Monday, February 28, 2011

A New Invention Idea Comes From Original Thinking

When we talk of inventions which have either touched or changed our lives, we often praise the inventor for "thinking out of the box." How do these people think of a new invention idea by thinking out of the box? Is it possible for you and me to do it too? To know this we have to know what the "box" is so that we can think beyond it. The "box" is the way things are, and the way we have been tutored to view things. There are several factors which determine the way we look at things. Thus the first step to start thinking beyond the normal is to identify and challenge our own views and perceptions.

The entire process of challenging preconceived notions, established norms and usual assumptions is a very powerful and creative way to solve a problem, because walking on the much-treaded patch is safe, though boring.  For instance, when you think of a domestic air-conditioner, what are the assumptions? Cooling, auto switch off, silent, it has to run on electricity, and so on. What if someone thought of ways to manufacture an air-conditioner which ran on something else which is more organic and saved on power consumption? Another way to think of a new invention idea is to think the very absurd. One needs a very open mind for this as the process can both be fun as well as irritating.

There could be hundreds of completely absurd solutions to a problem, but one of them could be a genuinely new invention idea. Start with a "what if" question and you will be surprised at the number of absurd answers you could arrive at.There is a literal way of thinmarking out of the box and that is to get out of your home or office and watch the way people live, behave and communicate. The story of the shoe salesman comes to mind. This man went to Africa to sell shoes, a country where people never wore them. By thinking out of the box, he thought of the idea of selling his first pair to a curious buyer by highlighting its heat resisting abilities and ensuing comfort to his feet. The shoe salesman soon opened shop and became a millionaire.

There are many stories like this and as the saying goes, you can actually sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, provided you can invent some way to convince him of its utility.Concepts like division, subtraction, temperature control, colorful all trigger great invention ideas; make a large table foldable to make more space for utility purposes; take away two legs from another to enable faster cleaning; add color to domestic utility items and make them inter-changeable; ideas like these will flow once you think deeper and harder at the common daily objects and ideas for new inventions will be a knock away!

5 New Business Ideas For 2010

As the economy starts to improve, many people are considering striking out on their own in the near future. Here are five ideas for a new business ideas which you might consider:A web-based business
With only a very few exceptions, much of your prior experience in previous businesses can lend itself to creating a web-based business to provide a source of income. Although this does still require careful business planning and research, many of the essential infrastructure features (such as shopping carts and drop shipping) have now been standardized, making this one of the easiest businesses to start successfully. It is also possible to take a hobby or other specialized field of interest, and appeal to niche audiences in ways that traditional businesses will overlook as not being profitable enough to be worth the effort. Limited inventory costs and the ability to create information products as demand requires makes a web-based component something every new business should consider.A franchise business
Franchises have much higher rates of longevity than many other businesses which you might start on your own. One of the biggest advantages of a franchise is that the chain has already figured out many of the mistakes you might make when starting a new business ideas, and has pr2ocedures in place to prevent these from occurring. Franchises also make use of wider-scale advertising than you could manage when starting out on your own. The only downside? Franchises can be more expensive to start.A software development business
Software development can take many different forms. Many of the newest smart phones have application stores, and so there is strong demand for a variety of programs, from games to productivity enhancing tools. For those who have the technical background, software development can be a great way to enter a high-margin business with low or no inventory requirements, and a multitude of opportunities available to the enterprising.A consulting services business
Consulting is another field where you can re-purpose knowledge acquired in other fields, and use it to improve a different business. Some of the challenges posed in starting a consulting business are that it involves delivering an intangible service, and that it can be difficult for customers to realize how good your service is, when compared with others.A specialty care service business
A specialty care service can range from taking care of someone's pets or children while they are out-of-town, to a service business which helps the elderly who are not yet ready for a nursing home. Since the United States has a significant portion of its population which is growing older, these businesses should experience growth in the coming years. If your business also has specialty skills (such as first aid or physical therapy), these can be additional selling points when marketing your services.Therefore, if you plan on small business ideas, you should consider a web-based business, a software application business, a franchise business, a consulting services business, or a specialty care business. Each is highly attractive, and should well in 2010 and well into the future.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

2 Creative Ideas To Make Money On A Computer

Want to make extra money or even a full time income? Here are some ideas to make money on a computer

1. Graphic Design.
There are many ways to make money on a computer if you have graphic design skills. You can create graphics for new websites, promotional materials, etc. As the internet expands, there is increased demand for effective and attractive content.
If you have skills in this area, your talents will be in great demand. You can create a portfolio of your work and add it to a website for prospective clients to review. If you understand SEO and promotion techniques, use this to drive a lot of traffic to your website and ultimately land you new business.Or you can advertise your services on websites like Craigslist or eLance. Many webmasters are looking for people who can assist them in enhancing their websites with effective graphics.

