Coming up with ideas is not reserved for inventors. There are simple methods for generating plenty of them, and then a filter for keeping only those that deserve your energy.
Generating ideas
- Improve what exists: make it cheaper, simpler, faster or more local.
- Transpose an idea that works elsewhere to your region or your sector.
- Combine two services (e.g. café + coworking space).
- Target a niche that the big players serve badly.
Filtering with 4 criteria
Once your ideas are listed, score each one from 1 to 5 on four criteria, then add them up.
- Pain: is the problem genuinely annoying for people?
- Market: are enough people affected, and willing to pay?
- Skill: am I credible here, or able to learn fast?
- Motivation: do I want to talk about this every day for years?
A worked example: an idea scoring Pain 4, Market 3, Skill 5, Motivation 4 gets 16/20. Below 12/20, move on to the next one. This filter stops you spending months battling away at an appealing but fragile idea.
Key takeaway: generate lots of ideas (improve, transpose, combine, target a niche), then filter them on pain, market, skill and motivation.