6 Tips to Inspire Your Next Big Business Idea

In the last of our Dream Big series of blogs for 2020, we’re circling right back to the beginning…sharing how we find the inspiration for our ideas. Many of the points below are about seeking out and finding inspiration from other people and businesses, but we want to caveat all of this, with a nugget from our own experience…

DON’T FALL INTO THE RABBIT HOLE OF SCROLLING OR OBSESSIVE STALKING.

We’re using shouty capitals because it’s so easily done! Imposter syndrome is a real thing that so many of us small business owners suffer from. Negatively comparing yourself to other businesses will not make you feel good, and it’s certainly not conducive to coming up with an amazing idea that will work for your business.

Now that we’ve shared that all important health warning, here’s how we find our inspiration…

Have a Browse

Having a nosy at what other people in your industry are doing can be really useful – simple things like how they structure their Insta grid, or a blog subject, or even their pricing structure. We’ve found that it can lead to lightbulb moments, new perspectives or even reality checks, which have been healthy for our business. 

Widen Your Scope

It’s definitely worth looking outside your industry and location. Very often our cousins abroad are one step ahead or have a different approach to fundamentals. We’ve been hugely inspired by how the Ozzies, Yanks and Europeans are innovating in the creative marketing industry. Equally, when you turn outside your industry for fresh ideas you don’t have the same pressures of adhering to industry standards, so you’re afforded more freedom to innovate.

A Change of Scene

Ideas need nurturing! And from experience, we’ve found a pinging inbox, vibrating phone and a pressing to do list is not helpful when trying to dream big. When we want to dedicate some time to creative thought, we move away from our desks and choose a more inspiring environment. Favourites of ours are a buzzing coffee shop (pre-Covid!), a stimulating art gallery or a woodland walk (accompanied by labradoodle Frank of course!).

Listen In

There’s a wealth of podcasts out there designed to spark conversation, stimulate new ideas or encourage new ways of thinking around your business. Some of our favourites include:

·        Holly Tucker’s - Conversations of Inspiration

·        Sara Tasker’s - Hashtag Authentic

·        Holly Wood’s - Can We Have it All?

·        Carrie Green - She Means Business Show

·        TED Talks Daily

Hashtags

A great way to get inspired and tap into subjects that are very much, of the moment, is to see what  hashtags are popular. Search to see what others are talking about and follow key hashtags to stay in the loop of particular conversations. Sometimes the brightest idea can be sparked by less than 280 characters!

Open Your Mind

Give your seeds of an idea a chance to grow. In the past, we’ve been guilty of dismissing an idea if it feels too overwhelming. However, we’ve found, that by giving our ideas a chance to develop and validate, some of them have actually been much more achievable than we first gave them credit for. If you don’t have someone in your business that you can mull an idea over with, then have a read of our Support Network blog - it will give you a few ideas of who to brainstorm with.

Equally, there’s no value in clinging on to an idea that just won’t work! If the financials don’t stack up, or the demand isn’t there…be prepared to let it go before you invest too much time and energy in it.

So, there you have it, the final piece in the Dream Big puzzle…inspiration. We really hope that sharing our experiences of the time, tools, skills and inspiration we use to dream up and develop our ideas, has been useful to you too. The process of writing it all down, and sharing it with those of you kind enough to read our ramblings, has been incredibly beneficial to us too. We’ve even followed our own advice(!) and we’ve come up with our Dream Big idea…roll on January 2021.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this series of blogs and have been inspired to think of your own Dream Big idea, we’d love to hear about it. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and share your Dream Big experience.