Unit 1 Developing Successful Business Idea

➢ Business idea: Overview,

The business overview is a component of a business plan that
provides a general explanation of your company. By reading this
section, the audience learns about your company and its structure,
values, mission and offerings. It can also demonstrate what makes
your company unique from competitors. This section of the business
plan is sometimes called a "company description

How to write a business overview

Follow the steps below to start drafting a business overview to include in your business
plan:

1. Start with your pitch

The first sentence of your business overview should serve as a sort of elevator pitch for
your company—a quick summary that defines who you are and what you do. In your
pitch, you may include your offerings as a company and the target audience that you
serve. Try to demonstrate what makes you different from other competitors.

Related: How To Give an Elevator Pitch (With Examples)

Show Transcript

Video: Elevator Pitch Tip: Keep It Concise

In this video, Jenn, a career coach at Indeed, presents the key to keeping
your elevator pitch the right length, which will help capture and maintain the
full attention of the people you’re pitching to.

2. Provide the basics

Following your pitch, you often offer the most important information about the company.
These details provide a general summary about who you are as a business and provide
details relevant to potential stakeholders such as investors. You can including the
following:
 • Your company name: Use the official, registered name of your
business.
• Your management team: In some situations, you may want to include
the names of owners, founders or other significant figures who help
operate the company.
• Your legal structure: Mention whether the company is a sole
proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability corporation
(LLC).
• Your location: Describe where your company is located or conducts
business.

3. Include unique details

Other information you may want to include within your business overview are insights
into your company's history and mission statement. The history can help establish your
company culture and add some of its personality to the business overview. For
example, you may have a unique story about your company's founding or its path thus
far. Or, if you are looking to gain financing, including details about your company's
positive track record may make you more attractive to investors.

You can next include your company's mission statement, which defines its purpose.
Typically, this is a one-to-two sentence description of the problem your company is
trying to solve and how you hope to do it. Think of your long-term goal or vision to
ensure this statement remains relevant over time.

Related: How To Write an Effective Mission Statement

4. Define what you offer

Next, give details on the products or services you offer and to whom you aim to sell
them. If you are trying to get individuals to invest in your business, they must
understand what you sell and why it matters. You can include any relevant numbers or
quantifiable data, though those details likely will also be included in other areas of the
business plan, such as your market analysis.

5. Finish with your goals

At the end of your business overview, outline your goals and how you plan to achieve
them. These goals may vary on which stage the business is at—such as whether you
are trying to gain investors to start the business. You can also define the objectives you
hope to reach in terms of growth and scale.

You can also sum up this information through your vision statement, which provides a
broad declaration of what you hope to achieve as a business. Typically, this statement
outlines your organization's ultimate goals and helps unite and motivate your
employees. You also want to make sure your passion comes through when describing
your mission and vision for the future, as this can entice your audience to want to
continue reading.

Related: Vision Statements: Tips, Example and Importance

Video: How To Finish Your Elevator Pitch

Jenn, a career coach at Indeed, describes a critical component of an elevator

pitch: the call to action. Learn how to end your story with a pitch!

6. Proofread your work

As with every section of your business plan, make sure to proofread your overview to
ensure it does not have any errors. A mistake-free document upholds your company's
professional reputation and leaves a positive impression on the internal and external
stakeholders who read it.

You should also review the overview to ensure conciseness. This section aims to
summarize your company, and you will include more specific details about your
objectives or target markets elsewhere in the business plan. Read through for any
irrelevant or redundant information that you can cut. You may want to ask someone
uninvolved with the writing process to read it over, as they can provide an unbiased
opinion on how well it flows or informs and interests the readers.

Idea Generation in Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is being able to create and run a business. In entrepreneurship,
idea generation is one of the main factors that lead to its success. The idea thought
of here should be able to solve a problem.

And along with being unique, the idea should also be easy to execute. For example,
let’s suppose you feel a lot of people have a problem understanding legal jargon
and legal proceedings.
So, in this case, your entrepreneurial idea could be setting up a platform that caters
to all the legal needs of people and helps them understand it easily.

Idea Generation in Product Development

Idea generation is the first step for any product development. This requires you to
look for feasible product options that can be executed. It is a very important step
for organizations to solve their problems.

It requires you to do market research and SWOT analysis. You should aim to come
up with an idea that is unique from your competitors and can be used profitably.

For example, self-sanitizing door handles can be a product that you look at. It is
unique and would be in high demand because of the current shift towards a
healthy lifestyle.

