By If you have made the decision to start a small business, says Raphael Avraham Sternberg. the first thing you will need is a business idea. You probably already know the industry where you want to start your business, but the idea for your business is the foundation for what will set you apart from potential competitors and help you attract customers.
To give you an example, you may know you want to open your own restaurant, but what type of restaurant should it be? Raphael Avraham Sternberg asked, Should it be a food truck serving uniquely named burgers, a sit-down restaurant that fuses different types of cuisines, or something entirely different? That is your business idea.
So how do you come up with a business idea? Start with determining what good or service your business will provide your customers. Here are five factors by Raphael Avraham Sternberg to consider when deciding what your business will sell.
Background and Experience
In whichever industry you choose to open your business in, it is important to have a deep understanding of how the specific industry operates, and how you can sell your goods/services. This knowledge can help you formulate a business idea that can not only give you a leg up when breaking into the market but also help set you apart from your competition.
Demand for Your Idea
A business idea is only valuable if there are people willing to pay you for it, says Raphael Avraham Sternberg. When coming up with a business idea, be sure to complete market research and find out if there is demand in your area.
Your Community’s Needs
Your business idea needs to be one that serves a need in your marketplace. Talk to your friends, family, and neighbours to see what goods or services they feel are missing in their lives, and see if you can fill that need. If you have the funds and time, an online survey could also be helpful.
Technology and Market Changes
You want your business idea to be one that will be profitable for many years to come. One of the best ways to ensure that your business has a future is to provide a product or service that will be necessary in the future and can adapt to technology and market changes. Do research on the latest changes in technology and market trends to see where your business may be a good fit.
Resources
The scale and size of your business will be affected by the resources at your disposal. See what capital you have, and research what supplies you’ll need for specific business ideas before settling on one.
Once you have done more research on your idea, the next step is to lay it out in a business proposal. Business proposals include a summary of your research, the goals for your business, and information about your business idea. This will allow you to see how your idea looks on paper and move forward with it.
Choosing the right business idea and turning it into action may seem overwhelming, but this guide can help you find that right idea and move forward with it.
Okay, fair enough. Nevertheless, the AI chatbot still provided us with some online business ideas that it noted, “have the potential to be lucrative.” Among the business ideas that ChatGPT suggested were e-commerce, online courses, social media and affiliate marketing and dropshipping. The AI chatbot briefly summarized each option:
E-commerce store
Start an online store using a platform such as Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce. Begin with a small niche using products you create or source from a supplier.
Online courses
Online learning is growing in popularity, and you can make money by creating a course on a topic you are knowledgeable about.
Social media marketing
Many businesses are trying to grow a social media presence. You can start an agency to create and manage social media accounts, run ad campaigns and provide analytics and reporting for clients.
Affiliate marketing
You can leverage affiliate marketing by creating content to promote products or services. If someone clicks on an embedded link, you could earn a commission or generate more sales for your own products.
Ideas for a drop shipping business
In this exercise, we decided to move forward with the drop shipping suggestion. The advantage of drop shipping is that you can get started immediately. You don’t need any startup capital for inventory, and you don’t need to spend time creating content or finding clients.
But where to begin? What products should our drop shipping business sell? To answer that question, we once again asked ChatGPT for advice.
