Many people have a hard time musing on which business to start. It is a given of course that at times it is not that easy to determine which business idea is worth pursuing. The fact of the matter though is that there are ideas all around us. Sometimes you probably just do not know where exactly to look; that is why this article can help you. I shall discuss four places you can consider as your hunting ground for business ideas. This will help you to zone in and easily notice business ideas that you might have never even thought of before.
Incidentals
There is a long list of businesses that were started as pure accidents. In life, you must be more aware as I always say. Cultivating that attribute will help you notice things that you can capitalize on and even commercialize. Three notable examples of business ideas that were started by accident or through mistakes are Coca Cola, post-it notes, and Kellogg’s cornflakes. Coca-cola started as some formula a pharmacist was trying out to take for his headaches. It was one day when one of his lab technicians put carbonated water into the mixture by mistake. That saw the beginning of the now-famous Coca Cola.
Post-it notes came as a result of a mistake by someone who was working on developing super glue. He thought the glue would work but it turned out it would quite hold firmly. However, that unexpected outcome birthed the post-it note which is a highly sought-after office component today. As for the cornflakes, it was two brothers working on a certain breakfast recipe. One day they forgot some of their wheat was still on a stove and left it overnight. The following day they found it in a unique state which later on gave birth to what we know today as cornflakes. I have detailed all these examples to show you that your next big business idea could be hidden in some incidentals in the form of mistakes or accidents. You need to pay more attention!
Out With The Old
There are so many things that are still being done the old way. This is usually the case because people are generally comfortable with staying in their comfort zone. If something has been working for many years people might never consider the possibility that it can be improved. That is why there is usually nothing as painful as the pain of a new idea. Many business ideas waiting to be discovered that are hidden in traditionally accepted ways of doing things.
Look at businesses like EcoCash; they were disruptive in that they came to re-arrange a traditional financial system where transactions could only be done through physical cash. Besides, who would have ever thought that money could be sent or kept in through and I phones? The whole point is that you must critically things that have done more or less the same way for ages – therein can be a business idea. As you think of better ways to doing things you will most definitely begin to notice many business ideas.
Perception Evolutions
The world is ever-evolving and as such people’s perceptions also change. In Zimbabwe right now there is a certain perception evolution that is happening that many do not realize. Growing up we used to know that urban to rural migration was a huge problem. It was never an issue of people migrating from towns to the countryside. However, there seems to be a shift in perception right now because more and more people are moving to rural and peri-urban areas. This could mean that the perception of urban life being superior to rural life could be evolving. If you study or seek to understand what they are going there in search of or why they are going there you will make some interesting discoveries. One of the reasons is the increase in agribusiness activities. You will then quickly notice that there are many business ideas you can come up with to tap into that trend. This is just one example but some perception shifts are going on right now in Zimbabwe. Figure them out and ride on them!
Shifts In Demographics
What are demographics? Demographics deal with characteristics of some form of the target audience. The nature of the audience can be quite varied and diverse for instance, by gender, age, location, and so on. For example, the diaspora demographic is now more invested in fending for their loved ones back here. This is mainly due to economic hardships being faced in Zimbabwe plus limited movement due to the pandemic. You will also notice that more and more Zimbabweans in the diaspora are investing back home. Such shifts can help you come up with business ideas that will tap into that market.
Research is vital in the business world. If you commit to combing through these 4 areas I am confident you will realize so many business ideas you can come up with. The great thing is that if you are objective you will come up with business ideas that do have a ready market.