Idea Generation Process

The process may be different for different organizations and different people. But
there are three main steps in the process. It starts with the identification of the
question or the problem we need to solve.
 After which we need to come up with ideas and probable solutions. Finally, in the
third stage, we select the most suitable idea and execute it. For example, let’s
suppose you are opening up a restaurant.

So firstly, you need to identify what question you need to answer. Let’s assume
you want to decide upon a name for the restaurant. Now you will use different
techniques (brainstorming, mind mapping, etc) to come up with ideas for names.

In the last step, you will choose the most appropriate name from the different
names you came up with within the second step.

Idea Generation Techniques

Now we will see the different idea generation techniques in detail.

• Mind Mapping
It is a technique of presenting information. Here we show the links between the
different elements or the pieces of information. The links or connection is usually
shown with the help of lines and arrows. It’s a visual way of presenting the
information.
For example, let’s suppose you want a name for your new application. You will
start by writing the main topic in the center of a paper, which here is the name for
your new application.

From the center point, you will have arrows pointing out. These arrows will point
to the main things to be kept in mind while thinking of a name like guidelines,
visualization, productivity, etc.

Now from every key aspect, there will be more arrows pointing out. These arrows
will describe the key aspect in detail. Like ‘guidelines’ will talk about the name
being able to express what the application does, following the naming scheme, etc.
• Reverse Thinking
As is very clear from the name itself this technique asks us to think oppositely.
Instead of working on the problem in front of us, we work on the exact opposite of
it.

For example, let us assume you want to know ‘how to increase your followers on
social media platforms. According to this technique, you will instead think of ‘how
will I not increase my followers on social media platform’.
 To this question, you will get answers like, by not posting regularly, or posting
low-quality content, etc. Now you just have to reverse your answers.

So, to increase followers on a social media platform you should post high-quality
content regularly. This idea generation technique works on the concept that it’s
easier to come up with negative suggestions.

• Brainstorming
This technique is quantitative meaning that you come up with a large number of
ideas. Here a group comes up with a different probable solution to the problem.

For example, if you along with some of your colleagues are trying to come up with
a tagline for your product. And each one of you gives your ideas, then that is called
brainstorming.

When using brainstorming four rules are followed:

1. No criticism is allowed by anyone in the group.

2. “Freewheeling” is encouraged.

3. Quantity of ideas is desired.

4. Combinations and improvements of ideas are encouraged.

• SCAMPER
The word SCAMPER is an acronym.

S -Substitute

C – Combine

A – Adapt

M – Modify

P – Put to another use

E – Eliminate

R – Reverse
Bob Eberle developed this technique. Each part of the acronym helps us think and
ask questions, which results in generating ideas.
 For example, if you are a clothes manufacturing company you can think of
‘substitute’ your current material with a sustainable, eco-friendly option. You
could also ‘put it to other uses’ by recycling the waste material.

• Synectic
George M. Prince and Willian J. J. Gordon developed this technique. In this
technique, we take apart a thing and then put it back together. This helps us get a
better understanding of how things work.

• Role-Playing
In this technique, the participants take up roles to play. These roles are different
from the ones they usually play. It adds an element of fun and helps get
innovative ideas.

For example, you could take up the roles of customers and discuss your
expectations and what you want from products. This could lead you to stumble
upon some good ideas.

• Storyboarding
 This technique refers to the process of making storyboards to generate ideas.
Storyboards use pictures, illustrations, and other information to better present the
ideas.

For example, suppose you are working on an idea for an advertisement. You can
portray the different scenes in the form of a storyboard. This helps you in better
visualization and you can make changes accordingly.

• Brainwriting
In this technique, a group of people writes their ideas on a piece of paper. After the
designated time for writing is over the paper is given to a different person.

Now this person reads the ideas on the paper they got and adds their ideas on the
paper. This continues until everyone has put their ideas on all the papers. And
following this, there is a discussion on each idea.
• Forced Relationship
This technique helps to come up with unique ideas. Here you take two unrelated
things and imagine putting them together to see what new thing you can come up
with.
 For example, take a calculator and a pencil, these are unrelated to each other. Now
try putting them together. You might get some interesting ideas like a calculator
with a touch screen and a pencil to write on it and a lot more.

• Collaboration
This technique is self-explanatory. Here you collaborate with others to come up
with ideas. If you collaborate with a diverse group of people your ideas will be
more unique.

