Acres of Ideas

Where do ideas come from, to fuel a business with development of new products, processes or models?

Everywhere.

I’m participating in a 30-day blog challenge, and yesterday was the half way point. The organizers put on a check-in call for the participants.

As that call was ending, a further call was announced as a post-challenge celebration.

People began offering to bring food, as though this was to be a real picnic, not a virtual event. It became a fun game.

I offered broccoli salad, something handy to bring to a carry in. And I recalled how I had eaten this salad at an office carry-in, then developed my own recipe because I could not find one.

We can always create our own.

Something like a salad is easy, and business ideas can be, too. Start with the information or ideas you already have, and preliminary goals for their use as new products or services.

Then use paper and pen – or another favorite method you have for recording ideas – and let them flow.

No editing allowed. That step can come later.

If you can get five ideas, then you can get twenty. If you can get twenty, you can get 100. Nothing is too wild at this point, because you never know what wonderful idea can be born from something that seems a bit farfetched.

The 30-day blog challenge is a good tool to help ideas flow as well. Writing every day is a great way to build the habit of reaching for ideas and recording them.

Fifteen days accomplished, fifteen more to go. And if that end-of-challenge party becomes a reality, I will bring the broccoli salad.