Now that is an idea!

An idea is only worth something if (1) you can protect it and (2) you can exploit it. If you are looking for a laugh, check out the totallyabsurd.com website. There are plenty of ideas that are being legally protected, although the feasibility of being able to exploit these ideas remains to be seen….

A Cry-no-more strap on pacifier:

A head-napkin (to help hunters remain camouflaged)":

 

Insect balls (to keep the insects away while you are outside):

 

Totally Absurd Inventions & Patents, America's Goofiest Patents

The Economics of Pumpkins

I just returned from a local pumpkin farm with my family -- and I must say first off that I was very impressed with the entire experience.  It is only open on weekends in Sept/Oct, so I wasn't expecting a whole lot of infrastructure, but I was wrong. There were so many activities and it all looked brand new (although I know it has been there for a while). It exceeded my expectations to say the least.

They really have a great business concept.  It is marketed to families during the day and they get a lot of youth groups and teenagers in the evenings as they are open until 10 pm. They have activities that appeal both to families (pony rides, corn sand box, bouncy barn, farm animals, etc.) and teenagers (corn maze, fire pit, hay rides, etc.). Everything was high quality and the workers (likely family and friends) held a sense of pride and happiness. Perhaps that is because it is only only 7 weekends out of the year, and there isn't necessarily a drainage of energy. It is surrounded by gardens of beautiful sunflowers. Most surprising was that there prices were reasonable. And, did I mention that it is in the middle of nowhere?

And...of course...I began to wonder about the economics of this little (or not so little) pumpkins. One of the workers mentioned that they bring in 4000-5000 visitors a weekend. So, if we average this to 4,500 over 7 weekends, this brings us to an estimated 31,500 visitors. We spent $40 for our family of 4 (including our 5 pumpkins), averaging $10 per person. This is probably a pretty conservative average spending considering that while we purchased a few snacks, we did not have lunch there and our two girls were under 5 and got in free. But still, 31,500 visitors at $10 per visitor comes to $315,000 for the season. Not bad, huh?

After doing a bit more research, I found out that the owner is an out-of-town lawyer that spends his weekends working on this ranch and donates a portion to charities every year. What a nice ending. I'm definitely happy for this entrepreneur -- for providing a great product in a great way that I hope to return to year after year.

Integrating entrepreneurship into your every day life

I recently visited some friends that work for themselves as construction contractors. Their business is small (just the husband and wife team for the most part) and they live modestly. When I pulled into their driveway, there were flowers blooming all around their home that took my breath away - hundreds of lilies in almost any color, hostas everywhere and quite a few other flowers that I do not know their names. When they moved into the house three years ago, there was not a single flower there. You see, flowers were their passion and starting the following summer, their plan was to start selling them.

We then went inside their home where their dog had eight puppies that were just two weeks old - my daughter did not want to leave them! I then learned that this particular breed of puppies would sell for over $200 a piece, and that was their plan once the puppies were old enough.

I left thinking about how entrepreneurial they were with their passions and their every day life -- and how smart they were to be able to find a way fund their passions and bring in a little more money while doing so. I learned first hand that entrepreneurship doesn't always mean writing long business plans and integrating cutting edge technology - it can also mean simply being smart and creative - or entrepreneurial - with how you live your life.

It's all how you view it

In a recent article by the Greene County Daily World, there is a great example of an entrepreneur that is alert to opportunities:

Many area farmers are taking a financial hit from the recent floods.

But Sawyer Sparks, a young entrepreneur from rural Bloomfield who is a third-year agriculture economics student at Purdue University, says he's got a viable alternative to re-planting washed out corn and soybeans.

Sunflowers.

Sparks owns a local company called BioGreene -- which started in 2007.

Its major product is sunflowers.

He contends there is still plenty of time to plant and have hopes to salvage something from this year's damaged crop season.

"Some sunflowers have a growing period of 80-90 days, which would give plenty of time to mature in time for harvest," Sparks said this week.

When everyone else is talking about the flooding disasters across the Midwest, here is someone that is viewing the situation a bit differently and thinking entrepreneurially about what opportunities might exist. That is a true sign of an entrepreneur!

For the full story, go to: Greene County Daily World: Story: Bloomfield grad offers alternatives for farmers and youngsters

Foreclosures

In the media today, we are hearing more about concerns with the economy and the increased number of foreclosures. Now, this can be pretty depressing. However, if you start to think entrepreneurially, you can see that there are two sides to everything. And, yes, in a down market such as ours today, many opportunities still exist. It just depends on how you look at it.