This happens because every person brings a different perspective. For example, if
you want to increase the sale of a particular product you might want to collaborate
with industry experts, specialists, or people working in domains other than sales.

• The 5 W’s
Who, What, Where, When, and Why are the five W’s. Answering these five W’s
helps us achieve a very holistic view of the topic under discussion. And it is an
efficient way to come up with solutions and ideas.

For example, suppose you want to create a new product or a service. You can do so
by asking questions like, who would use the product, why would people buy it,
what would it do, etc.
• Listening
People prove to be a very good resource when you are trying to generate ideas.
Even those who aren’t your employees and customers can be very resourceful.
So, you must always go beyond your immediate circle and invest in listening.
Socializing with people in your immediate social circle and even those beyond it
can be very effective.
• Accidental Genius
This idea generation technique believes that writing can help you come up with
good ideas. Here writing is believed to be a trigger for ideas. This technique asks
you to write freely without any editing.

So, whatever problem you are facing just start writing the answer without being
concerned about the right or wrong aspect of it.

• Visualization
In this technique, we approach the problem visually. This is because visualization
makes things easy to understand. And as a result, we can come up with ideas and
 solutions easily. For example, suppose you want a new setup for your production
unit.

You can have pictures taken of the current setup and work on it. Looking at the
pictures will give you a better idea. You will be able to make changes to the setup
so that it increases productivity and saves on time.

• Removing Assumptions
There are a lot of assumptions about how things work. This technique requires us
to list all the assumptions and then start removing them one by one.

These assumptions work as stimuli for us to come up with new ideas. For
example, suppose you want to open a new school with innovative features. First
list down all the assumptions you have about a school,

• There should be physical classrooms

• A fixed curriculum decided beforehand

• More emphasis on theoretical knowledge

Now remove each assumption one by now. Let’s remove the need for a physical
classroom. You could open a school that has online classes or has classes
outdoors. In this way doing away with an assumption will help you explore new
ideas.

Idea Generation Tools

Technology has made our work easier and continues to do the same. We can
make use of tools and technologies to generate ideas as well. Today there are
many such tools available to us.

For example, there is Pinterest, Mindmeister, Freeplane, Idea

Generator, Stormboard, Mindomo. Where Mindmeister helps you to make mind
maps, Stormboard has features like whiteboards, sticky notes, and others that
make brainstorming very efficient.

So, we will highly recommend the use of these tools for efficient and effective idea
generation.

Sources of Idea Generation

Sources of idea generation are the people and places from where you get your
ideas. Several internal and external sources help to generate ideas. Employees and
the research & development department of the company are great internal
sources.
Whereas, external sources are also very helpful. These are customers, suppliers,
competitors, distribution channels, government, educational institutions, and
focus groups.

Examples of Idea Generation

Ideas are present all around us. We see a lot of big and successful companies doing
well. They all started with an idea. For example, Airbnb was started when two
designers had spare space and hosted travelers.

With Uber it was two entrepreneurs, trying to figure out how to reduce
transportation costs.

Importance of Idea Generation

Idea generation is a very important activity, without which we would have
nothing to work on. This activity also proves to be very beneficial for all the
parties involved.
The organization gets a lot of innovative ideas to work upon, the employees get to
be a part of the bigger picture. There’s an increase in creativity and a lot of
effective solutions are generated.

Idea Generation Activities

There are a lot of activities that help stimulate idea generation. These different
activities are of two types, Internal and External activities. For internal activities,
there are online and offline platforms where you can have discussions.

We can also conduct timely sessions and workshops. These activities broaden our
knowledge and with this increased understanding we can think better.
Participation in events, doing courses, and conducting competitions are external
activities.

These external activities are helpful because they expose us to a lot of different
people and different ideas. This, in turn, helps us come up with ideas of our own.

Idea Generation Workshops

Workshops consist of discussions and activities of any given topic like public
speaking, watercolor painting, etc. So, when we talk about idea generation
workshops, they have activities that help stimulate our idea of generating abilities.
These workshops help improve your skills to come up with good ideas. Many
companies conduct idea generation workshops for their clients. Some of these
companies are edge+, Lighthouse, and MTI^2.

Conclusion
Ideas are the building blocks for all innovation. They are what we work on, so the
first step of starting with anything new is finding that idea. We must make use of
the different tools and techniques available to us to come up with quality ideas.

We can even use workshops and activities, to improve this skill. So, what are you
waiting for? Let’s get creative!

