Description
Small businesses are common in many countries, depending on the economic system in operation.
e s b
4
Small Business Ideas:
Creativity, Opportunity,
and Feasibility
e s b
Chapter 4
Objectives:
• Learn the sources of opportunity entrepreneurs draw on to get business ideas • Identify the way ideas are screened for business potential • Understand how creativity methods can help business owners recognize new opportunities • Understand the five pitfalls that hinder innovation • Identify strategies for innovation in your business • Learn how to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study for your business ideas • Learn the model for pilot testing Internet businesses • Understand the value of building a creative culture in your business 4-2
e s b
Chapter 4
• • • • • Magnetic Poetry : Dave Kapell Guitarist / songwriter Opportunity met need Lightbulb experience Product line features over a hundred products • Shakespearean, Artist, Genius, Dog Lover, Romance, College kits
4-3
e s b
Chapter 4
Source of Business Ideas
• “Why didn’t I think of that?” • Innovation: implementation of a creative idea or opportunity leading to profitable and effective outcomes
– Pay attention to the cues – Ask many questions
4-4
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
What is the characteristic that allows a person to identify good opportunities, notice things that have been overlooked, and the motivation to look for opportunities?
a) b) c) d) Light bulb experience Entrepreneurial alertness Innovation Creativity
4-5
e s b
Chapter 4
• Entrepreneurial alertness: a special set of observational and thinking skills that help entrepreneurs identify good opportunities; the ability to notice things that have been overlooked, without actually launching a formal search for opportunities, and the motivation to look for opportunities
4-6
e s b
Chapter 4
4-7
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
Which of the following is not a factor that has led people to new ideas?
a) b) c) d) Serendipity (Luck) Work Experience Family and Friends These are all factors
4-8
e s b
Chapter 4
Factors that lead owners to their business idea
• Work experience • A similar business • Hobby or personal interest • Chance happening (serendipity) • Family and friends
• Education and expertise • Technology
4-9
e s b
Chapter 4
Example
Good Technology Is Nice; A Good Idea Is Better
• Wharton Professor David Hsu says in today’s venture capital environment, ideas are valued more highly than innovative technology • Initial Public Offering market has been difficult recently, but buyouts are prevalent • Once a startup gets its business model right, Venture Capitalists start looking for a way to cash out
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2007/08/09/google-yahoo-youtube-ent-fin-cx_kw_0809whartonvc.html
4-10
e s b
Chapter 4
• Work experience: idea grows out of listening to customer complaints
– Ideas can come from frustration – Ideas can come from not finding what you are looking for as a consumer
• Similar business: might see a business in an area that intrigues you
– Growing market – expand on the opportunity
4-11
e s b
Chapter 4
• Hobby/Personal interest: turn hobbies into successful business
– Motley Fool – online investment advice newsletter
• Owners were fans of dice baseball as kids
– Have interest and knowledge
• Serendipity: being in the right place at the right time (luck)
– Being observant
4-12
e s b
Chapter 4
• Family and friends: open to their suggestions
– Use their knowledge and experience
• Education and expertise: decide first to own a business, then searching for a viable idea for that business
– Look to their own skills and talents for business – Consulting companies are prime examples
4-13
e s b
Chapter 4
What Led To Your Business Idea?
4-14
e s b
Chapter 4
• Technology transfer: universities and government agencies
– Tremendous development of new technologies or refinements – They never do anything with them! – Find out about inventions through the technology transfer offices
4-15
e s b
Chapter 4
Screening Ideas
• What is your product or idea? • What is the technology that underlies your product/idea? • Is your underlying technology unique? • Is your product or idea innovative? • Who is your market and initial customer group? • What needs of your customers does your product or idea address? • Provide some indication of the general size of the market? • How do you anticipate developing IP protection for your technology?
4-16
e s b
Chapter 4
Screening Ideas – 3 additional questions
• Who are the people behind the idea? • What resources are needed to take the idea and sell it to the customer? • Can the idea generate sufficient profit?
