Best Sources of Business ideas & Opportunities for 2018

What are the best sources of business ideas and opportunities in 2018?
How do i find business opportunities?
How do i know the best business to start?
How do i develop creative and innovative business ideas?
Well, i advice you read on.

Business ideas are all within you and within your environment. Some of these business ideas emanate from analysis of market and consumer needs, while others emanate from a long research process.

In the past years, i have met a lot of people that have interest in setting up a business. Most of these individuals have money but they don’t know what to invest in or what business to start. Now to the average mind, there seem to be scarcity of ideas but i want you to know that opportunities are in abundance. All you need to do is to work on your perception and develop the ability to see these opportunities.

But the truth still remains that business opportunities abound. So if you are interested in starting a business, but you do not know what product or service to sell, then below are 10+ sources of small business ideas and opportunities.

Step 1: Focus on your core product. A very successful e-newsletter entrepreneur has built his business around this mantra: "Prospects buy when they trust your value is applicable to them and believe your company is stable." This strong position allows him to constantly check up on the services and value he's providing his customers. Keep this statement in mind as we go through the rest of the step, because internalizing this mantra is the key to a solid plan.

It's common in small, service businesses that the entrepreneur feels he or she must do everything the "big guys" do to compete. The truth is, small-business owners can really never compete in the same way. So it's essential for small businesses to differentiate themselves by focusing on the unique capabilities and core products they bring to prospects. Specialization is the entrepreneur's greatest asset.

Step 2: Add value to an already existing product. The uniqueness between raw wood and finished lumber is a nice instance of putting a product through an additional process which maximizes its value, but additional processes are not the only way that value can be added. You may as well add services or combine the product with other related products.

For example, yam flour (Amala and Pounded Yam) is a locally processed commodity but somebody took the pain to refine it better, package it, brand it and began exporting it. That is an example of adding value to an already existing product. Bottled water has been in existence in Nigeria but it was on the high side with respect to price. However, somebody sat down and thought up the “sachet water” which comes at an affordable rate.

Now how do you develop these business ideas? The answer is simple? Look beyond the lines. Ask yourself the following questions:
What are those products you use that could be improved upon?
Which industry are things poorly done?
If you can answers such questions, you can create a profitable business.

Step 3: Stay true to who you are. Knowing who you are and what gets you excited (and bores you to tears) will help you reach your goals. Nothing can derail a growth plan more than discomfort and procrastination-it's simply human nature to procrastinate over things that cause discomfort. And there are dozens of daily business requirements that every business owner detests. If you're finding yourself putting things off, it's time to start delegating

Stay true to who you are and what you do best: Hand off those tasks that will blow you off course because you don't like doing them, so you don't! Stretch and grow your capabilities in alignment with your interests and expertise. If accounting is your nemesis, hire a bookkeeper. If your personal organization is out of control, hire a temp to set up a new filing system. Always make sure that you're focused on your priority "A" tasks and delegate your Bs and Cs.

Step 4.Listen to customers complaints.Complaints and frustrations on the part of customers have led to many new products or services. Whenever consumers complain badly or bitterly concerning a product or service, or when you hear someone saying ‘I wish there was … “or “If only there were a product/service that could … “, then, you have the potential for a business idea. The idea can be to set up a rival company offering a better product or service, or it may be a new product or service which can be sold to the company in question or to others.

Step 5. Implement a plan of action. Up until now we've been in the planning mode, but now it's time to dig in and put it to work. Your action plan will also give you the map you can use to measure your progress.

Establish goals that can be reviewed at three and six months. At incremental points within each three-month period, keep checking your plan to see if you're meeting your goals. If you find you're missing the target, ask why. Were the tools appropriate for your target customer? Did you integrate the strategy, or did you just focus on one of the tools?

And don't forget to plug in specific actions that you'll do every day to help you meet your goals. That daily strategy will keep the goals of the plan top of mind.

To be successful in sustainable business practices often requires entrepreneurship and innovation.
Entrepreneurship is a mind-set, an attitude; it is taking a particular approach to doing things.
Entrepreneurship can be viewed as recognizing change, pursuing opportunity, taking on risk and responsibility, innovating, making better use of resources, creating new value that is meaningful to customers, and doing it all over again and again.

Its important to create systems or patterns to what ever business you might want to indulge into. I said in step 3, you should have that passion for your small business and stay focus too.
Everyone can be successful in any scale of business you choose.