WHAT IS CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING?

Research is necessary when solving a problem. But there are situations
where a problem’s specific cause is difficult to pinpoint. This can occur
when there’s not enough time to narrow down the problem’s source or
there are differing opinions about its root cause.

In such cases, you can use creative problem-solving, which allows you
to explore potential solutions regardless of whether a problem has been
defined.

Creative problem-solving is less structured than other innovation

processes and encourages exploring open-ended solutions. It also
focuses on developing new perspectives and fostering creativity in the
workplace. Its benefits include:

• Finding creative solutions to complex problems: User research can

insufficiently illustrate a situation’s complexity. While other innovation
processes rely on this information, creative problem-solving can yield
solutions without it.
• Adapting to change: Business is constantly changing, and business
leaders need to adapt. Creative problem-solving helps overcome
unforeseen challenges and find solutions to unconventional problems.
• Fueling innovation and growth: In addition to solutions, creative
problem-solving can spark innovative ideas that drive company
growth. These ideas can lead to new product lines, services, or a
modified operations structure that improves efficiency.
Creative problem-solving is traditionally based on the following key
principles:

1. Balance Divergent and Convergent Thinking

Creative problem-solving uses two primary tools to find solutions:

divergence and convergence. Divergence generates ideas in response
to a problem, while convergence narrows them down to a shortlist. It
balances these two practices and turns ideas into concrete solutions.

2. Reframe Problems as Questions

By framing problems as questions, you shift from focusing on obstacles

to solutions. This provides the freedom to brainstorm potential ideas.

3. Defer Judgment of Ideas

When brainstorming, it can be natural to reject or accept ideas right

away. Yet, immediate judgments interfere with the idea generation
process. Even ideas that seem implausible can turn into outstanding
innovations upon further exploration and development.
4. Focus on "Yes, And" Instead of "No, But"

Using negative words like "no" discourages creative thinking. Instead,

use positive language to build and maintain an environment that fosters
the development of creative and innovative ideas.

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DESIGN

THINKING
Whereas creative problem-solving facilitates developing innovative ideas
through a less structured workflow, design thinking takes a far more
organized approach.

Design thinking is a human-centered, solutions-based process that

fosters the ideation and development of solutions. In the online
course Design Thinking and Innovation, Harvard Business School Dean
Srikant Datar leverages a four-phase framework to explain design
thinking.

The four stages are:

• Clarify: The clarification stage allows you to empathize with the user
and identify problems. Observations and insights are informed by
thorough research. Findings are then reframed as problem statements
or questions.
• Ideate: Ideation is the process of coming up with innovative ideas. The
divergence of ideas involved with creative problem-solving is a major
focus.
• Develop: In the development stage, ideas evolve into experiments and
tests. Ideas converge and are explored through prototyping and open
critique.
• Implement: Implementation involves continuing to test and experiment
to refine the solution and encourage its adoption.
Creative problem-solving primarily operates in the ideate phase of
design thinking but can be applied to others. This is because design
thinking is an iterative process that moves between the stages as ideas
are generated and pursued. This is normal and encouraged, as
innovation requires exploring multiple ideas.

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOLS

While there are many useful tools in the creative problem-solving
process, here are three you should know:

Creating a Problem Story

One way to innovate is by creating a story about a problem to

understand how it affects users and what solutions best fit their needs.
Here are the steps you need to take to use this tool properly.

1. Identify a UDP

Create a problem story to identify the undesired phenomena (UDP). For

example, consider a company that produces printers that overheat. In
this case, the UDP is "our printers overheat."
2. Move Forward in Time

To move forward in time, ask: “Why is this a problem?” For example,

minor damage could be one result of the machines overheating. In more
extreme cases, printers may catch fire. Don't be afraid to create multiple
problem stories if you think of more than one UDP.

3. Move Backward in Time

To move backward in time, ask: “What caused this UDP?” If you can't
identify the root problem, think about what typically causes the UDP to
occur. For the overheating printers, overuse could be a cause.

Following the three-step framework above helps illustrate a clear

problem story:

• The printer is overused.

• The printer overheats.
• The printer breaks down.
You can extend the problem story in either direction if you think of
additional cause-and-effect relationships.

4. Break the Chains

By this point, you’ll have multiple UDP storylines. Take two that are
similar and focus on breaking the chains connecting them. This can be
accomplished through inversion or neutralization.

