Running out of steam: Strategies to come up with fresh ideas

Martha Warner Author

Need to come up with new ideas in your business? Check out these 7 strategies!

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Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

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Business owners, leaders, innovators–we all get stuck from time to time. Coming up with new, fresh ideas is important to see growth and keep up with consumer needs, but what do we do when we’re out of ideas?

Coming up with new business ideas does not need to be complicated or time consuming. Check out these 7 strategies to free those ideas!

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Brain dump

Sometimes half the problem is we have TOO many ideas floating around in our heads we can’t make a decision. A great way to get those ideas out of your head is by doing a brain dump.

There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is to simply grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down everything that comes to mind. This strategy is a great tool to clear your mind to allow new ideas to flow or you may discover a great idea that you wrote down.

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Research

Google, Bing, Quora are all platforms to research ideas. See what is trending in the market and what would apply to your business and customer needs.

You can also spend some time looking into your competition. What are they doing to attract customers? What could you do differently? What are their customers asking them that they aren’t implementing?

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Turn to your customers

Check your email and social media. Are there specific questions your current customers are asking? Do you see the same questions being asked?

You can use those questions to prompt your ideas. There’s no better way to sell to your customers than giving them exactly what they are asking for.

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Keep track of ideas

Have you ever had a great idea, but by the time you go write it down, you’ve forgotten? Or maybe you heard someone say something that created the spark of an idea, but you didn’t write it down.

We are very rarely away from our phones, and there are tons of apps that allow you to keep notes. A few apps to try are Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, Apple Notes, or Google Keep. Try one out and have a dedicated place to keep track of your ideas.

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Go on a walk

Getting outside and taking in your surroundings is a great way to calm your mind and relax. When we are relaxed and not hyper focused on where our next biggest idea is going to come from, something will come to mind.

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Listen to a podcast or read a new book

Listening to a podcast or reading a book can spark new ideas that you might not have thought of. This is also a great way to learn about what is and isn’t working in your industry.

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Take a break

Sometimes you just need to take a step back and take a break. When you are running out of ideas and can’t seem to get your creative juices flowing, set your work to the side and do an activity that you enjoy or you know can help spark your creativity.

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Running out of steam and struggling to come up with fresh ideas can be frustrating. But with the help of these 7 strategies you may be able to come up with your next big idea! Which strategy will you try?

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