Business Plans Kit For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2. Generating a Successful Business Idea

In This Chapter

• Developing great ideas

• Brainstorming alone or in a group

• Deciding which ideas are worth pursuing

• Putting your ideas through a reality check

Writing a business plan is one of the most important steps in moving a new business venture into reality. But a business plan is equally important for established ventures planning to introduce a new product or service — or scrambling to adapt to the kind of rapidly changing business environments we've seen in recent years.

Whatever your current situation, business planning begins with an idea. It may be a great idea for a new business. It may be an idea for a new product or service to expand your business. Then again it may be an idea about how you'll deal with a critical business challenge. Count on the following pages to fuel your idea-generating process with tips and tools for taking stock of your personal resources, asking others for advice, brainstorming ideas alone or in a group, putting your possibilities through a make-it-or-break-it reality check, and, finally, weighing the likelihood that investors, customers, and colleagues will want to buy into your business proposition.

Brainstorming Business Ideas

From technologies, to careers, to personal tastes, to finances, the world is moving faster than it's ever moved. The pace of change can be dizzying for sure, and it brings with it plenty of uncertainty and risk. But all that change also leads to big opportunities for visionaries ...