My wife and I are thinking of starting a business*

[businesscouple]

My wife and I are thinking of starting a business but we’re not really sure what type to invest in. We want something that is constantly needed by the public so that the sales would be consistent. Our friends and family have strongly suggested investing on food business but I’m not so sure about that since I have no idea how good food business usually work. Also, if we were to go for the food industry, would establishing our own brand be good or is it too risky? Or is investing on a franchise a better idea? Back when I met my wife several years ago, she was running her own small clothing business but things didn’t really work out well for her and she had to stop it. So, clothing business is not on the list of options. Does anybody here have other suggestions/business ideas? Thanks.

[Judith]

It can be very annoying to see a newly implemented business idea that has been applied by an entrepreneur in the market and start asking yourself why you didn't come up with that idea first. This can be especially so if you are not creative enough when it comes to formulating business ideas. Listed below are some helpful tips that can help you turn on that creativity faucet that you need in order to come up with ideas for your next business venture:

1. Always expect ideas to come. Although this may sound a little funny, but in reality, ideas will come much easier if you are already entertaining their arrival beforehand. The thoughts that you form frequently in your mind and the passion included in thinking something up will help greatly. If you are being a pessimist about creative thinking, then you are killing the incoming ideas instead of encouraging their arrival. Be optimistic when it comes to idea formulation and expect ideas to come.

2. Open-mindedness. Being an open-minded person means that you should not reject unique ways in achieving inspiration for your ideas. Do not rule out anything right away but welcome their arrival as these ideas can come from anywhere. You do not require having in-depth information in every subject you are going to tackle but you just need the right knowledge in order to create a business idea. This is because you can always bring in people that have the right knowledge for things that you are not familiar with.

3. Start writing your ideas. You should write down your ideas in paper because it may not make sense now, but later on it may be your inspiration for your next business venture. When formulating business ideas, this is a great way to generate entrepreneurial ideas that you can use for your business. It is always a wise choice to write down your ideas right away as there is a high tendency that you are going to forget them in the long run.

4. Verbalize your thoughts. There are some people that are great in returning verbal advices that you can turn into that magical idea you need to boost your business. Talking is always helpful when you want to magnify your thoughts in your mind. Make sure that you are voicing out to someone that you trust as you do not want to share your plans to your rivals that might develop and steal your ideas.

5. Keep learning. On a daily basis, keep your thoughts functioning by learning new things as you progress in your business. This can be very easy especially with the Internet wherein a large database of information is present to be exploited by almost anyone. It is also a good choice to talk to other people that are experts in the business industry in order to learn techniques that they have used in being successful.

If you want to know the ways on how you can start formulating business ideas rapidly, then you should follow the advice in this article. There are many entrepreneurs that have practiced these techniques and have proven these to be helpful when it comes to generating new ideas.

[David]

Here is a really great idea for someone who wants to start their own business, start a sidewalk and driveway edging business. Edging is where you use gas powered equipment to trim away the excess growth of grass and dirt over the sidewalks and driveway and then remove the debris to leave the yard looking neat and manicured.

People love the way it makes their yard look but no one really offers it as a stand alone service. Lawn care companies will do it as a service to their own customers who request it but no one concentrates on edging as a stand alone service business.

What this means to you is you can start your own service that people really love and have no competition. Edging sidewalks is not time sensitive like a lawn mowing business where you are committed to the business week after week from spring to the fall.

Edging can be done on your schedule, when you have the time. If you are a high school student, college student a teacher or anyone who really wants to find a unique business that is for real and not a scam or get rich quick scheme that is just a con, then edging sidewalks and driveways could be what you are looking for to work for yourself.

It can be done part time or full time, whatever you want. The more you market your business, the more customers you will have.

The equipment is relatively cheap to get started and you can even line up your first customers before you even have the equipment since it is not time sensitive like lawn cutting is. You can line up customers first, get your equipment and get your money back right away.

You will have a unique business that people love and will help you to grow by telling others how much they love how their lawn looks after you edge it. Their neighbors will also take notice and make it easy to add more customers in a short time.

Get started now and have a part time business going this summer and fall.

[businesscouple]

I don't think Edging would work that well from where I am. To be honest, it's even my first time learning about it too (from you.)

As for the general tips, thanks Judith!