SOWPub Small Business Forums - Another weeeird business from Japan...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil (Post 33054)

How Entrepreneurs Come Up With Great Ideas
There is no magic formula. But that doesn't mean there's no formula at all...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...526004684.html

Hi Phil,

Thanks for posting this - definitely some great advice in that article...

Here are some quotes from the article, and after each quote, a few additional thoughts I had while reading through it...

"Look at What's Bugging You" - David Cohen

That makes me think of this recent article by Paul Graham (who started what eventually became "Yahoo Stores" after he sold it to Yahoo, and which now has a more complicated and harder-to-remember name)...

"How to get startup ideas" - http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html

Paul Graham says...

"The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself."

"At the very least, collect other people's problems." - Saras D. Sarasvathy

Similar... Focus on solving problems...

"You're Never Too Old" - Vivek Wadhwa

He goes on to say...

"Research that my team completed in 2009 determined that the average age of a successful entrepreneur in high-growth industries such as computers, health care and aerospace is 40. Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are aged over 50 as under 25, and twice as many over 60 as under 20."

This reminds me of entrepreneurs like Ray Kroc (who started the McDonald's franchise at around age 53) and Colonel Harland Sanders (who started franchising his "Kentucky Fried Chicken" at age 65).

Momofuku Ando developed "instant" ramen noodles at age 48.

In other fields, Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't write her first "Little House on the Prairie" book until she was 63, which was first published when she was aged 65. Of course, she wrote many other best-selling books after that one too.

"Head Into the Weird Places" - Victor W. Hwang

I think it's important to get out of your comfort zone every now and then. It stimulates the brain, and opens up your mind to new ideas and possibilities...!

"Fail fast" - Kevin Colleran
"Get customer feedback: Listen to customers and create products and services that give them more of what they like and/or remove what they dislike." - Dave Lavinsky

These two make me think of testing.

Let me direct you to a fantastic article by Denny Hatch on this topic.

"A Eureka Moment: What to Do Next - The Art and Science of the Dry Test"
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/ar...ect-marketing#

(I love Denny Hatch. I've bought all his non-fiction books, which I strongly recommend... His book "Method Marketing" remains one of my favorite business books of all time.)

Here's a quick quote from that article...

"One of the savviest research brains in the direct marketing business is Bob Doscher of Response Innovations. Doscher can create surveys that go to a marketer’s customer file. The survey briefly describes various possible new products and requests the interest level. From the responses Doscher can―with lethal accuracy—predict which ones will be the moneymakers and which will bomb."

It's a very smart idea... and low-risk, too!

Thanks Phil - there was some great stuff in that article. Hopefully some have found some of these "off-the-cuff" notes helpful, too! :)

Best wishes,

Dien