

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Rich Whittle has added 6,226 posts to Business Opportunities Weblog.

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  • http://www.pennyjobs.com Curt

    Yes, ideas are everywhere, while the will and vision to execute is lacking. But, ‘will and vision’ take passion, and passion means a love for something. Most successful businesses are started by people that love what they do so much that they would do it for free – if they could. So, if your planning to start a business, look for ideas that relate to what your love to do.

  • cassy

    Well,if you really have many ideas of what business is good to start, you should have the skills and the ability.

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