4-17
e s b
Chapter 4
From Ideas to Opportunities Through Creativity
• Creativity: a process introducing an idea or opportunity that is novel and useful, frequently derived from making connection among distinct ideas or opportunities
4-18
e s b
Chapter 4
Example
Innovation: A Happy Meal for McDonald’s
• McDonald’s has saturated their market and can no longer continue to open stores as a strategy • Improved Innovation Process:
– McGriddle has improved breakfast sector – Snack Wrap is huge hit for on-the-go eating – Improved Coffee and warmer stores promotes business during slower hours
http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/31/christensen-innovation-mcdonalds-pf-guru_in_cc_0904christensen_inl_print.html
4-19
e s b
Chapter 4
• SCAMPER: a creativity tool that provides cues to trigger breakthrough thinking; the letters stand for…
4-20
e s b
Chapter 4
• Substitute: what might substitute for something else to form an idea
– Example: a feature that allows your customers to order directly from your website rather than by mail or visiting your store – Idea Trigger: What opportunities can you think of that come as a result of substituting or replacing something that already exist?
4-21
e s b
Chapter 4
• Combine: possible combinations that result in something completely different
– Books, coffee, and music: Borders and Barnes & Noble – Idea Trigger: What separate products, services, or whole business can you put together to create another distinct business?
4-22
e s b
Chapter 4
• Adapt: adaptation from existing products or services
– Radical innovations: rejecting existing ideas, and presenting a way to do things differently – Paper towels were invented because of a too-thick shipment of toilet paper. – Idea Trigger: What could you adapt from other industries or fields to your business?
4-23
e s b
Chapter 4
• Magnify (or Modify): taking an existing product and changing its appearance or adding more features
– Example: banks opening more branches – “M” can also cue you to minimize something – Idea Trigger: What could I make more noticeable or dramatic, or different in some way from my competitors?
4-24
e s b
Chapter 4
• Put to other uses: challenge yourself to think of all the potential uses for a product or service
– Example: frankfurters were too hot, so the vendor found bakery rolls, cut them in half, and hot dogs met buns – Idea Trigger: Suppose you learned that all the traditional uses for your product had disappeared; what other uses might there be?
4-25
e s b
Chapter 4
• Eliminate: search for opportunities that arise when you get rid of something or stop doing something
– What if people didn’t have to leave home to grocery shop, or do banking? – Idea Trigger: What could I get rid of reduce that would eliminate something my customer has to do?
4-26
e s b
Chapter 4
• Rearrange (or reverse): a great example is the Magnetic Poetry story, which is a product that by definition is about rearranging things to inspire ideas
– Idea Trigger: What can you rearrange or reorder in the way your product or service appears?
• SCAMPER helps you step outside the usual way you look at opportunities
4-27
e s b
Chapter 4
Get into an Innovative Frame of Mind
• • • • • • Read magazines Invite someone you’ve never included before “Scan the environment” day Try a mini-internship Put yourself in other’s shoes Redesign your work environment
4-28
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
All of the following are common pitfalls, except:
a) b) c) d) Judging ideas too quickly Stopping with the first good idea Brainstorming Obeying rules that don’t exist
4-29
e s b
Chapter 4
Avoid Pitfalls
• • • • Identifying the wrong problem Judging ideas too quickly Stopping with the first good idea Failing to get the “bandits on the train” and ask for support • Obeying rules that don’t exist
4-30
e s b
Chapter 4
Types of Innovations Small Businesses Develop
• Imitative strategy: an overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing • Incremental strategy: taking an idea and offering a way to do something better than it is done presently
4-31
e s b
Chapter 4
Make Sure an Idea Is Feasible
• Feasibility: the extent to which an idea is viable and realistic and the extent to which you are aware of internal and external forces that could affect your business
4-32
e s b
Chapter 4
Assessing Feasibility by Pilot Testing
• Pilot Test: a preliminary run of a business, sales effort, program, or Web site with the goal of assessing how well the overall approach works and what problems it might have.
4-33
e s b
Chapter 4
Ways to Keep On Being Creative
• Culture: a set of shared norms, values, and orientations of a group of individuals, prescribing how people should think and behave in the organization
– Encourages new ideas – Embraces change
4-34
e s b
Chapter 4
? ? ?
Questions?