My husband and I own a real estate business, Renewing Properties, that specializes in acquiring foreclosure properties and then selling them on a lease-to-own program. And, to let you in on a little secret, the business is thriving in today's economy! Why? Well, there are many more foreclosure deals to find. And, secondly, there are many more potential home buyers that are facing difficulty in obtaining a traditional mortgage and/or prefer a lease-to-own program as it helps them build up equity.

Can you think of any other opportunities that exist because of the state of the economy? What about staffing services that can help corporations outsource or help employees for plants that are shutting down? What about entrepreneurial training and consulting services as many individuals may in turn consider starting their own business if they lose their job? What about check-to-cash businesses? Discount retail outlets (as Americans start to become more price conscious again)? Bus services and/or technological services that enables communication without having to drive somewhere (and thus saving gas)?

Just start thinking --- and I assure you that the ideas will start to flow!

Commercializing your new product

Coming up with a new idea is an essential part of the entrepreneurial process, but that idea alone will not turn you into a successful entrepreneur. Sometimes I even think that coming up with the idea is the easy part, and that turning an idea into a business is really the hard part. VentureNet Iowa is a new organization that is dedicated to helping Iowans in the commercialization process. Their model below is a great representation of the many key questions that need to be asked throughout this process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my experience, I have found that individuals tend to have specialized knowledge in different aspects of this model. For instance, you might have an inventor or an engineer that is great at coming up with ideas, but they might not have that much knowledge of the marketability or how to write a business plan, or vice versa. The answer it to know where your strengths lie and then surround yourself by people that can help you. This is valid for both independent entrepreneurs as well as corporate entrepreneurs. Before pursuing my Ph.D., I worked for Brady Corporation and at the time they were spending a significant amount of time and effort to create teams across the product/market/business arenas as they knew it would enhance their ability to better commercialize products successfully.

Many thanks to my former student and respected colleague, Cris Grunewald, for passing this model along.

Inventors

Are inventors really entrepreneurs? I believe they are. The entrepreneurial process involves identifying, evaluating, exploiting and managing the opportunity. While some entrepreneurs participate in the entire process, others, like inventors, participate in just a part of it. Inventors typically are the ones that identify the opportunities, which is the essential base to any new business.

Can you guess what these inventors were famous for?

(1) Alexander Graham Bell

(2) Elisha Otis

(3) Bette Nesmith Graham

For the answers to these and to see many more inventors, check out Wikipedia's inventory page.

More than a great idea

Have you ever wondered why Pizza Hut doesn't expand into the 'take-n-bake' aspect of the pizza business? Papa Murphys has found a way to not only enter a very mature and relatively saturated industry, but also a way to THRIVE in it! Instead of delivering pizzas (while trying to keep them warm from the oven), Papa Murphys prepares fresh pizzas in a Subway-line fashion and has you pick them up. So, it would seem logical to me that instead of expanding into the pasta delivery market (like they recently announced), Pizza Hut might instead exploit their delivery system to this fast-growing market. Really, how nice would it be to have a fresh ready-to-bake pizza from Pizza Hut delivered to your door?

I have asked a few people and they fully agree that it would be a great idea. So, what is holding me back? To be quite frank, it is near impossible for me to sell the idea to Pizza Hut. Why? Because you cannot simply patent ideas such as this.

Thus, the remaining option to take advantage of my idea would be to start my own business. It wouldn't be quite as good as Pizza Hut leveraging their name to enter this portion of the industry, but I have yet to see a replica of Papa Murphy's pop up that offers delivery. Here again, however, is a dead end. You see, entrepreneurship requires more than a great idea. It also requires the motivation as well as the capacity to exploit the idea. In terms of motivation, I need to be willing to take on the risks of entrepreneurship and devote the time necessary. For capacity, I need to have the money, equipment, network, industry knowledge, credit, and much more.

Unfortunately, I am a bit lacking on the motivation side as the pizza industry is not an area that I am passionate enough about in order to give up how I currently spend my time. But, perhaps the next idea I come across just might...

Types of Opportunities

When brainstorming a new business idea, many people get too hung up on trying to come up with a brand new product/service that has never existed before. But, I'll let you into a little secret -- it doesn't have to be that difficult!

You see, opportunities can present themselves in many different ways. Let me explain.

1. NEW product / service - This is by far the hardest opportunity to identify, but ironically, where most people think they need to start.

2. NEW way of organizing - Is there a different way to organize or sell an existing product/service? A prime example is Amazon or Ebay -- which took EXISTING products (bookstore) and services (auction) and simply sold them online. Other examples are the many different candle, jewelry and clothing parties being sold in people's homes, similar to how Tuppaware started out. Another favorite example of mine is Papa Murphy's who is rapidly gaining in the pizza industry simply by selling their pizza uncooked and requiring customers to pick them up!

