You may have come up with an idea but been put off by others already doing it or reactions from friends and family telling you your idea will never work. Don’t be put off by competition – there are always going to be others doing similar things and if there aren’t, there soon will be once you launch and the copycats notice you. Also don’t be put off by the negative reactions of others – surround yourself instead with people who also want to work for themselves or already do – you can do this through online or offline networking.

There are plenty of online forums with active participants who either have already or are wanting to start their own business and they are usually happy to share their knowledge or commiserate when you are having a bad day. Human nature is such that many people will try and talk you out of setting up your own business – either from jealousy or lack of understanding or just because they want the best for you and are scared that you are stepping out of the comfort zone for them and perhaps you.

So how do you come up with the perfect business idea for you? Many people will launch a business based on their experience e.g. an accountant might start up a financial services business, a builder might start his own building company, and a pet store worker might start up their own puppy breeding business. The key motivation behind this type of business idea tends to often be more that those people are wanting to be their own boss and are picking the most obvious business idea rather than that they are following their passion. Certainly there are huge benefits in starting a business based on what you already know – but if you are leaving your job because you hate it then starting up your own business based on that same job may quickly seem like a bad idea because all you will have done is swapped bosses – and you might find that you are a worse boss than the one you already have.

Different ways to come up with an idea.

There are many ways in which people come up with an idea for a new business. The lucky ones may find inspiration really quickly, but for others it may need to be a more thought out process. Here are some ways in which you might come up with your idea:

• Seeing a product overseas which is not available in your country or area.
• Coming up with a new product or service idea based on something you need which is not available.
• Starting a business based around your passion and interests.
• Starting a business based around your experience and skills.
• Deciding on a target market you want to reach and then designing your business around that e.g. you may decide you want to deal with brides as you love weddings – then you can start brainstorming different ideas around that type of client.
• Deciding on a popular and growing trend and find a business opportunity in that area – do some research on which the growing areas for consumer spending are e.g. health, diet, fitness, children’s products etc. Make sure you pick a trend that is going to have an ever expanding audience rather than one with a limited shelf life or one that is a luxury product which can be affected by a recession.
• You don’t need to come up with a new idea – if that were the case there would only be one real estate agent or pizza delivery service in each suburb. Many successful businesses have taken an existing business idea but have marketed it in a different way and that has been the key to their success.  
• Have a look at an existing type of business and see whether you can combine it with another to come up with something new e.g. combining a coffee bar within a hairdressing salon, or a bookshop within a coffee shop.
• Buy an existing franchise.
• Find your strength, skill sets, interests, passion.
• First of all you need to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are.
• What are your hobbies?  
• What are you really passionate about?  
• What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?  
• What would you do if money were no object?
• What did you always want to do when you were a child?
• What are you good at?
• What type of personality do you have? Outgoing and gregarious or shy and happier working behind the scenes?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?  It is often good to ask a few friends how they would answer this question as often the answer may be more obvious to others than to ourselves.
• Try and work out when you do your best thinking.  Is it in the shower, in bed, driving the car?  
• Always keep a notebook and pen with you to jot down ideas.  
• Identify problems in your everyday life and try and come up with a solution that is not available yet – write down every possible solution you can think of.  

Do not force your ideas – just practice thinking in a way where you become more aware of your interests and other ideas in the marketplace. Once you start noticing other business ideas around you and talking to others who are self employed, you should start to find the inspiration flowing.