LECTURE 2
BUSINESS
OPPPORTUNITIES
Learning Objectives
•Define the term opportunity
•How do you identify an opportunity?
•Identify and explain sources of new ideas
•Identify the components of a great idea
•Outline the idea generation process.
•Identify methods/techniques of generating
ideas.
•Define futurology
•Methods and benefits of futurology
What is An Opportunity?
An opportunity is a favorable
set of circumstances that
Opportunity creates a need for a new
Defined product, service or business.
2-3
Three Ways to Identify an Opportunity
2-4
“Business opportunities are
like buses, there’s always
another one coming.”
Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Enterprises
Ideas - Ideas - Ideas…
Finding the right business idea can be difficult
and frustrating. There are a number of ways to
generate a business idea ranging from:
reviewing published sources of information
such as magazines and newspapers
to idea generation techniques (i.e.
brainstorming)
Hobbies
Interests
Skills
Qualifications
work experience
Sources of New Ideas
• Consumers
• Informally monitor potential ideas and needs.
• Formally arrange for consumers to express their
opinions.
• Existing Products and Services
• Analyze ways to improve offerings that may result in a
new product or service.
• Distribution Channels
• Channel members can help suggest and market new
products.
Sources of New Ideas (cont.)
•Government
•New product ideas can come in
response to government regulations.
•Research and Development
Ideas Notebook
Record unusual or interesting ideas.
Always carry an ideas notebook.
Words/Pictures/Photographs
Date ideas
Re-visit and examine
Business ideas can occur at any time so it is
important to be on the lookout for opportunities!
Idea Generation
The ability to generate ideas comes from
intuition, but is amplified by experience!
Exercise your imagination
Think in new ways & apply new technologies
Analyse the failures of others…..
Find new uses for old things…….
Analyse why something is not working & find
solutions
Identify a niche market……..
Finding the right business idea for you
Assessing your abilities and experience; your work
experience, practical knowledge, technical abilities,
hobbies, contacts and family background can also be
important factors for business success.
Many small jobs you do around your home can be ideas
for starting a business, for example growing vegetables,
cooking, dancing, fixing watches or machines, sewing
etc. Your interests and hobbies can give you ideas of a
new business. Telling stories, drawing pictures, listening
to music, baking cakes are all hobbies that can be
turned into business ideas.
Components of a
great idea
Qualified For sustainability
Plan
Economics It must make a profit
Demand People must want it
Idea development process
1 Idea Generation
2
Screening
6
Launch
Developing 3
Testing Research
4
5
IDEA DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
1 Ideas generation
Finding the right business idea.
Screening ideas
2
Deciding which ideas to pursue and which to discard. Consider
which idea(s):
Best meets the needs of customers
Generates the highest profit
Best fits with the goals of the business
Is technically feasible
level of competition in the market place
Idea development process
3 Developing an idea
This depends on the product or service:
Developing a prototype
Creating the product design
Creating the product
Developing the packaging
Deciding on a name for the product or service
Obtaining a patent, design right or a trademark
Idea development process
4 Research
Collecting information about a market place to determine
whether or not there is a demand for a product or service –
5 Testing an idea
Through focus groups, by giving free samples, by attending fairs
and markets etc.
Idea development process
6 Launching an idea
This is usually supported by an appropriate marketing
activities -
•There are thousands of ideas out
there
•We know what makes a good one
•Where do we find them?
•Look for needs, watch trends,
listen for complaints, problems or
pains…. Then get creative about
building a business around them
Finding the right business
idea is crucial. The right
business idea is one
which is viable,
sustainable and suited to
the business owner(s).
Finding an Idea…
Find a trend,
complaint, problem or
pain
Get creative on how
to capitalise on it
Methods of Generating New Ideas
BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming encourages people to come up with thoughts and ideas that
can, at first, seem a bit crazy. Some of these ideas can be crafted into
original, creative solutions to a problem, while others can spark even more
ideas. This helps to get people unstuck by "jolting" them out of their normal
ways of thinking.Good ideas emerge when the brainstorming effort focuses
on a specific product or market area.