2. Stock market trading.
You can do all your stock market trading online. And you can obtain a whole wealth of investment information to help you to make the best trades. No longer do you have to depend on a stock broker.Use your computer to perform your research in order to hopefully maximize the benefit of your trades. With your computer you can now also trade in overseas markets.
The Internet is available 24 hours a day so take advantage of this kind of flexibility.There are literally hundreds of ways you can make money on your computer. Online game design, software development and many others are very viable ways to go. Get creative and the sky is the limit!

Innovative Internet Marketing Ideas Affiliate Programs

Although affiliate programs have been around for quite some time, they have recently become a popular way for business owners, even small business owners, to market their businesses online. That is why affiliate programs are often still considered innovative Internet marketing. If you are a business owner, particularly one that runs an online business, you and your business could benefit from starting your own affiliate program.If you are unfamiliar with affiliate programs, you may be wondering exactly what they are.

When it comes to affiliate programs, you will find that they are, in a way, a partnership between you and other website owners. That partnership involves creating links or advertisements for your online business and permitting website owners to display those advertisements on their websites. As a sources of compensation for doing so, you will agree to give your affiliate partner a portion of the sale that they helped to generate. To determine whether or not one of your affiliate partners helped to generate a sale, you will need to use an affiliate tracking program. These programs can often be found online for free or for a reasonable price.One of the many reasons why you should give this Internet marketing idea a try is because it is, relatively, risk free. For example, if you agree to pay your affiliates a portion of the sales that they helped to generate, you don't have to make any payments, unless they actually help with a sale. This means that if you start an affiliate program and it doesn't work out the way that you intended, you can easily stop. If you did not generate any sales, you do not have any affiliate partners to pay; thus being risk free.

Many times the only money that you will loose is the money invested in an affiliate tracking program, if you decided to pay for one.Affiliate programs are also nice because, as the business owner, you should have complete control over your programs. For example, a large number of business owners choose to give their affiliate partners a percentage of the sale that they helped to generate. That percentage often ranges from five percent to fifteen percent; however, you have the power to create your own standards. In fact, in addition to using a percentage, you can also offer your affiliate partners a flat fee for every sale that they help to generate. For example, no matter how large or small the sale generated was, you may want to offer your affiliate partners five dollars for each sale. In all honesty, the decision is yours to make.It is also important to note that affiliate programs are somewhat easy to get started.

If you are planning on using an affiliate tracking program, you may want to sign up for a program that also helps you create your own banners, online advertisements, or links. It may also be a good idea to use a program that will give you detailed information on affiliate programs, as well as how to get started with them, especially if you are unfamiliar with how they work or how they are set up. In most cases, you will also find that you can seek professional assistance from an individual who knows how to set up affiliate marketing programs. This assistance, which can typically be obtained for a reasonable price, may help your business start an affiliate program with little or no work.As nice as affiliate programs are, you will find that they are not the only Internet marketing strategy out there. If you are looking to market your business to its fullest extent, you are advised to implement a number of different innovative marketing ideas together.

You will find that the more marketing you put into action, the better the chances are of your business becoming or staying a success.This article was authored by Ryan Bessling. This 32 year old, Internet marketer was able to quit his 9-5 "job" because of his Innovative Internet Marketing Strategies. He now wants to help others and show you how he made it in Internet Marketing!

Internet Franchise Opportunities - How to Get Started

Many people want to start a company that they can operate easily over the internet. At the same time, they want business support and a proven system that traditionally comes with a franchise opportunity. In many situations, it is difficult to "have your cake and eat it too", but right now, there are more and more internet franchise opportunities developing, so it can be a great time to get started.Internet franchise opportunities can involve the internet or other technology where you work at home full time. However, entrepreneurs do not have to feel like they are trapped in in their homes.

