Whether you’re thinking of an idea to start off in business or mulling over how to grow, Emma Jones suggests ideas will come from asking five straight questions.
### Starting out
If you’d like to start a business and become your own boss but haven’t come up with an idea, start by asking yourself these three questions:
#### 1. Is there a gap in the market?
Have you tried to buy something that just can’t be found? If so, others may be looking too. Carry out research to gauge the number of people prepared to buy and plug that gap in the market with your product or service.
#### 2. What is my passion/hobby/skill?
As this can be turned into a way of making a living. Whatever your talent; whether it be photography, fashion, food, music, writing, you can earn an income from it. And if you’re making money from doing what you love, it never really feels like work!
#### 3. Can I do what someone else is doing but do it better?
Take a business idea and improve on it by adding your personal touch or an innovation. Attract customers by focusing on your point of difference.
### Niche is nice
I used to deliver a presentation that included the line ‘What’s the BIG idea?’ but this gives the wrong impression as it’s not about having a ‘big’
idea – what’s important is to have a ‘niche’ idea. So ask yourself …
#### 4. Does my idea cater to a niche audience?
The more niche, the better. The Jellymongers [Bompass & Parr](http://www.jellymongers.co.uk/) is a company that focuses on doing **incredible** things with Jelly (!), [Green Union](http://www.greenunion.co.uk/) helps couples who want to have an eco friendly wedding, and [Labels4kids.com](http://Labels4kids.com/) sticks to its knitting (well, sewing) by providing personalised name labels and stickers for children. The benefits of a niche idea is you clearly know what you’re offering, and to whom. This keeps marketing costs low and customer satisfaction high.
### Keep on innovating
You’ve developed a niche and a loyal following of customers and it’s time to come up with ideas to help the business grow. There’s one final question to ask of yourself:
#### 5. Am I monetising my product/service in as many ways as possible without diluting the brand and quality of delivery?
Asking this question will challenge you to think of new revenue streams. If you sell a skill or knowledge, are you generating revenue by delivering that knowledge online, at events, and in print/digital format. If you’re doing all these things you can be generating income from online advertising, paid-for content, product sales and event fees. The opportunities are endless.
And it all started with one small, niche idea!
—-
If you have an idea and would like £100 to turn it into action, enter Enterprise Nation’s [Ideas 101](http://www.freelanceadvisor.co.uk/starting-out/how-would-you-spend-100/)
—-
#### [Emma Jones](/author/emmajones) is founder of [Enterprise Nation](http://www.enterprisenation.com), a business expert, and author of *‘Spare Room Start Up’* and *‘Working 5 to 9’*.
Image by [http://www.flickr.com/photos/simax/3390895249/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/simax/3390895249/) ~ [cc](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en)
