Start using Odoo at an earlier stage to alleviate growing pains faced by most businesses! Custom apps, fully connected features, one software: Odoo. Try it now, it's free! Integrated Software. Free. Easy to Use.

A good idea is nothing more than a tool in the hands of an entrepreneur. Finding a good idea is the first step in the task of converting an entrepreneur’s creativity into an opportunity.

The importance of the idea is often over-rated, usually at the expense of under- emphasizing the need for products or services, or both, which can be sold in enough quantity to real customers.

Further, the new business that simply bursts from a flash of brilliance is rare. What is usually necessary is a series of trial – and – error iterations, or repetitions, before a crude and promising product or service fits with what the customer is willing to pay for. For example, Howard Had made forty different metal skis before he finally made the model that worked consistently. With surprising frequency, major businesses are built around totally different products than those originally envisioned.

There are three major hurdles to overcome before any idea can come to fruition:
1) Identify a problem,
2) Idea generation,
3) Idea selection.

Categories of Idea Selection
The idea selection usually centers around the following broad categories:

1) Product where the entrepreneur has firsthand manufacturing experience.

2) Product where the entrepreneur has the marketing work experience with the particular product.

3) Product which is perceived as highly profitable.

4) Product where government has banned imports.

5) Product where the export demand is high and with good margins.

6) The raw material requirement of an existing nearby big unit.

7) The location advantage of raw material/ other resources.

8) The products encouraged by the government agencies.

9) Products on which government declares subsidies, incentives, other industrial/ financial benefits.

10) Products where there is demand growth.

While discussing about generation of ideas for the new enterprise, the project stages are to be discussed. The district phases are:

1) Pre- project phase which consist of idea stage, concept stage, product development stage and test marketing stage and

2) Commercialization phase and product life cycle which includes introduction phase, growth phase, maturity phase and decline phase.

Any project goes through pre-project detailed above, wherein the evaluation is made at each stage and only stage- wise dimensional and poses problems. It is necessary to examine and analyze the nature and extent of problem and to choose the best of the ideas.

Idea Generation
Idea generation stage is the first step in any entrepreneurial activity. As many as new product ideas are developed in idea stage. Impractical ideas are dropped. Ideas which employ the maximum of available resources be taken up for further evaluation. The ideas should take care of customer requirements.

•