In fact, internet-based franchises can also include work outside the home.As the name suggests, the operation is based online, but the business owner can conduct a mobile business or do work "on site" without having to pay the costly overhead that you normally would with a retail store or office lease. Although internet businesses may lack a brick-and-mortar storefront, internet franchises can carry with them a recognized and trusted business identity. This is a definite advantage to any home-based business.Being able to work online is very attractive to today's budget-conscious entrepreneur, because less funding is required up front to start. In addition, franchise start-up fees can many times be financed. Ongoing monthly operating costs are also lowered. Less business expenses increase a company's profit potential, but also greatly minimize risk for start-up businesses.

Working from the internet also gives business owners greater freedom and flexibility while they are working. Cellular phones, wireless internet and portable computer laptops make the traditional office or retail space no longer necessary.

Many times, work can be done from home, while traveling or other remote locations.With more and more consumers and businesses conducting transactions, purchases and tasks online, internet franchisees have a growing customer base to draw from. This growth potential is the ideal situation for launching a start-up. As with historical economic patterns, the business people who enter this type of business opportunity at the forefront are likely to profit the most.With the numerous benefits they provide, it is easy to understand why internet-based franchises are growing in popularity. Not only are entrepreneurs finding the internet a very convenient place to do business - so are customers. With internet commerce working in favor of both parties, it is hard to argue that will shall not see continued business growth.

7 Unique Small Business Opportunities Online

People frequently ask me, "What small business opportunities online are left out there?"It's not a matter of which are left as if all the "good" ones have been taken up. It's a matter of something called BAM. What this stands for is brains, ambition and motivation.The brains part has nothing to do with whether or not you can solve quadratic equations. It is a matter of how much you are willing to learn. In effect, you can ask yourself, "Do I want to succeed enough to be willing to read, try and learn many different things?"The ambition part has everything to do with your personal drive. How intense are your dreams? How badly do you want to tell the boss what he can do with his job?Motivation deals with your personal life goals. Do you want to spend decades working as part of the gray herd of mediocrity so that you can retire broke and sick or are you willing to sacrifice now so that the future is totally in your hands?This, by the way, has nothing to do with how old you are now. The older people get, the more determined they become and this can easily make up the difference from starting at a younger age to build for yourself.So, what can you do as a small business?

Here are 7 ideas and keep in back of your mind what you LOVE to do. That is extremely important and can easily add the extra bit of fire to your inner furnace when the going gets tough:

1. The weight loss market: Yes, it is bloated (forgive the pun), but there are many small niches that you could dominate. Here are 2: Man boobs and thigh fat. There are many others, but you get the idea.

2. Dog training: This is not the kind of training that teaches Rover to roll over. This is the kind that people are desperate for like teaching the dog not to snap at the neighbour's kids or the mailman and so forth. This is specialized training and you can develop a brand for it.

3. Anything to do with the green movement: You can have a site on wind power, solar cells, building solar panels, alternative living, extreme hydroponic gardening from an apartment patio and so forth.

4. Home manufacturing: If you have the room. Anything from bird houses and porch swings to radio controlled airplanes can be manufactured at home and sold on the internet from your own site.
Think of manufacturing something you love when you contemplate opening a small business. Have fun.

5. Geriatric aids: Television commercials are on all the time for machines to help older people. We are an aging population and the market is exploding for anything that can help us stay home as we age. This is the perfect market to start a small business in. I know a lady who has built a large business on the internet. She lives way out in the country and is an affiliate for a company far away that has all kinds of aids for old people. She sells online, they ship and take care of everything else. This is called affiliate marketing and it is earning her six figures a year.

6. Purification equipment: This could apply to air purifiers, water filters and all kinds of things to keep our homes clean and healthy. Remember, we are aging and we buy anything that will help us stay out of the hospitals.

7. Addictions: This one can be dicey if you haven't dealt with something yourself, but it surely can be done. You can sell books and courses. Many clinics offer pay-per-lead programs. You attract people to your site, offer them help and hope and send them along to the clinics. If they go in, you get a commission. Usually, these pay handsomely and you get the added benefit of helping those in desperate need.

In conclusion, can you see where there is virtually no limit to what you can do as a small business and that you don't need much of a small business plan? Just remember that you are the one that will determine the success of your enterprise.

