What if just two words could lead to an incredibly successful business idea? What if these words could provide more inspiration than all the TED talks and innovation workshops in the world?
Entrepreneur and founder of digital marketing agency Weber PPC, Jim Weber, believes it’s possible, discussing in a LinkedIn post last week how some of the world’s most successful businesses were formed through the application of the words “What if?”.
“There are countless books, conferences, TED talks and gurus that all try to unlock the magic of creativity, as if brilliant ideas are bestowed upon people with a magic wand only after a required number of hours sitting in isolation and thinking as hard as possible,” Weber writes.
“In fact, I find that couldn’t be harder [sic] from the truth.”
Weber outlines two steps to come up with a “brilliant” business idea.
Firstly, he says you must “observe a problem you face in everyday life”.
Secondly, “ask yourself ‘What if?’ that problem could be solved with a simple solution”.
To prove the theory, Weber demonstrates how that method could have lead to the ideas behind businesses such as Amazon, Google, or Uber, all by facing life’s dilemmas with a “what if”.
“What if you could store all your computer files somewhere besides your own computer? (Dropbox)”, or “What if you could hail a taxi on your phone? (Uber)”, writes Weber.
So instead of musing endlessly about the next big business idea, try applying Weber’s method.
“Let’s first dispel this notion that inventions are like solving math problems, where one must spend hours isolated in front of a chalkboard before coming up with a solution,” he writes.
“Creativity and innovation are about being a normal human being, encountering every day dilemmas and just having the wherewithal to insert two words: What. If.”
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