• Inversion: Inversion changes the relationship between two UDPs so

the cause is the same but the effect is the opposite. For example, if
the UDP is "the more X happens, the more likely Y is to happen,"
inversion changes the equation to "the more X happens, the less likely
Y is to happen." Using the printer example, inversion would consider:
"What if the more a printer is used, the less likely it’s going to
overheat?" Innovation requires an open mind. Just because a solution
initially seems unlikely doesn't mean it can't be pursued further or
spark additional ideas.
• Neutralization: Neutralization completely eliminates the cause-and-
effect relationship between X and Y. This changes the above equation
to "the more or less X happens has no effect on Y." In the case of the
printers, neutralization would rephrase the relationship to
"the more or less a printer is used has no effect on whether it
overheats."
Even if creating a problem story doesn't provide a solution, it can offer
useful context to users’ problems and additional ideas to be explored.
Given that divergence is one of the fundamental practices of creative
problem-solving, it’s a good idea to incorporate it into each tool you use.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a tool that can be highly effective when guided by the

iterative qualities of the design thinking process. It involves openly
discussing and debating ideas and topics in a group setting. This
facilitates idea generation and exploration as different team members
consider the same concept from multiple perspectives.

Hosting brainstorming sessions can result in problems, such as

groupthink or social loafing. To combat this, leverage a three-step
brainstorming method involving divergence and convergence:

1. Have each group member come up with as many ideas as possible

and write them down to ensure the brainstorming session is
productive.
2. Continue the divergence of ideas by collectively sharing and exploring
each idea as a group. The goal is to create a setting where new ideas
are inspired by open discussion.
3. Begin the convergence of ideas by narrowing them down to a few
exportable options. There’s no "right number of ideas." Don't be afraid
to consider exploring all of them, as long as you have the resources to
do so.
Alternate Worlds
The alternate worlds tool is an empathetic approach to creative problem-
solving. It encourages you to consider how someone in another world
would approach your situation.

For example, if you’re concerned that the printers you produce overheat
and catch fire, consider how a different industry would approach the
problem. How would an automotive expert solve it? How would a
firefighter?

Be creative as you consider and research alternate worlds. The purpose

is not to nail down a solution right away but to continue the ideation
process through diverging and exploring ideas.

➢ The Gordon method

Gordon method is a method of developing new ideas when the individuals are
unaware of the problem. In this method the entrepreneur starts by mentioning a
general concept associated with the problem. The group responds with
expressing a number of ideas

10. FORCED RELATIONSHIPS

Forced relationship is the process of forcing relationship among some product

combination. It is technique that asks questions about objects or ideas in an
effort to develop a new idea

11. Bed dream approach

Ideas should be conceptualized without any constraints until an idea is

developed into workable form

12. Attribute listing

Attribute listing is an idea finding technique that requires entrepreneurs to list
the attributes of an item or problem and then look at each from different
perspectives . through this method originally unrelated objects can be brought
together to form a new combination and possible new uses that better satisfy a
need. In summery attribute listing refers to a method of developing a new idea
by looking at the positives and negative.

Free Association:-

a method of collecting qualitative marketing research data in which

respondents are asked to supply the word or idea which first comes to mind in
response to a word or phrase given to them by a researcher; the technique is
used to further understand shopping, advertising, branding, etc.
➢ Collective notebook Method,

The Collective notebook method is suitable for collecting ideas

over a longer period of time. All participants initially collect their
ideas alone, on a private IdeaClouds whiteboard. The collection of
ideas can take place over one or several weeks. Then the
facilitator starts the second step: all participants and all ideas come
together on an Idea Clouds team whiteboard. The ideas can then
be further processed and evaluated together.

Example:-
Potential cost savings are to be collected for a value analysis. The
facilitator starts the Collective Notebook method in Idea Clouds and
invites the participants. Each participant is automatically assigned their
own whiteboard by Idea Clouds. The participants are asked to write
down at least one new idea every day. There is no need to schedule a
meeting, as each participant can write down their ideas when they have
time. After a week, the facilitator finishes the first step of idea collection
and starts the team phase. The team groups duplicates and works out a
few more unclear ideas. Afterwards, the team prioritizes all the ideas to
determine which one has the greatest potential for cost savings.

➢ Attribute Listing. Selection of business idea.

Attribute listing is a creative technique that can assist you to expand

and diversify your product and service range. While using the
technique of attribute listing we break a problem down into smaller and
smaller parts or attributes and look at alternative solutions to these
parts.