What is better: to copy a ready-made idea or come up with something on your own, completely unique and original? Both options are appropriate. In any case, it is crucial to understand who your target consumer in Nigeria will be, what your competitive strategy is, and how you will promote the product.
Well, remember that if you copy an idea, you still cannot copy absolutely everything. All the same, you will have to bring something original to someone else’s idea. There are cases when an entrepreneur works for some time under a franchise, and then leaves the franchisor and creates one’s own project according to the same patterns. But even in these cases, it is necessary to change and build some things on one’s own.
On the other hand, if you come up with a completely original idea, it will be too hard for you to work out absolutely every element in the price chain yourself. Look at other businesses, think about what projects have a similar audience, a similar market to you, and, if possible, peep the best ideas and practices from them.
Is a Business Idea Really That Essential?
A business idea in the case of a small business is just a specific tool at work, like sales, marketing or manufacturing. It is not the business idea that comes first. Primarily your desire to do your own thing, and not at all where to find an idea for a business. So, if you want to run a business, do not wait for a “perfect” idea, do not hold on to an unrealizable one and polish your ideas to shine.
Coming up with Something Original: Creativity Stimulation Techniques
Well, no matter what stage you are at, whether you choose one idea from several promising ones, or you have no idea what you want to do at all, maybe forex or CFD trading, several techniques will help you make the right decision.
De Bono’s “six hats” method: Pick a business idea from a list
The Six Hats Method is an advanced way to organize a brainstorming session. You alternately try on hats in different colours:
- Blue,
- White,
- Red,
- Black,
- Yellow, and
- Green, including different modes of thinking.
According to the Forextime blog, the six hats method is used in a group, when one of the participants always remains in a blue hat: it is responsible for managing the process. The participant in the blue hat assesses the thought process itself, leads the meeting and discussion, and decides when other participants wear hats of certain colours.
In case you are thinking alone, you wear a blue hat at the beginning and end of the session. With the blue hat on, you set the order of your brainstorming session, the order in which the hats are worn, and the timing. At the end of a brainstorming session in a blue hat, you sum up, see what you have achieved, what you can use next. The order of hats may be as follows:
- White hat — information and facts. What business models are currently being used in the market? What laws affect the market, are there any objective requirements for entering the market (licenses, authorized capital, etc.)? You are trying to understand what information you have, what is missing, and where you can find additional one.
- Red hat — emotions and intuition. How do you feel about this business idea? Would you like to tackle it? Do you believe that you can realize your ambitions with this business idea?
- The black hat is a critical judgement. What are the weak points of this idea? What are your limitations, what are you missing for implementing this idea and being successful in this business? What difficulties will you face? What are the disadvantages of this market? What if things do not go the way you intend?
- The yellow hat is positive thinking. What are your competitive advantages? Why is this idea right for you? How can you use your strengths in it? What opportunities are open to you? Why is this market good?
- Green hat — creative thinking and search for unusual thoughts and creative solutions. How can you implement this idea faster? What can you do to achieve payback in half the time? Can you adapt this business model to a different market?
The most important rule is not to mix modes of thinking. As long as you are wearing the green hat, you are not filtering out or evaluating your ideas. Using the six hats method, you can either choose a business idea from a list or work deeply on one specific idea. If you work with a list of ideas, the red hat will help you understand what idea you have more heart for, and the green hat will help to think about how to combine good practices from several business models.