3. NEW market - Is there a different market to sell an existing product/service? First, you can think geographically. What businesses have you seen elsewhere that would fit well in your hometown? Second, you can think demographics. For instance, many existing services are now being targeted towards youth - such as yoga, fitness centers, cell phones, etc.

4. NEW method of production - Can you produce an existing product/service differently? Back in Iowa, several engineering students had come up with a new freezing process to manufacture ice cream -- which gave rise to the emergence of Blue Sky Creamery.

5. NEW raw material - Can you produce an existing product/service with a new raw material? Think about the silicone hot pads and pans that have come out.

Of course, sometimes the best ideas can be those that combine some of the above options. Can you think of any other innovative examples?

Xtreme Examples

I previously blogged about finding something that you are passionate about and then making a business out of it. Here are a few more examples found on entrepreneur.com of some Xtreme entrepreneurs -- that have found ways to follow their passion and make a buck or two!

Carey Hart, Professional freestyle motocrossrider and reality TV star
Business ventures - Owner and founder of Hart & Huntington Tattoo Company, a tattoo shop and clothing line with locations in Honolulu; Las Vegas; Orlando, Florida; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; owner and founder of Wasted Space, a new rock-inspired nightclub set to open this spring at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas

Eric Robinson, Off-road dirt bike rider, motocross rider, mountain biker, snowboarder and triathlete
Business ventures - College Park Industries, manufacturer of prosthetic feet, and founder of the Extremity Games, a sports event for athletes with limb loss and limb difference

Marc Frank Montoya and Liko S. Smith, Snowboarders; Montoya boards professionally
Business ventures - Co-founders of THE BLOCK Hotels, a chain of hotels designed for snowboarders with locations in Lake Tahoe and Big Bear Lake, California; Montoya is also co-owner of Sound Outerwear, maker of snowboarding gear and founder of DumbFounded PerduKshinz, a DJ company; Smith is also founder of Rogue Hospitality

Izzy and Coco Tihanyi, Surfers; Izzy formerly surfedcompetitively
Business venture - Surf Diva, a surf school and surf apparel company for women

For the full article, follow this link.

Passion

I remember sitting in my entrepreneurship class while doing my undergrad back at Ripon College, and my professor (who is now a good friend) Mary Avery started talking about passion. Once you find something you are passionate about and enjoy doing, the next step was to find a way to make money doing it. A prime example was the horse ranch that Mary and her husband Tom started up - due to her love of horses and riding since she was small!

Why is being passionate about the business so important? Well, for one, if it is something you are passionate about, you likely have a depth of information about it - which can be leveraged in creating a greater competitive advantage. For instance, my friend Michelle (who actually took the entrepreneurship class with me at Ripon College) just emailed me about the business she was starting - Snappy Scrapping. Michelle is very passionate and knowledgeable about scrap booking, and this results in her ability to identify an opportunity in the industry as well as to be able to create high quality products. The second reason passion is so important is because starting a business requires a LOT of hard work and perseverance. Thus, if it is something you are passionate about, you are likely to have more motivation and work through it.

So, if you are still trying to think of a great business idea, ask yourself: What motivates you? What are your hobbies and interests? What are you passionate about? Then - find a way to make your passion your business.

Brainstorming 101

Are you one of those people who really want to start their own business, but just can't figure out what business to start? Well, as we go into the new year, here are just a few brainstorming tips that you may not have thought of:

(1) Think BIG - If there were absolutely no constraints, what would you really want to have/do? I think this must be how MetroNaps was discovered - the founders thought it would be nice to be able to take a nap in a comfty place in the middle of their work day!!!

(2) Examine available space - Take a look around your community at which space/buildings are vacant and then think about what would be ideal there. Another source for available space are the many realtor site listing the specifications of different properties available for lease/sale.

(3) Forced relationship - This is for those creative, non-linear thinkers out there! Select two objects and then examine every way in which the two objects can be combined (adjectives, nouns, verb-correlates). For example, take a grape and an apple - you would come up with a 'grapey apple, grape apple, or graping apple.' Now, that might sound silly to you, but so does the grapple (an apple infused with grape flavor) offered for sale at the grocery store!

(4) Problem analysis - Focus on what really annoys you and then try to think of ways that you could solve the problem.

(5) Imitate an existing business model - There are a lot of innovative business that work. Now, instead of trying to reinvent yourself, copy their business model in your area of expertise! For instance, Netflix has an awesome business model that really works. We are now seeing the Netflix model being applied to other sectors - such as books on tape. Where else could you apply it? What about other great business models such as Dell, Amazon, or Ebay?

One last tip is to keep a running list of your ideas, whether it be in a notebook, computer file or cell phone. Then, revisit them from time to time so that you can develop them further.

Best of luck!