Business Topic- Sources of generating business ideas and what to look for

Focus of the week -Business
Topic- Sources of generating business ideas and what to look for
Writer- Iyere Joy

Business idea as the responds of a person or organization or an organization to solving an identified problem or to meeting perceived needs in the environment. It mean that for a business idea to transform into business opportunity, the idea must offer a viable solution to a problem experience by consumers, and they will be willing to pay for such an innovation. A Good business idea is essential for a successful business venture. Finding a good business idea is the first step in transforming the entrepreneurs desire and creativity into a business opportunity.
In generating business idea, there are sources and factors to look out for. Some of such source and factors are

1. Working experience and skills
   Acquired skill and experience is an important source of business idea. By tapping into the knowledge of a particular industry or market gained by working in its, an entrepreneur can pinpoint areas of potential opportunities. This source is a factors of time, since skill development is a product of time and practice. In process of using his work related experience and skill, he creates not only a new product but also a new, convenient, and a more comfortable way of implementing his defined goal of a new venture.

2. Personal interests or hobbies
   Individuals hobbies or interest engage in can serve as source of business idea. Many entrepreneurial adventures were form because of an entrepreneurs love of doing something, such as laundering, carwash, barbing, poultry farming tailoring and brick making etc. Here, the entrepreneur should look out for limitations of what is currently available.

3. Current product and services available
   Looking at the current product and services available within your reach, have a close observation of familiar and unfamiliar product and services and see to how they can be improved in the quality and meeting the quality needed by the customers. Tap into the product and services and you are familiar with and use it to improve the unfamiliar product and service. This is an important source of business idea with which the entrepreneur is equipped, with readiness to make improvement. This can make his/her product and services favorable compete with those readily available in the market. Here, the entrepreneur must be willing to look for advance breakthroughs.

4. The external environment
   This source of business ideas focuses on environmental opportunities, trend or changes that provide unique and distinct possibilities for innovating and creating values in the entrepreneurial context.
   The entrepreneur must look for these opportunities in technological, economic, legal, political and social cultural happening in the given environment.

5. Mass Media
   There is no gain saying the fact that today, the greatest source of information in the universe, is the mass media. Worth information, business ideas and opportunities are got from the mass media, weather electronic or print media. Nowadays, the internet is very useful source in the generating of business ideals. The entrepreneur should therefore look out for commercial advertisement calling for provision of clean services. Exhibitions and trade fairs are usually advertised on radio or in newspapers. Attending such event on regular basis will not only bring the discovery of new product or services but could also having new business contact