4-35
doc_768456432.ppt
Small businesses are common in many countries, depending on the economic system in operation.
e s b
4
Small Business Ideas:
Creativity, Opportunity,
and Feasibility
e s b
Chapter 4
Objectives:
• Learn the sources of opportunity entrepreneurs draw on to get business ideas • Identify the way ideas are screened for business potential • Understand how creativity methods can help business owners recognize new opportunities • Understand the five pitfalls that hinder innovation • Identify strategies for innovation in your business • Learn how to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study for your business ideas • Learn the model for pilot testing Internet businesses • Understand the value of building a creative culture in your business 4-2
e s b
Chapter 4
• • • • • Magnetic Poetry : Dave Kapell Guitarist / songwriter Opportunity met need Lightbulb experience Product line features over a hundred products • Shakespearean, Artist, Genius, Dog Lover, Romance, College kits
4-3
e s b
Chapter 4
Source of Business Ideas
• “Why didn’t I think of that?” • Innovation: implementation of a creative idea or opportunity leading to profitable and effective outcomes
– Pay attention to the cues – Ask many questions
4-4
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
What is the characteristic that allows a person to identify good opportunities, notice things that have been overlooked, and the motivation to look for opportunities?
a) b) c) d) Light bulb experience Entrepreneurial alertness Innovation Creativity
4-5
e s b
Chapter 4
• Entrepreneurial alertness: a special set of observational and thinking skills that help entrepreneurs identify good opportunities; the ability to notice things that have been overlooked, without actually launching a formal search for opportunities, and the motivation to look for opportunities
4-6
e s b
Chapter 4
4-7
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
Which of the following is not a factor that has led people to new ideas?
a) b) c) d) Serendipity (Luck) Work Experience Family and Friends These are all factors
4-8
e s b
Chapter 4
Factors that lead owners to their business idea
• Work experience • A similar business • Hobby or personal interest • Chance happening (serendipity) • Family and friends
• Education and expertise • Technology
4-9
e s b
Chapter 4
Example
Good Technology Is Nice; A Good Idea Is Better
• Wharton Professor David Hsu says in today’s venture capital environment, ideas are valued more highly than innovative technology • Initial Public Offering market has been difficult recently, but buyouts are prevalent • Once a startup gets its business model right, Venture Capitalists start looking for a way to cash out
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2007/08/09/google-yahoo-youtube-ent-fin-cx_kw_0809whartonvc.html
4-10
e s b
Chapter 4
• Work experience: idea grows out of listening to customer complaints
– Ideas can come from frustration – Ideas can come from not finding what you are looking for as a consumer
• Similar business: might see a business in an area that intrigues you
– Growing market – expand on the opportunity
4-11
e s b
Chapter 4
• Hobby/Personal interest: turn hobbies into successful business
– Motley Fool – online investment advice newsletter
• Owners were fans of dice baseball as kids
– Have interest and knowledge
• Serendipity: being in the right place at the right time (luck)
– Being observant
4-12
e s b
Chapter 4
• Family and friends: open to their suggestions
– Use their knowledge and experience
• Education and expertise: decide first to own a business, then searching for a viable idea for that business
– Look to their own skills and talents for business – Consulting companies are prime examples
4-13
e s b
Chapter 4
What Led To Your Business Idea?
4-14
e s b
Chapter 4
• Technology transfer: universities and government agencies
– Tremendous development of new technologies or refinements – They never do anything with them! – Find out about inventions through the technology transfer offices
4-15
e s b
Chapter 4
Screening Ideas
• What is your product or idea? • What is the technology that underlies your product/idea? • Is your underlying technology unique? • Is your product or idea innovative? • Who is your market and initial customer group? • What needs of your customers does your product or idea address? • Provide some indication of the general size of the market? • How do you anticipate developing IP protection for your technology?
4-16
e s b
Chapter 4
Screening Ideas – 3 additional questions
• Who are the people behind the idea? • What resources are needed to take the idea and sell it to the customer? • Can the idea generate sufficient profit?
