How do you generate ideas?

[Andy Black]

Hi Everyone,

I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas.

Here's how I do it so far:

• Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s
• Problem based: Either through my own problems, or asking questions to friends and families about their problems
• "Wouldn't it be great if....".... finish the sentence with what product or service you think would be great
• Imagining the future: What do you think the future will look like and what products and services will need to be around to support it
• Reverse imagination: What things do we use/or do that people will look back on in 10 years time and think, "wow, that was stupid" (such as reading maps!)
• Plus just general lists like:
  • Ideas for a podcast
  • Things that annoy me
  • Things that would make me laugh
  • Ideas for TV shows or movies

My aim is to build a strong idea muscle through working it out everyday that I will find an idea that I'll be confident enough to being me to the fastlane.

How do you come up with ideas?

I don't try to come up with ideas. I try to help people. Some will say I sound like a stuck record, but there's a reason I keep bringing this up.

Challenge yourself to help 3 people each day instead of have 10 ideas a day.

Why? Business is about adding value, and getting paid. Helping people = Adding value. Having ideas is not adding value.

If I had to point you to one thing it would be this:

• Who have you helped?

The amazing thing when you start helping people is that you'll eventually get better at helping people with similar problems. You'll specialise in helping people with those problems, and start becoming an authority as @eliquid suggests. If you want to grow a business then you'll help people / add value so that you get paid. As soon as you're getting paid you're on your way. As you get more and more experience helping people using your skillset then you'll get more than 10 ideas a day naturally - all related to helping those people more.

I challenge you to get paid helping someone this week. If you can't get paid, then at least go help someone this week.

 

[floridaman]

A little trick I like to use... keep one of your browser tabs open at all time, and track the keyword #frustrated on Twitter --> https://twitter.com/search?q=#frustrated&src=typed_query . You'll see a TON of first world problems come up. A lot of them are petty. Teenagers complaining about their cell phone plan or something. But some are REAL problems, and it'll help you get into the habit of looking for problems to solve. Something may just click one day.

 

[df1992]

It would be great if you share those articles with others as well.

3 things that have helped me (not articles):

1. Dane Maxwell's book, start from zero (has a really nice method of idea extraction)
   View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2F-2-I2-5k
   
2. The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry
3. A number of different Udemy courses focused on entrepreneurship which are all about generating ideas

 

[df1992]

Hi Everyone,

I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas.

Here's how I do it so far:

• Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s
• Problem based: Either through my own problems, or asking questions to friends and families about their problems
• "Wouldn't it be great if....".... finish the sentence with what product or service you think would be great
• Imagining the future: What do you think the future will look like and what products and services will need to be around to support it
• Reverse imagination: What things do we use/or do that people will look back on in 10 years time and think, "wow, that was stupid" (such as reading maps!)
• Plus just general lists like:
  • Ideas for a podcast
  • Things that annoy me
  • Things that would make me laugh
  • Ideas for TV shows or movies

My aim is to build a strong idea muscle through working it out everyday that I will find an idea that I'll be confident enough to being me to the fastlane.

How do you come up with ideas?

 

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[eliquid]

Since your focus in doing is to one day use an idea to get you to the fastlane, the only thing you are missing is once you find an idea, sticking to it to make it a winner.

You're going to have to be a domain authority to increase your odds of that.

What good is an idea that once you jump into it, you don't know the market well and you rely on others to validate it for you which could lead you down the wrong path?

Because of that, you need to look at ALSO:

1. What do you know more about, that the layperson does not?
2. What itch of your own, can you scratch?

Add that to your mix to start narrowing down your ideas, or adding a layer to them.

I'm not saying you have to do these things in order to be successful with an idea. Plenty of people have banged through an idea without them and been successful. I am just trying to show you a path that could be a bit easier for you in the longrun that can increase your chances of fulfilling the idea.

.

 

[USN-Ken]

Love this, what's your process for validation?

I've validated a number of businesses through pre-selling. That is, give yourself 48 hours to pre-sell 10 of whatever you want to sell. Then, hustle for the next 48 hours.

Offer them a discounted price if they 'buy now.' (that's the incentive to pre-purchase)

If you get 10 SALES in 48 hours then that is your green light to build out the business because you have a winner.

