The Pinoy Entrepreneur

FIND IT! Spotting a Great Business idea and Pursuing It is Chapter 2 of The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Business by Entrepreneur Philippines.

• Appraise you Skills - Ask yourself what you can do better than others and how you can turn this skill or talent into a business. Businesses can start from a skill, talent, or hobby that you have. Think of what you love to do and start from there. Going into a venture that you are passionate about sets you up for success because you will have the enthusiasm and drive to make it work.

• Observe what's happening around you - Read or watch the news with a mindset that you're on an idea hunt. By being observant, you will develop the skill to identify market trends, fads, and concepts with strong earning potential.

• Don't re-invent the wheel - Products and services that became runaway winners were usually spin-offs of old one. Don't force yourself to come up with a pioneering business, instead, you might want to concentrate on offering an old product or service that comes with an added value. An example is popcorn. Entrepreneurs have put a lot of twists with it - new flavors, others turned them into a health product by making it fat-free and with less cholesterol.

• Join the bandwagon - Sometimes, for no apparent reason, products and services experience a surge in demand. An example is the surge in demand for face masks during the SARS epidemic. In marketing, this phenomenon is called the snowball effect, which means that if you found yourself on the path of an avalanche, you'll surely be swept along with it.