We all have them. Good ideas are fairly common… but getting from the good idea stage to the practical application can be, well, not so good.
Some ideas go from good to bad really fast – like say, the Edsel. Some take more time to become not so good – like bacon flavoured ice cream.
Good ideas crop up at unexpected times and in strange places – like sitting in an airplane lavatory at 38,000 feet or while watching reruns of the Simpsons on television. When something occurs to you try to write it down so you remember it… I’ve ha d lots of ideas that I forgot within minutes. Now I make sure that I have a notepad and pen everywhere I tend to spend time – in the car, beside my chair in the living room, at my desk, in my studio, by the phone and in my pocket.
Some ideas never get acted on but some do and those that really were great ideas work well.
I like to collect my ideas for by business together with similar items. Some of my ideas are for designs which I will later sketch to go in my Idea Book, others are business or marketing ideas that I will note in my diary and prioritize to do. Some end up in the business plan, others I might try out before deciding if it is achievable or worth the effort.
Some ideas come from other people and are really great but not necessarily easy to adapt, others are so simple that you have to wonder why you never thought of them yourself. Collecting ideas from other sources is great too. Watching a program or documentary might give you an idea to try yourself, or something you read in the newspaper or magazine triggers an idea you could apply to your situation.
So if something occurs to you and it seems like a good idea write it down right away so you don’t forget it.
© Shannon Fennell 2009