If you get A FEW sales, maybe you didn't try hard enough but just give the few buyers a 100% refund and head back to the drawing board to revamp it (hopefully based on prospect feedback) or simply toss the idea completely.

If you get NO sales then the odds are that you also wouldn't have found any buyers AFTER building out your businesses so move on to the next idea.

Note to the haters before you chime in: Pre-selling is done all the time. When you order from amazon you are paying BEFORE receiving the goods (days later). When you pre-order a book ....its a pre-sale. When you buy an airline ticket for next year's vacation its a pre-sale. If the big dogs are doing it, we little validators can too.

Google 'Noah Kagan beef jerky business.' He did exactly what im saying -- gave himself 24 hours to pre-sell $1,000 in beef jerky subscriptions to validate the idea. He goes into great detail explaining how he did it. Once he hit $1000 in sales he went ahead and found a supplier and built out the business.

A simple tool you can use is a site called gumroad. They let you build out a simple sales page (that is already set up to accept credit card payments and deposits it into your bank account). You literally can build a site in less than 15 minutes (depending on how good you are at sales copy) and start sharing the link to pre-sell / validate. I've validated t-shirts, group coaching, marketing services, and ebooks/manuals using gumroad. They even have a free version where they only take 10% of your sales if -- and thats a big IF -- you can get any sales at all. If you get no sales then it's free. ITs a perfect way to validate!

Hope this helps!

 

[sparechange]

Go outside with a pen and piece of paper.

Interview 100 random people on the street asking them what types of problems they have with products or services that they use.

Also, ideas don't really matter, I've personally given away a ton of free ideas on this forum and not a SINGLE person has executed on them.

You can make a million dollars selling socks, or pencils. Some even make millions selling pet rocks, it's not the idea, but the execution.

 

[drahz]

You should read J. Altucher's article again, everything is there already.

 

[RazorCut]

Be curious. Never take anything at face value. Ask lots of questions. Never be afraid to ask dumb questions. Always ask yourself what else could I use this for?

When you have free time pop in specialist stores you’ve never frequented before and look at all the weird and wonderful things they sell.

Prime your reticular activating system.

 

[alexkuzmov]

Hi Everyone,

I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas.

Here's how I do it so far:

• Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s
• Problem based: Either through my own problems, or asking questions to friends and families about their problems
• "Wouldn't it be great if....".... finish the sentence with what product or service you think would be great
• Imagining the future: What do you think the future will look like and what products and services will need to be around to support it
• Reverse imagination: What things do we use/or do that people will look back on in 10 years time and think, "wow, that was stupid" (such as reading maps!)
• Plus just general lists like:
  • Ideas for a podcast
  • Things that annoy me
  • Things that would make me laugh
  • Ideas for TV shows or movies

My aim is to build a strong idea muscle through working it out everyday that I will find an idea that I'll be confident enough to being me to the fastlane.

How do you come up with ideas?

Well ideas are not all that great.
Personally, I dont have a method.
I just observe and pay attention to what people do and say.

Once you start execution, ideas will come, not only random ones but ideas related to what you are executing.
Seriously, ideas are like rough dimonds.
Sure they have some value, but until you cut them, polish them and sell them, they are basically rocks like any other rock.

 

[drahz]

It would be great if you share those articles with others as well.

 

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[eliquid]

The challenge here is how do I stop all these ideas from filling my head & distracting me from what I should be doing?

If we lived to be a thousand & seamlessly executed every idea back to back we still wouldn't be finished by the time we died.

By doing what I mention here:

NOTABLE! - HOT! - IDEA - How do you generate ideas?

Hi Everyone, I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas. Here's how I do it so far: Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s Problem based: Either through my own...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

here:

INTRO - Indecision Kills...

...your financial future and I'm the proof of that, spent too long hopping from one project to another, analyzing too long. I'm a long time lurker and by nature a private person. Don't like being in the public or spotlight much, but I realized that has to change in order to grow ( thanks @MJ...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

and here:

GOLD! - HOT! - SAAS / APPS - Ask Me Anything About SaaS ( I'm building my 7th )

@LeoistheSun Sorry, I just realized you said it's not developed yet. My bad .

www.thefastlaneforum.com

That should narrow things down a bit.