Top 5 Most Profitable Small Business Ideas

There are many ways to create a profitable business whether it happens to be online or an offline business you need to have some basic ideas before getting into this venture. There are probably over thousands of different profitable business ideas that you can think of, but you want to find ones that you know will be profitable for you. In this article I will discuss some easy and amazing ideas that you may be interested in to start your own business.

 These ideas can be used right away especially if you have an interest in these different business ideas.Art SuppliesOne profitable business idea that may interest you is an art supply store. Art is a wonderful hobby and many people are into this type of living.

There are not many art supply stores around and having one of your own could open up niche where people are looking for these supplies but there is nothing where they live. This is a great idea for anyone who loves art and is experienced in this type of field. You don't have to be good at art, but if you like it this niche will be much more fulfilling for you. If you are good at any type of art including sculpting, painting, photography, and others you can even have your own classes to make some extra money on the side as well. Having an art supply store can open up avenues that you have never thought of.Auto PerformanceDo you like cars especially really fast performing cars? Well if you do then maybe creating an auto performance center may be a profitable business idea for you to consider.

Many people love to get the best parts for their particular car and having a performance center dedicated to this particular market can really bring in some high paying customers. This niche is full of people willing to lay down hundreds and even thousands of dollars to get their automobile running at peak performance. You can even sell specialty parts that you can't find in any auto parts store such as spoilers, audio equipment, high performance engine parts, and much more. If you are into building high performance cars and automobiles then you should do some research for this profitable business idea.CosmeticsThe last profitable business idea I would like to discuss is the cosmetic industry.

Creating your own business selling cosmetic supplies gives you an opportunity to share in the profits of a multi-billion dollar per year industry. With people trying to look their best many will resort to purchasing cosmetic supplies that they need to look good. The problem is people are looking for a solution to looking better, and you could easily give them the solution to their problem. This is a typical marketing strategy that you can use to generate large amounts of profits. Although this industry is very large there will be some competition that you will have to deal with in order to get to the top of the herd.Try out these profitable business ideas and see which one you like the most and go for it.

One of the biggest problems facing small businesses is poor planning. As unlike larger corporations who can afford to waste money testing ideas choosing the wrong idea for a small business can be disastrous and possibly lead to them going out of business. Instead they should focus on ideas which have begin shown time and again to be profitable.

Research has shown the 5 most profitable small business ideas to be local marketing, Craigslist, online marketing, optimizing a website for the search engines and keep your customers happy. Some of these things you might have a rough idea about while others will make you go huh but by the time you've finished reading you'll be familiar with them and ready to use them in your business.

1. Get Involved in the Local Community
As a local small business all of your income is going to come from the local area so it's no good if people don't know about your business. Probably the easiest way of getting noticed in your local community is by getting involved with a local school. As there always looking for local business support so no matter what your business is there's bound to be something you can do. For example a computer company could donate a few computers. Not only do you get the benefit of the parents learning about your company but you may also get a mention in the paper which will inform the wider community about your business. Of course you don't want to just limit yourself to schools you also want to get in contact with other related businesses and work out a referral system or even just get them to hand out discount coupons for your business.

2. Craigslist
You probably haven't heard of Craigslist but it's a site where you can advertise your goods or service under where you live. But that's not all as if your competitors are also using it then you can see what they are offering.

3. Join the Online Community
Just as you need to increase your presence offline you need to do the same online. The two biggest sites are Facebook and Twitter. You're probably more familiar with Twitter as that's the favourite of celebrities world wide and you probably heard about how many views the youtube video of Susan Boyd got after Asten Kutcher Twitted about her. Though both work the same with you setting up a profile and keeping potential customers up to date with your latest offer.

4. Optimize Your Website
Of the 5 most profitable business ideas this is probably the one that will have the most impact. As most people search for stuff online now so if you're not found on the first page of Google then as far as their concerned your company doesn't exist. Which of course means one of your competitors will get the sale. This is also very easy to mess up as you may think right I'll get the site ranked for the business name. When in fact you need to get listed for what your potential customers are actual searching for.

5. Keep Your Customers Happy
Probably the hardest thing to do is getting new customers so once you've got them you want to do your best to keep them. An easy way of doing this is setting up a lead capture system that way you can send out discounts along with hints and tips.

So when they need whatever it is you offer your companies name will spring to mind first. Basically you want to treat them like a king.By implementing each of the 5 most profitable business ideas you will see a dramatic increase in your bottom line.