4-17
e s b
Chapter 4
From Ideas to Opportunities Through Creativity
• Creativity: a process introducing an idea or opportunity that is novel and useful, frequently derived from making connection among distinct ideas or opportunities
4-18
e s b
Chapter 4
Example
Innovation: A Happy Meal for McDonald’s
• McDonald’s has saturated their market and can no longer continue to open stores as a strategy • Improved Innovation Process:
– McGriddle has improved breakfast sector – Snack Wrap is huge hit for on-the-go eating – Improved Coffee and warmer stores promotes business during slower hours
http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/31/christensen-innovation-mcdonalds-pf-guru_in_cc_0904christensen_inl_print.html
4-19
e s b
Chapter 4
• SCAMPER: a creativity tool that provides cues to trigger breakthrough thinking; the letters stand for…
4-20
e s b
Chapter 4
• Substitute: what might substitute for something else to form an idea
– Example: a feature that allows your customers to order directly from your website rather than by mail or visiting your store – Idea Trigger: What opportunities can you think of that come as a result of substituting or replacing something that already exist?
4-21
e s b
Chapter 4
• Combine: possible combinations that result in something completely different
– Books, coffee, and music: Borders and Barnes & Noble – Idea Trigger: What separate products, services, or whole business can you put together to create another distinct business?
4-22
e s b
Chapter 4
• Adapt: adaptation from existing products or services
– Radical innovations: rejecting existing ideas, and presenting a way to do things differently – Paper towels were invented because of a too-thick shipment of toilet paper. – Idea Trigger: What could you adapt from other industries or fields to your business?
4-23
e s b
Chapter 4
• Magnify (or Modify): taking an existing product and changing its appearance or adding more features
– Example: banks opening more branches – “M” can also cue you to minimize something – Idea Trigger: What could I make more noticeable or dramatic, or different in some way from my competitors?
4-24
e s b
Chapter 4
• Put to other uses: challenge yourself to think of all the potential uses for a product or service
– Example: frankfurters were too hot, so the vendor found bakery rolls, cut them in half, and hot dogs met buns – Idea Trigger: Suppose you learned that all the traditional uses for your product had disappeared; what other uses might there be?
4-25
e s b
Chapter 4
• Eliminate: search for opportunities that arise when you get rid of something or stop doing something
– What if people didn’t have to leave home to grocery shop, or do banking? – Idea Trigger: What could I get rid of reduce that would eliminate something my customer has to do?
4-26
e s b
Chapter 4
• Rearrange (or reverse): a great example is the Magnetic Poetry story, which is a product that by definition is about rearranging things to inspire ideas
– Idea Trigger: What can you rearrange or reorder in the way your product or service appears?
• SCAMPER helps you step outside the usual way you look at opportunities
4-27
e s b
Chapter 4
Get into an Innovative Frame of Mind
• • • • • • Read magazines Invite someone you’ve never included before “Scan the environment” day Try a mini-internship Put yourself in other’s shoes Redesign your work environment
4-28
e s b
Chapter 4
Question
All of the following are common pitfalls, except:
a) b) c) d) Judging ideas too quickly Stopping with the first good idea Brainstorming Obeying rules that don’t exist
4-29
e s b
Chapter 4
Avoid Pitfalls
• • • • Identifying the wrong problem Judging ideas too quickly Stopping with the first good idea Failing to get the “bandits on the train” and ask for support • Obeying rules that don’t exist
4-30
e s b
Chapter 4
Types of Innovations Small Businesses Develop
• Imitative strategy: an overall strategic approach in which the entrepreneur does more or less what others are already doing • Incremental strategy: taking an idea and offering a way to do something better than it is done presently
4-31
e s b
Chapter 4
Make Sure an Idea Is Feasible
• Feasibility: the extent to which an idea is viable and realistic and the extent to which you are aware of internal and external forces that could affect your business
4-32
e s b
Chapter 4
Assessing Feasibility by Pilot Testing
• Pilot Test: a preliminary run of a business, sales effort, program, or Web site with the goal of assessing how well the overall approach works and what problems it might have.
4-33
e s b
Chapter 4
Ways to Keep On Being Creative
• Culture: a set of shared norms, values, and orientations of a group of individuals, prescribing how people should think and behave in the organization
– Encourages new ideas – Embraces change
4-34
e s b
Chapter 4
? ? ?
Questions?
4-35
doc_768456432.ppt