 

[LordGanon]

I have so many ideas, ideas, ideas...it's almost a burden. Because the choice becomes much harder.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's execution that counts. When it comes to ideas where I think: "Wow, there's real value to be created", they come from consumer complaints.

Ideas are all around you every day. The important thing you have to teach yourself is awareness. My best source of ideas was one of my ex-girlfriends. She was so often frustrated with the products she used and vented about it. All I had to do was listen.

BTW: A lot of people think they aren't creative. But they are. When I taught business, I sent teams of four outside for an hour, and they had to come back with 20 business ideas. "Impossible", they said. Oh, it is possible. But you have to kill your inner censor. We put 80 ideas on the blackboard and then voted for the best ones. Carl Barks once said: "What made me great was a big garbage bin". Same goes for ideas. Create a lot, and throw a lot of them away.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

An imperfect world filled with imperfect humans is flush with opportunity. Someone who can't come up with ideas is complicating something that is relatively simple, especially when related to human nature.

I'd also go into value skew, but I'm not going to rehash what is already in print.

Thread marked NOTABLE, some good ideas, book recs, and videos.

 

[Dami-B]

I don't try to come up with ideas. I try to help people. Some will say I sound like a stuck record, but there's a reason I keep bringing this up.

Challenge yourself to help 3 people each day instead of have 10 ideas a day.

Why? Business is about adding value, and getting paid. Helping people = Adding value. Having ideas is not adding value.

If I had to point you to one thing it would be this:

• Who have you helped?

The amazing thing when you start helping people is that you'll eventually get better at helping people with similar problems. You'll specialise in helping people with those problems, and start becoming an authority as @eliquid suggests. If you want to grow a business then you'll help people / add value so that you get paid. As soon as you're getting paid you're on your way. As you get more and more experience helping people using your skillset then you'll get more than 10 ideas a day naturally - all related to helping those people more.

I challenge you to get paid helping someone this week. If you can't get paid, then at least go help someone this week.

I remember when I was in the university in my final year and I had to submit 3 prospective names for my final project title, everyone in my department had to do that and there was this ridiculous line of about 200 students all trying to submit 3 names to a lady who had to verify if those names had already been taken. I remember when it was my turn, she had this tremendously frightening frown on her face, I made up my mind that moment I was going to help her. I ended meeting a friend of mine that was in the computer science department and we worked together to create a search database where she could just put in the names of the project on the pc and verify if they'd been taken, we created a program, sold it the department and solved the problem.

I still remember the look on her face when we installed the software and taught her how to use it, she had this huge smile on her face, like she couldn't believe someone created this for her, it was an amazing feeling.

That was also the first time I realized I could earn money by solving a problem and also help someone at the same time.

 

[Stargazer]

Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s

I was going to be silly and say 'Ok, I am looking around my desk and there is a lamp and a pair of scissors therefore... '

And then I thought I would Google scissors you can use in the dark and hey presto

Brewer Sewing - LED Light Up Scissors

LED Light Up Scissors

www.brewersewing.com

There are no prices so perhaps they have been discontinued as no real market, but someone gave it a good bash.

Dan

 

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[Meerten]

Also I'd say: look for strong emotions. In yourself and in others.
For example frustration, which goes hand in hand with a pain point.
And a pain point masks a NEED.

Once you uncover a need, you need only remember one word: HOW.
Once you carefully formulate a decent "how"-question, your subconscious will start processing in the background.
Then when you let go for a bit and take a nice shower and all: Bam. An idea pops in.

That "how"-question after spotting a need should get that idea-engine of yours running wild.

Be reminded though, that the quality of your "how" question will directly determine the quality of your idea.
So don't be lazy in the question phase. Use that empathy muscle.

Works for me like this anyways. YMMV

 

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[WJK]

Hi Everyone,

I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas.

