Money Brainstorming
If you are like myself, you
enjoy seeing and reading about all the different business ideas
people have successfully used. But what if you want to dream
up your own ideas? That is what this issue covers. It's time
for a bit of money brainstorming.
There are dozens of specific
techniques that can be used for brainstorming, problem solving
and generating ideas in general. All of them can be applied to
business, investment, employment and anything else having to
do with money. For now we are going to look at just two of these
techniques.
Concept Combination
This is one of the best, or
at least most entertaining, techniques for solving problems and
creating new money ideas. Just start combining ideas and things,
and voila, you're having fun - and maybe creating something new.
Let's look at a real life example.
"Rock" + "pet"
= The pet rock. My younger subscribers may not remember, but
there were actually millions of "pet rocks" sold in
the late 1970s. My brothers "pet sock" idea didn't
do nearly so well, but then at 14 he wasn't the best marketer.
In any case, you can see what the essence of this technique is.
But let's be realistic here
for a moment. You can combine all sorts of different things to
come up with new products and new ways to make money, yet many
of the resulting ideas just won't be suited to your skills and
experience. For example, "tree" and "billboard"
might lead to a great idea for creating cheap billboards using
existing trees,but you might know nothing about the billboard
advertising business. It's fun to dream up these ideas, but how
do you increase the odds of having some that work for you?
Start with things that you
know something about, and combine these with other concepts.
For example, if a man had a job driving an ice cream truck (the
kind that stops on each street), he might combine this concept
of "mobile sales vehicle" with a hundred other things
to see what results. He could end up selling pizza from a truck,
or even comic books and magazines. He already knows something
about the running a route and selling out of a truck, so these
ideas are more practical for him.
Let's look at the whole process.
First, you list your skills, areas of knowledge, and jobs you've
had. we'll assume your list includes "comedy" as one
of your skills or interests. You start looking around the room
at things and thinking of anything that comes to mind to combine
with this concept. Get wild in your ideas. The time to judge
them is later. For now, you simply ask questions like, "How
would that work?" or "How can these two concept go
together to make money?"
"Comedy" and a "restaurant?"
It may seem like there is nothing there, but we eat at a pizza
place that has a magician on Friday nights. He may not be paid
much, but he gets to hand out cards, and gets booked for a lot
of parties this way. A comedian could do the same perhaps.
"Comedy" plus "computer"
may generate some more useful ideas. For an investment of just
a few hundred dollars you could be creating and selling your
own comedy audios (downloadable onto MP3s) online. There is currently
at least one "how to be funny" ebook being sold online
right now as well.
Another example: If you have
a struggling taxi business, "taxi" and "pets"
might lead to a successful arrangement with a kennel, to pick
up and deliver their client's cats and dogs. Combining "taxi"
with "famous people" might lead to some sort of tour
of the town, like they do in Hollywood.
Don't worry about where the
ideas come from or how "creative" they are. "Job"
plus "phone" could lead to an idea about how to make
money on the phone, or may just remind you to call around to
see what other jobs are available. That alone could be worth
thousands more per year to you, and you want results, not just
clever ideas, right?
Here are a few random combinations
of things to play with, just for money brainstorming practice:
Book + Your Job ... Justice + Advertising ... Car + Bank ...
Investment + Your Knowledge ... Singing + Food ... Food + Loan
... Computer + Car ... House + People ... Tired + Light ... Writing
+ Gambling ... Vacation + Delivery ... Hat + Billboard ... Opinion
+ Store.
These techniques are
covered in more detail in my ebook:
Problem
Solving Power
In fact, there are more than two dozen effective and fun techniques
for solving problems and generating ideas, in 32 information-packed
chapters that will change your thinking. |
Problems As Money
Opportunities
Start looking at problems differently.
Every one is an opportunity for someone to make some money, so
why not you? If you or anyone you know runs into the same frustration
several times, there is almost certainly a money-making solution.
For example, if you hear your
parents and others complaining about stairs in their home, it's
probably time for someone to make money with a single-floor housing
development.
Is everyone where you work
complaining about the lunch they get at the sandwich shop next
door? Maybe it's time to create some great sandwiches to bring
to work to sell.
Having a hard time with your
boss? Are the other employees too? Perhaps it is time for a few
of you to start your own business, and run it the way you think
it should be run.
Problems with your children?
If you set up a seminar and hired a well-known child rearing
expert for it, you might solve your problem and make some money
too.
Real Life Example
A common problem: How
to remove various carpet stains. What money making ideas does
this suggest? Invent a new stain remover? Write a booklet on
removing stains, to and sell in quantity to carpet stores, for
them to give away as a bonus? Here's what I did:
I bought lunch for a professional
carpet cleaner, and asked him how to remove every type of stain.
I spent a week or so setting up a website based on this interview
(http://www.HowToRemoveCarpetStains.com).
It only makes a couple hundred dollars per month, but I haven't
put any real work into it for years now. That's an example of
finding money ideas in common problems, and of money brainstorming.
Note: This is part of the "Unusual Ways" Newsletter.
Not subscribed ? Follow the link below.
Unusual Ways To Make Money | Money Brainstorming |