Expert Panelists are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within the areas of Business, Mindset, Leadership, Lifestyle, and Sustainability. Members of The Brainz Magazine community of experts will share their best tips, advice, ideas, and hacks on different topics.
Expert Panelists
1. Turning your ideas into success
Have you ever heard the saying, “Your mess is your message”? This truly is your key to finding that unique idea and turning it into a success. First, you need to find out what your own “mess” is: What is that one problem, that big challenging situation that you were able to solve and has shaped you and your life? Here lies the main difficulty because it is crucial to make that choice. Choose carefully but be determined. And secondly: How did you solve that issue, that big problem? Your solution can be a product or a method. This is your unique idea. Once you have this figured out, another critical part is to let other people know. Let them know that you have already experienced the dilemma they are going through and that you have, in fact, found a solution that you are now sharing with them. That is how you can find and commercialize your unique, big idea.
2. Taking some quiet time for yourself
I find that for my coaching clients to come up with new and brilliant ideas, creating the space from which they begin that process is truly vital. One way to get started on this journey is to set aside a day where you really relax and take time for yourself. This can be doing something you really enjoy such as physical activities like skiing or hiking, meditation or yoga, going on an adventure, watching a movie you love, going out for an elegant lunch, or getting a spa treatment or massage. This vacation from your “normal” routine will stimulate different parts of your brain and give you the space to start asking questions like:
What would actually be fun for me?
What do I really enjoy?
What would it take to make money doing that?
This is a really powerful way to begin the process of creation, and my clients have had great success with it.
3. Think outside the box
The key to coming up with a unique idea and becoming an entrepreneur is to think outside the box. Instead of looking at what’s already been done, try to look at the world from a different perspective. Think about what problems people are facing and how you can solve them in an innovative way. Another great way to come up with a unique idea is to brainstorm with others. Working in collaboration with other like-minded individuals can help generate ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own. Talk to friends, family, and colleagues about their experiences and the kinds of solutions they’d like to see in the world. You never know what kind of genius idea might come out of it! Finally, don’t be afraid to take risks. It takes courage to start something new and put yourself out there as an entrepreneur, but it also requires taking risks. Remember, you are literally 5-feet away from a million-dollar idea. Work with a good business coach, and you will be able to crack the code.
4. Being yourself
The fundamental question is what are your strengths, what are you good at? How can you add value? What is it that uniquely defines you? How can you make the world a better place? The answers may not be obvious. You may have to dive deep. You may have to consult your inner circle. But if you can be "You", you will certainly find your unique idea and influence and change the world.
Ketan Kulkarni, SavvyPhysician
5. Identifying the most unique products and services
Many new products or services are the results of the entrepreneurs’ combined curiosity and critical thinking. It is a reflex of daring questioning in order to get out of the common intellectual schemes and habits, of what is presented as the norm. It implies identifying everything that could be improved, everything that complicates your life - Is this the leanest, the most efficient, the least expensive, the safest, the most practical way of doing this or that? It also implies identifying everything you would love to have but cannot find anywhere! The odds are that this unique product or service does not exist yet and other people might need it too!
6. Understanding your inner purpose and value
You are a unique being, and you were created with and for a purpose. Coming up with a unique idea and becoming an entrepreneur can seem scary and exciting at the same time. Scary as you cannot be sure that your idea will be a success, but if you tap into your soul, if you listen to your soul calling, you realize that there is something within you that is just waiting to be acknowledged and embraced. Open yourself up to your inner gifts and abilities, having a strong will to pursue, experiment, and explore several options. When you search your soul, the answers come to you. You understand your true purpose of being in this world and the value you can bring to others. And always start with the purpose of being of service and the rest will unfold. Being an entrepreneur is first and foremost being of service to the world with our unique gifts and abilities.
7. Expressing your personal brand message
You must dive into your authentic and personal mission and vision to create your most exciting and sustainable business. Focus on identifying a profitable niche only after you get clarity on what you personally designed to create in the world and what ideal clients you are most aligned to serve. I see many 'successful' entrepreneurs burning out and walking away because they are running businesses at odds with their innate gifts and true passions (even if they make a lot of money!). You are your business, and your profitable, unique idea expresses your own experiences, pain points, interests, character, and skills. When you create a business idea from a place of personal truth, your ideal clients will be magnetized toward your offers.
8. Possessing the "must-have" elements of being an entrepreneur
Knowledge: knowledge about various aspects of running a business.
Skills: learn to perform individual activities related to running a business, try to understand the business as a whole, and manage it strategically.
Mindset: discover what your principles and values are.
Experience: experience helps to choose the optimal model from several possible and theoretically known models. Experience allows you to anticipate future problems and risks and avoid them. This experience helps you to work more effectively.
Unique Idea: remember to make your work your passion. Create a business that earns money and brings you satisfaction at the same time.