Here's how I do it so far:

• Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s
• Problem based: Either through my own problems, or asking questions to friends and families about their problems
• "Wouldn't it be great if....".... finish the sentence with what product or service you think would be great
• Imagining the future: What do you think the future will look like and what products and services will need to be around to support it
• Reverse imagination: What things do we use/or do that people will look back on in 10 years time and think, "wow, that was stupid" (such as reading maps!)
• Plus just general lists like:
  • Ideas for a podcast
  • Things that annoy me
  • Things that would make me laugh
  • Ideas for TV shows or movies

My aim is to build a strong idea muscle through working it out everyday that I will find an idea that I'll be confident enough to being me to the fastlane.

How do you come up with ideas?

Are you keeping an idea journal? Are you writing it all down? That really helps me.

Here's what I do: I mentally run through the problem I'm working on just as I'm going to sleep. Then I assign my mind the job of coming up with a solution or a group of solutions. I keep a pad and pencil next to my bed to write down anything that comes up from that mental job. Sometimes it wakes me up during the middle of the night. Sometimes I wake up in the morning with a non-sensible answer. I write those down too because I find that they are many times a piece of the puzzle. I also write down any memorable dreams whether they seem to relate or not. Anyway, that one way I do it...

 

[WJK]

Hi Everyone,

I'm on a mission to become an idea machine and I'm challenging myself to come up with 10 ideas everyday. I'm curious to see how you might come up with ideas.

Here's how I do it so far:

• Idea sex: mix two random products together = ?'s
• Problem based: Either through my own problems, or asking questions to friends and families about their problems
• "Wouldn't it be great if....".... finish the sentence with what product or service you think would be great
• Imagining the future: What do you think the future will look like and what products and services will need to be around to support it
• Reverse imagination: What things do we use/or do that people will look back on in 10 years time and think, "wow, that was stupid" (such as reading maps!)
• Plus just general lists like:
  • Ideas for a podcast
  • Things that annoy me
  • Things that would make me laugh
  • Ideas for TV shows or movies

My aim is to build a strong idea muscle through working it out everyday that I will find an idea that I'll be confident enough to being me to the fastlane.

How do you come up with ideas?

I'm re-reading your post after a while... What have you done with the ideas you came up with day after day? Are you still coming up with 10 ideas every day? Have you started a new business? Have you invented a new product? Have you figured out how to make your bed every day and pick up after yourself -- if so, I have some men in my life for you share with! Have you changed your thinking about the world? Is this exercise an end unto itself? What are the trends in your idea log? Have you identified some progressive lines of thinking -- where one idea leads to another? Has that caused any break-through ideas to come out?

I don't try for your kind of volume of ideas. But, I am a great observer of the world around me. I like to marry two or more stand-alone ideas. My favorite definition of genius is the person who takes common elements and puts them together or uses them in unique ways. I want to be that person.

 

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[USN-Ken]

A little trick I like to use... keep one of your browser tabs open at all time, and track the keyword #frustrated on Twitter --> https://twitter.com/search?q=#frustrated&src=typed_query . You'll see a TON of first world problems come up. A lot of them are petty. Teenagers complaining about their cell phone plan or something. But some are REAL problems, and it'll help you get into the habit of looking for problems to solve. Something may just click one day.

Nice idea.
I tried it on Facebook and it worked a bit there too.

 

[Deleted78083]

Why? Isn't one idea enough? Do you want to be rich? Or do you want to be an artist?

 

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[WJK]

I have large notepad which is basically my idea notepad. I prefer having a large one as if I have an idea I start drawing it out and it really helps me to visualise it.



I haven't come up with 10 ideas each day, but I am achieving it every other day and it's led me to start a new podcast which I'm recording first next week and I have an idea that I'm starting to build out for a subscription business. Both these ideas stemmed from writing down ideas and getting the creative juices flowing.

Marrying two stand-alone ideas can make you come up with some weird and wonderful stuff!!

I find that my creative ideas come in groups... they are threads that lead to new ideas and ways of thinking. Go back and study your lists. Look for trends and relationships. Sleep on it. Daydream. Give yourself the time and space for your mind to work through the possibilities. The process takes quiet contemplation. Just don't force the process. I LOVE those ah-ha moments when things finally come together.

 

[WJK]

Love this, what's your process for validation? I have really become aware that I am talking myself out of EVERY idea I have, it's like I'm waiting for "the one"...

