Entrepreneurs are good at finding inspiration everywhere. If you want to start a business, it helps to have an open-minded spirit of curiosity. Your next business idea, whether it’s an e-commerce site or a brick-and-mortar retail space, could come from unexpected moments of learning, connection, and discovery.
Here are a few ways small business owners can discover profitable business ideas.
1. Read business news and blogs
One of the best ways to get inspiration as a small business owner is to read business news. Subscribe to the best business and financial news sources like Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist. Find some industry journalists and commentators that you like to follow on social media.
Keep an eye on the latest trends in your industry — what are the big stories? Which companies are struggling or soaring? Which stocks or sectors are seeing big changes in their fortunes? Is there a big trend in another city, region, or country that might be coming next to your local area? Maybe you can get in on the ground floor with a new product, service, or business model.
2. Use free resources on Shopify and HubSpot
If you want to start a content marketing or e-commerce business, there are great resources available on sites like HubSpot and Shopify. You can use free videos and guides on these platforms to learn digital marketing skills like search engine optimization (SEO), how to create a successful website, how to do search engine marketing, email marketing, and more.
Just by immersing yourself in the world of online business, you can often find inspiration to start your own online store or e-commerce company.
Why a Business Credit Card Could Transform Your Small Business
These business credit cards that offer a convenient and efficient way to separate personal and business expenses, simplifying accounting and tax reporting.
Additionally, business cards can provide valuable perks such as rewards points, cashback, and expense tracking tools, enhancing financial management and the potential to help save money in the long run.
3. Check out online business brokers
Sometimes buying a business is a great way to get started as an entrepreneur. But even if you’re not ready to buy a business, you can find inspiration by looking at listings of businesses for sale.
Check out online business broker sites to see what businesses are available in your industry, area, or field of interest. A few examples of business brokers that help investors buy and sell online businesses include Ecommerce Brokers (ecommerce-brokers.com), Flippa, and Acquire.com.
Sometimes online broker sites are not able to list the full details of each business for sale, as some information is confidential — but this can still be time well spent if it helps you get a sense for which types of businesses are showing potential for growth. You might find a great deal on an existing small business to acquire, or get inspired to start a new company of your own.
4. Go to real-life networking events
A big part of success as a small business owner is something simple that doesn’t have to be high-tech: networking. If you want to get inspired to find business ideas, just go to local events through your local chamber of commerce, business industry associations, or coworking spaces. Meet and talk with people and find out what your local community of entrepreneurs are excited about.
5. Travel
What if you could find your next bit of business inspiration by traveling to another country, going to an industry conference in another city, or just going on vacation for a week at the beach? Sometimes the best way to get inspired for business ideas is to get out of the house, and get a change of scenery.
If you’re in the restaurant business, you might get inspired to add a new dish or new flavors to your menu based on a new food you try at a beachfront food truck. Or you might get inspired by some international city’s latest fashion trends, billboards, and advertising at a train station, or overhear the buzz of conversation at a busy coffee shop.
Seeing new places and reconnecting with the pulse of human life is always inspiring. Travel can dislodge your mind from your usual comfortable routine and present you with new contexts, colors, flavors, and sounds to help see the world in creative, entrepreneurial new ways.
6. Think about nagging, frustrating problems
Entrepreneurs are often optimists with can-do attitudes, but sometimes it helps to dwell upon negativity. Think hard about the biggest problems in your everyday life. What are the pain points causing the most friction in your own career — what business could solve them? Your next business idea might be right under your nose.
Bottom line
Sometimes at its best, entrepreneurship is an exercise in creativity and imagination. Starting a business is an act of hope, an investment in a better future, and a way of creating positive changes in the world. Entrepreneurs can use a variety of ways to learn, engage with life more deeply, and discover profitable business ideas by using a spirit of curiosity and problem-solving.
