Nathan Waters

If you found my blog through the YoungEntrepreneur.com forums, you’ll have probably seen my sig (signature - see below) which I’ve been recently using as a little bit of advertising for this blog.

Blog: www.nathanwaters.com | Age: 18 | Just Starting: Yes | Total Current Projects: 5 | Total Unique Ideas: 20+

Now, I’m hoping what got you interested in following the link is the fact that I am “Just Starting” and with “20+ Total Unique Ideas”.

How have I managed to come up with so many business ideas?

Well, it’s a little difficult to explain, and could well come down to some brain/mental ability I have to see most opportunities.

To me, I’m lucky as the ideas seem to flow and find me naturally without me needing to sit down and slave away with a pen and paper trying to come up with the next big idea.

However for those of you that require a little more effort to find that idea, here’s my advice:

1. Find A Passion

Find an industry or area which you are passionate about, not solely because it has great profit potential. Usually this industry will be something which you enjoy doing whether there is money involved or not, and in most cases the passion starts as a hobby. So if you don’t have a hobby, find one!

My hobby/passion is technology. So this includes anything computerised: gadgets, the Internet, everything! And so it isn’t surprising that most of the ideas in my notepads and currently being implemented (and soon to be implemented) are all technology related and online-based.

Immerse yourself in your passion and ideas will be knocking at your door.

I’m an Internetaholic, spending at least 4 hours a day on the net. While this is most likely bad for my health, I see it as being enjoyable, informational, entertaining and again, can also spur those ideas.

Today for instance, I stumbled across a video done by someone who was trying to sell a Google Adsense product, by explaining how they make $11,000+ per month from Adsense. I found it interesting, so watched it. The information wasn’t very useful as it contained things I already knew, but it mentioned keywords and how some keywords can fetch up to $40 per click. Now for some odd reason, this sparked an idea in my head related to keywords, which I managed to write a full A4 page on by simply jotting down the idea and briefly how it would work.

2. Target A Market Which You Know

Another strong area in which I have found business opportunities and created ideas in is the education and student markets.

Why? Because I am a student and have been so for the past 12+ years of my life.

I feel I know what students are after and can spot gaps in the market where a business opportunity can fit-in nicely.

So, target markets which you are familiar with, and in most cases these markets will be ones which you are actually currently in or have been apart of within the last few years. This doesn’t have to be a direct link, if you have a close relationship with your grand parents, then it is quite possible that you know the senior market a lot better than most other young aspiring entrepreneurs.

3. Read, Talk And Speak To Everyone

The very first thing I would do is join a community forum of like-minded people. (see my list of favourite forums and resources). In my case, these forums are those for young entrepreneurs.

Depending on your hobby or passion, I would also join a community forum for these too. For many years I heavily participated in a technology forum called Austech.info which more or less created my passion for technology and gave me the knowledge I have today in computers and the Internet.

Read anything on the forums which interest you and don’t be afraid to ask questions or interact. The same applies with blogs. Read as many blogs you can and interact by leaving comments.

I have found that many times in reading a forum or blog post and then going to reply, I suddenly come up with an awesome business idea related to some kind of issue mentioned in the forum thread or blog post. Probably selfishly, when this comes up I tend not to reveal the idea in my reply, instead printing out the thread and jotting down the idea for future work/implementation. (well I don’t want to be literally giving away good ideas!)

You will find that being involved in these forums you’ll also make friends, with whom you’ll share ideas and come up with new ones while talking via IM.

Also remember that the world isn’t all online (yet). Talk and mingle with those in the real world and ideas will again come naturally.

You can even go so far as to ask people what a certain group is after that isn’t currently being supplied by a business. When I was looking for some more ideas targeted at senior citizens, I actually asked both my grandmothers if they had any ideas and actually came up with 2 or 3 ideas.

4. Continually Be On The Lookout

I’m always on the lookout for anything which could allow for a business opportunity.

Listen and lookout for any sort of need or problem which someone may have. Once you find this, then it is usually simple to think of a solution which can then be turned into a business idea, which can then be turned into a real business.

Just be careful that it doesn’t over-run your life (as it can if you’re on the lookout 24/7)

5. Notepad = MUST HAVE

As I mentioned in a previous post about the importance of keeping an ideas notepad… it is a VITAL necessity for when that idea does come to you. So get one. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just practical.

I hoped this post helps you begin, or expand your ability to create great business ideas!

The idea is the easy part, it’s the part of bringing it to life which is the hardest. Good luck!

If anyone has any additional ways in which they find business ideas and would like to share them, please post a comment.

Blog Carnival Backlinks:

http://www.jimestill.com/2006/05/blog-carnival-of-entrpreneurship.html

Nathan Waters
I wouldn’t say I’m an evil genius