I do have a current concept I'm working on which I am in the process of testing (via surveys, landing pages etc.) but I'm not even sure I know what result I'm looking for...

There are studies that say that too many choices cause people not to focus on one idea or solution. There are books about how people do nothing rather than making a decision. You're human. Forgive yourself and cut your list down to only a few items. Then create a plan and a timeline to try out one of your ideas. There is no perfect idea... nor business... nor plan... nor the time to start...

 

[Beerbread]

All of these suggestions are great. I read How to Get Ideas by Jack Foster. It's done almost like a children's book with a focus on copywriting, but it's applicable to everything you put your mind to! It's a quick read and you'll finish it in a day!

 

[ZCP]

study 'brainstorming'

 

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[df1992]

I don't try to come up with ideas. I try to help people. Some will say I sound like a stuck record, but there's a reason I keep bringing this up.

Challenge yourself to help 3 people each day instead of have 10 ideas a day.

Why? Business is about adding value, and getting paid. Helping people = Adding value. Having ideas is not adding value.

If I had to point you to one thing it would be this:

• Who have you helped?

The amazing thing when you start helping people is that you'll eventually get better at helping people with similar problems. You'll specialise in helping people with those problems, and start becoming an authority as @eliquid suggests. If you want to grow a business then you'll help people / add value so that you get paid. As soon as you're getting paid you're on your way. As you get more and more experience helping people using your skillset then you'll get more than 10 ideas a day naturally - all related to helping those people more.

I challenge you to get paid helping someone this week. If you can't get paid, then at least go help someone this week.

I love this! Challenge accepted

 

[drahz]

A little trick I like to use... keep one of your browser tabs open at all time, and track the keyword #frustrated on Twitter --> https://twitter.com/search?q=#frustrated&src=typed_query . You'll see a TON of first world problems come up. A lot of them are petty. Teenagers complaining about their cell phone plan or something. But some are REAL problems, and it'll help you get into the habit of looking for problems to solve. Something may just click one day.

Also, you can look at the Twitter streaming API if you want to automate this in some way.

 

[Zooman009]

2. What itch of your own, can you scratch?

Is it bad that reading this gave me a very plausible idea that I’ve been dealing with for the past 4 years, that I’m going to look at and very literally scratch?

 

[USN-Ken]

Some of these are a little off.

You are comparing building out a full business, to products already existing and in stock or a service already running.

The comparison wasnt the point.
The point was that pre-selling works!
The haters I was referring to were the ones who are/were going to chime in and say "pre-selling doesnt work." It does. Ive done it a lot. So have many others. There is always some chump with a counterargument ("No one is going to give you money if you dont have a product already").
They are always wrong.
I just acted preemptively.

Also, thats funny about the jerky. Interesting, too. But, it was an inspiring demo nonetheless.

 

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[Canadoz]

How do I get ideas?


Life Experience - The problems we run into in our personal and business lives can be great sources of ideas.

Talking to People - After I left college, I went backpacking around Eastern Europe. My first business idea was the result of a conversation I had at a bar with a fellow backpacker who had just spent a year working in a business in London. The conversation of the challenges the business faced proved to be rich source of business ideas. Talk to people.

Reading - My second business idea came as a result of reading about business strategy and the importance of niches and observation of consumer behaviour patterns in the market. An understanding of business strategy is so important. Understanding how the big boys run their operations and try to decontruct in your mind the nuts and bolts of their business. When you understand the dynamic in which other businesses operate, it gives you a much better feel for a particular market. Even more important is understanding the weaknesses of the big players in your market. They can't possibly service every niche in their market - but a smaller player like you often can.

Tradeshows - My third business idea came from a discussion I had with a totally unrelated business founder at a tradeshow. I was literally passing their stand and said to them "people wouldn't buy that...would they?". It was a the start of a great conversation and new business for me. Again, I cannot stress of the importance of talking to random people, even if they are not in your industry, they can be a great source of ideas. Also, when you talk to someone in the flesh, it makes their business way less abstract compared to reading about it on a website or magazine. You're also less likely to get a curated picture of their business which they gave to a reporter.