Starting a Business All-In-One For Dummies

Chapter 2

Refining and Defining Your 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

Almost all successful businesses begin with a good idea. The idea may be to present a new product or service, or plan to introduce an existing product or service into a new niche. Great business ideas are born when someone figures out a better way to make something or to provide customers what they want. Successful business ideas don't have to be world-shaking. No matter how modest or extensive they are, they're an important and new way to improve efficiency, cut costs, or deal with a critical business challenge.

Count on this chapter 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.

Recognizing the Power of a Good Idea

Facebook started with a good idea. So did Google. Toyota had a pretty good idea when it developed a hybrid engine. Apple did, too, when the company decided to build a touchscreen device big enough to read, draw, and write on. Good ideas aren't limited to major companies. The young couple who decides to open a doggy day care in a town where a lot ...