Rules of brainstorming:
No criticism.
Quantity of ideas is desired.
Combinations and improvements of ideas are encouraged.
Session starts with a problem statement.
No group member should be an expert in the field of the problem.
All ideas must be recorded.
Methods of Generating New Ideas
WHY USE BRAINSTORMING?
Brainstorming provides a free and open environment that
encourages everyone to participate. Quirky ideas are welcomed and
built upon, and all participants are encouraged to contribute fully,
helping them develop a rich array of creative solutions.
When used during problem solving, brainstorming brings team
members' diverse experience into play. It increases the richness of
ideas explored, which means that you can often find better solutions
to the problems that you face.
Methods of Generating New Ideas (cont.)
Brain writing
• A form of written brainstorming.
• Participants write their ideas on special forms or
cards that circulate within the group.
Problem Inventory Analysis
• Consumers are provided with a list of problems and
are asked to identify products that have those
problems.
• Results must be carefully evaluated as they may not
actually reflect a new business opportunity.
Problem Solving
Problems mean opportunities
Many good ideas has come from
finding a solution to a problem.
What causes the Problem?
Steps in Problem Solving
Check the facts
What is causing the Problem?
Identify Solutions
Prioritise the Ideal solution
Implement
Evaluate
A good idea or a good business idea?
A good business idea is one that is based on:
A product or service that customers want/need
A product or service you can sell at a price that customers can
afford and which will give you a profit
The knowledge of skills you have or you can get
The resources and money you are able to invest
Ideas are everywhere, but they need to match what customers want
and can pay for. A good business idea is based on the needs of
customers. If a business makes a good product but nobody needs it,
the business will be a failure.
Turning your dreams into reality
When it comes to creative planning, it can
be hard to find the right way to transform
imaginative thinking into concrete
business ideas.
You need to:
dream big in order to come up with
possible ways of solving a particular
problem
At the same time, you need to:
be able to focus on the detail needed to
put your plan into action successfully
Evaluating the success of a business idea
There are five main ways of measuring business success.
1. Profitability
•This can be measured by financial ratios like profit margin.
2. Job creation
•This can be measured by counting the number of employees.
3. Market share
•measured by dividing the business's sales into the total sales of the market.
4. Customer satisfaction
measured by carrying out customer opinion surveys and market research.
5. Socio-Economic and ethical considerations
• measured by whether society believes the business is doing things the right. way
Future scenarios
• [Scenarios]are hypothetical sequences of
events constructed for the purpose of
focusing attention on causal processes and
decision points.” (Kahn / Wiener 1967, 6)
Future Scenarios
•–a description of a possible future situation
(conceptual future), – including paths of
development which may lead to that future
situation
• “Scenarios are descriptions of journeys to possible
futures. They reflect different assumptions about
how current trends will unfold, how critical
uncertainties will play out and what new factors will
come into play
Methods of studying the future
•Trend analysis and trend extrapolation
• envelope curve analysis
• relevance tree techniques;
•morphological methods
• analogy techniques
• input-output models;
Methods of studying the future cntd
• techniques involving questionnaires
• surveys of experts and interview techniques
• cost-benefit analysis
• cross-impact analysis
• innovation and diffusion analysis
• construction of models and simulation techniques
• Brainstorming
• Delphi methods;
Methods of studying the future cntd
•roleplaying
•creativity methods
• future workshops
Usefulness of Futurology
• Opportunity identification –as changing
business environments present new
opportunities
• Inform business model engineering and
reengineering
• Inform new product development and
product designs
• Inform design thinking
Usefulness cntd
• Futurists try to gain a systemic or holistic view. They
base their view on several different disciplines,
mainly focusing on the STEEP. STEEP stands
for Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental,
and Political.
• Influence business market entry decisions
• Useful in strategic management/gaining and
maintaining competitive advantage
Case study
•Royal Dutch shell case study
Tutorial Questions
1. Define the term futurology
2. Briefly explain any three methods used in
futurology
3. As a scientist, outline the importance of
futurology in your area of specialisation. What
are the shortcomings of futurology as a business
tool
