You may have started your business idea with more than one product or service in mind. It can be healthy to brainstorm the topic of products and services to see what else might fit in your business idea.
Identify four to seven people you would like to participate, set a time for the brainstorming, contact them and explain what you want them to do and invite them to participate in the session. You will require a place where you can do the brainstorming without interruptions; your living room can work just fine if you unplug the telephones. Brainstorming is one of the most effective methods for gathering a lot of ideas quickly. It’s amazing what can be achieved when you get several different minds focused on a problem or topic.
Brainstorming works best if all participants follow a few simple guidelines during the session. For example, ask that any critiquing or evaluation take place after the session, and offer these guidelines:
- Brainstorm as many ideas as you can in the time allowed
- All ideas are valid and recorded
- Do not judge the ideas while brainstorming
- Keep suggestions simple
- Have fun!
Now is a good time to consider what business model you will adopt to get your goods to market. You can learn more about business models by reviewing this great summary of popular business or revenue models at Wikipedia.
Action
- Gather a small group of people together to brainstorm your products and services. The actual session will probably take less than an hour, not counting time invested in organizing the session and the group.