9 Steps to Find Your Business Idea

Sometimes good ideas are born bad. Today, we’ll share steps from a renowned consultant, that you can use to find your business idea.

Click the player to listen to this episode of The BIGG Success Show Podcast. Below is a summary of our discussion.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

Cavas Gobhai has consulted with some of the world’s largest companies. He helps them implement ideas. Over the years, he has noticed something about business ideas that succeed BIGG. Here’s a quote from The Wall Street Journal:

“Big ideas don’t get built incrementally. You back into big good ideas from big bad ideas.”

Most good ideas may look a bit odd at birth. They may sound crazy or outrageous at first. But these bad ideas are the seed for break-through ideas.

We became familiar with Gobhai’s work through the book, The Predators’ Ball, written by Connie Bruck. One of his most famous clients, Drexel Burnham, ultimately failed for reasons that aren’t relevant to our discussion. However, during the time Gobhai consulted with them, they went from being a no-name firm to become one of the most formidable investment houses on Wall Street.

Let’s go to The Professor’s Whiteboard to see how Gobhai’s techniques can help you find your business idea.

#1 – Schedule time

If you don’t plan time for creative thinking, the odds are that it won’t get done. Dedicate a block of time at least every quarter to creative thinking. In a short time, you’ll see what a valuable investment this is.

#2 – Create the right environment

Some people think most creatively in absolute silence. Others work best with some noise. Whatever works for you works! Just make sure you place yourself in an environment where you can be most productive as you explore ideas.

#3 – Accept spontaneity

While it’s important to dedicate time, it’s also crucial to develop a system to record your ideas as they occur – on your commute, in the shower. Make sure you archive your business idea, whenever or wherever it pops into your mind.

#4 – Focus on challenges and opportunities

What’s the biggest challenge you face right now? What’s the biggest opportunity you have right now? Your opportunity may come from your own challenge or somebody else’s. By concentrating your energy on your biggest issues, you’ll move ahead further and faster.

#5 – Suspend reality

When you find yourself coming up with all of the reasons why something won’t work, suspend reality for a bit. Picture yourself free from all constraints – time, money, and your own self-imposed limitations.

Think about why it could be done and how you would do it. Don’t reject any business idea out of the gate; remember that your great BIGG idea will come from a bad idea. In fact, allow yourself to think of it the opposite way – the more outrageous the idea seems at first, the better!

#6 – Use images

This is another Gobhai technique. Use pictures, drawings, metaphors, animals or anything else you can think of to bring your ideas to life. By visualizing your idea, you come to a deeper level of understanding. You may realize that your image isn’t right; there’s a better analogy. Fantastic! You might be moving from the bad idea to the great BIGG one!

Here’s an example…in The Predators’ Ball, Bruck discusses a Drexel session with Gobhai. One of the Drexel employees used imagery by suggesting that most of their competitors operated like a pride of lions. These companies had a definite pecking order among their employees. As the group discussed this, they realized their model should be a wolf pack, where everybody would feast together.

#7 – Form a Master Mind Alliance

Here’s the bad news – you don’t have all of the world’s best business ideas. The good news is that you can align yourself with others to discover more great BIGG ideas.

Napoleon Hill, in his great book, Think & Grow Rich, defined “master mind” as:

“Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

Find people whose skills and goals are complementary with yours. Play off of your different strengths to discover ways you can mutually succeed BIGG.

#8 – Review all your ideas

At regular intervals, but no less than once a week, sit down and review your inventory of bad ideas. Upon further reflection, you’ll be able to categorize your bad ideas in three ways:

truly just bad ideas that won’t go anywhere. You can ditch these.

bad ideas that don’t solve your most immediate challenges and opportunities. You’ll want to archive these ideas for future use.

bad ideas that you can implement now. You’ll develop these further and act upon them.

#9 – Reduce your idea to buzzwords

For that last category of ideas, reduce your BIGG idea to buzzwords – a word or phrase that you can easily call upon. These words should excite you to act now.

The Professor shares an example of how Drexel may have used this technique in the podcast . Click the player above to listen starting at 13:46.

Your best idea may be born from what sounds like a bad idea. Don’t get into a rush to reject an idea. Pause to ask, “Is there something there?” You may have just discovered that great business idea that will take you to BIGG success!

George “The Professor” & Mary-Lynn
Co-Founders, BIGG Success