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20 Ways and Places to Find New Business Ideas

Updated on by in Business

Ideas are a real game changer for business of all types and sizes. Whether starting off a business or striving for its growth, exploring and exchanging ideas is an essential process. The process of developing ideas is an unusual one, all you need is to pay attention to opportunities offered in your everyday life.

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The world around you is full of ideas that can be your game changer. Therefore, as a small business owner, you should invest time and energy in discovering ways or platforms where you have the opportunity to exchange ideas with like-minded people or fuel your mind with new innovative thoughts.

Expanding Opportunities

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The internet is a phenomenal resource for discovering platforms, meeting like-minded people and finding enriching ideas. The medium has opened a world of opportunities especially for small businesses and young entrepreneurs belonging to a wide range of industries and interests.

Employing this media, small business owners can easily satisfy their quest for knowledge, discover new ideas, get expert advice and most importantly, enjoy a sense of community and encouragement. Though an idea can be motivated by a thousand little things in and around you, still the internet serves an important role in your quest.

Below are a list of 20 Ways and Places to Find New Business Ideas

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As discussed, there is no unusual way of searching business opportunities. However, by learning and exploring new ways, you can enlighten yourself with a steady stream of business ideas and inspirations. Below are some of the ways that can help you in the process.

Forums

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Forums are communities available over the internet where you can exchange ideas of diverse aspects of business, investment and operations. Such forums can be accessed through mobile applications or through online websites.

App forums

If you are a young entrepreneur with dreams of making it big and looking for a common platform to exchange ideas to boost your business, then you can opt for business apps on your smartphone or tab. Such apps have easy accessibility and can keep you updated with new ideas all round the clock.

1. Small Business Forum – Ideas and Opportunities
This app provides a common platform to exchange new business ideas among like-minded people. Members of the Small Business Forum are professionals from diverse sections of the business world like small business owners, startups, IT Professionals, marketing professionals, budding entrepreneurs, Human Resource professional and others. Tips, advice, and suggestions on different aspects of the business are exchanged among members giving different perspectives on diverse issues. This is exceptionally handy for the small business owners or those looking for fresh ideas.

2. Open Forum
If you are full of questions or want a clear idea on your area of focus, then Open Forum App can be of great help. This is especially true with young entrepreneurs who are often full of doubts on different aspects of business. Here you can easily select your area of doubt or interest and inquire by posting your question. Also, the app offers inspirational quotes and related articles to motivate users and offers productive solutions for better operation of a business.

Website Forums

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The internet is filled with tons of entrepreneur forums catering to different needs and interests. You can browse through the many forums available over the internet and choose for yourself as what works for you and your organization. These forums are like online communities where you can discuss ideas and exchange views. Here are some reputed online entrepreneur forums.

3. Entrepreneur
This business forum is one of the best business forums to turn to when you are in a fix or want to strategize your next business move. As someone who has just entered the world of business or is on the doorsteps, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you should do and you shouldn’t, and this website can be of great help.

Information is key for fresh ideas to evolve. If you are not well-informed, your business may suffer. However, by being a part of a business forum you can easily keep yourself updated and well- informed. The forum offers a steady flow of important business suggestions that help in registering a healthy growth for your company.

4. Retire at 21
Founded by Michael Dunlop, one of the top young entrepreneurs, it is a great platform that offers young business owners the opportunity to share their stories and experiences. The forum offers a rich database of information on different aspects of the trade. This forum is a great help when looking for ideas to start a business or considering critical changes in an organization.

5. Startup Nations
As the name suggests, it is a great forum for anyone who has a startup on their mind. With over 83,000 users, Startup nation is a highly reliable source of information on anything related to startups. The forum also offers great discussions on marketing and planning. The forum is a treat with its rich topics and a wide variety of subsections. In other words, the forum can be a highly priced resource of information for startups.

Business Communities

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6. Reddit
Reddit is a business community that has made a mark among young entrepreneurs for its fiery attitude, brutal honesty and cut-throat advice. This thriving community of entrepreneurs offers great business solutions through discussions among members. Moreover, the topics are organized in threads that everyone can read and it offers a cohesive atmosphere for ideas to breed.

7. Quora
Again a community website that offers the perfect platform for asking questions and getting first-hand answers from members. Be it a specific query or looking for further information on a topic, Quora is known for its variety of information. It’s a great way to understand the trade or what other people are thinking about your query. Moreover, a big plus with this community is that users can upvote the answer they find best. The community serves the best answer for almost any query.

8. Practical Machinist
This community works as a virtual bulletin board. It encourages enthusiastic members to share ideas, knowledge, solutions, asks questions and encourage each other’s growth. It is often claimed to be the “largest manufacturing technology community on the web” as it offers its members practical solutions to operational and managerial issues. In addition, the community shares useful articles and engaging videos on a regular basis.

9. The Funded
This is an online community for business owners where they can research, review and rate the different funding sources available in the market. Members thus assist each other in finding good investors for business and help in taking business decisions. The community acts as a resource for funding profiles, offers ideas on criteria for investments and reference investments.

Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

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There are a host of social platforms which connect business owners. These social networks are great to exchange ideas and offer guidelines and updates on new technologies or tools, or other aspects of business. They offer an effective medium for exposure, especially for small businesses.

10. LinkedIn
Known as the “World’s Largest Professional Network”, LinkedIn has become one of the most dependable social networking websites in recent times. It is a great meeting point for professionals who are full of ideas and looking to connect with like-minded people. The website has rich business resources attracting the right kind of business opportunities. Moreover, by being a part of group discussions, applications or events, you can add value to your profile, thus, attracting the right kind of audience.

11. Cofounder
This social network offers an opportunity for idea makers, web designers, programmers, investors, executives and freelancers to connect. This is a strictly private network, which allows members to view the profile of those who are registered with the website. Membership in this community requires a valid professional degree and relevant work experience which makes it a serious professional social network.

12. Go BIG Network
This social networking site embraces service providers, entrepreneurs, funding sources and job seekers. The members of the network can post their requests for help, where other members offer a solution. Browse through the other member’s profile to connect with people with specific expertize.

Subscriptions

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To be at the top of the game, an entrepreneur should be well-informed and totally updated with the ever changing online market. This urges a budding entrepreneur to employ tools for self-learning like a subscription of important newsletters from industry journals or magazines. Also, try to subscribe newsletters or check blogs of dynamic developmental companies to have a better idea on the industry demands.

13. OKDork
This Noah Kagan’s Blog about Marketing offers an easy insight into the business world. It is a free marketing newsletter that is known to offer some highly effective actionable advice for entrepreneurs. Most importantly, they offer highly researched guest posts for their subscribers and easy understanding of the trade.

14. Mattermark Daily
This daily newsletter offers a rich database of must-read posts by operators and investors. It offers a curated set of news stories or blog posts and funding announcements from different tech investors or business owners. Such subscription is an easy and effective way of keeping a tag on all the important news in the business world.

15. KISSmetrics
A Neil Patel company, KISSmetrics, delivers newsletters directly to your email inbox. They offer a comprehensive report on what’s working and what isn’t in the market or how markets are responding to specific changes. Such subscriptions offer detailed analytical data and information on almost all aspects of business.

16. Hacker Newsletter
This weekly newsletter offers curated informative articles neatly arranged in categories, which gives entrepreneurs of every interest a wide variety to choose as their reference. The variety helps its subscribers to keep updated with latest startup trends and current technology.

Magazines

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In the digital era, the internet is stocked with news of all kinds. Still, a subscription of top business magazines is always an advisable option for all types of business owners. Good business magazines offer a great blend of in-depth reporting, valued insights, unique perspectives and market forecasts. Here is a list of some must-read business magazines:

17. Inc.
Inc. touts itself as “the only major business magazine edited exclusively to guide CEOs and owners of small-to-midsize companies to success.” The magazine is a valuable resource which guides businesses in their infancy stage towards a path of growth. A helpful publication especially when planning strategies and policies for small businesses.

18. Fortune
A magazine that has been providing important business insights since the 1930s is arguably one of the best business magazines to lay your hands on. Apart from in-depth featured business reports, the magazine always features an interview with a prominent CFO or CEO. The magazine also dedicates a section for tech news and startups, which offers valuable insights to budding businesses in this sector.

19. Entrepreneur
The Entrepreneur magazine is often considered as the bible for small business owners. The publication generally carries stories that offer valuable advice to small business owners on key aspects of managing a business or business operations.

20. The other sources
Ideas are continuously flowing all around you and therefore, it’s important to consider all the avenues in and around you and give them a thought and a try. Some of the other effective ways to find new business ideas are:

  • General internet browsing – Develop a browsing habit over the internet. Browse through blogs of different startup companies, try to understand the different trends in mobile application sector or in the retail market or anything that interests you. Try to develop an understanding of the subject.
  • Seminars / Conferences – Seminars or conferences have always been an effective platform to exchange ideas, gain knowledge and expand networks. Try to attend important seminars by prominent speakers or participate in conferences for your own enrichment as an entrepreneur.
  • TV or Radio Shows – TV or radio are still very powerful mediums of mass communication and effective sources of information. Try to keep a tag on interesting business related TV or radio shows to gain knowledge on different aspects of your trade.

Final thought

Ideas never come rushing in when thinking hard in the vacuum. Rather you need to put yourself out, do research, practice behaviors that will lead you to innovative ideas. The innovation part of ideas does not lie in how smart you work, but it’s more to do with how hard you can hunt for it.

Author: Sudeep Banerjee

Sudeep Banerjee is the Founder and President of B3NET Inc, one of the leading Orange County Web Design & Development Company in California, now serving clients nationwide. He brings to work over 27 years of expertise and quality in the various dimensions of Website design, Internet marketing trends and specializes to provide agile mobile apps development strategy.

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