So, we all find ourselves in a situation where we are sitting idle and probably staring at a wall (or some other thing) and wondering about random things. Let me tell you - this is nothing but a process of random thinking which can start from anything and end up literally anywhere. Eg. you’re eating food and might be thinking about vegetables but end up thinking you’re swimming on the beach. This process usually takes place by one single thought striking in your mind and then gives birth to other thoughts. A thought is nothing but a concept of what goes on/exists in the mind as a representation or as a formulation of something. There are some thoughts that leads us to logical conclusions which we assume as ideas.
In practical term : Any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding and awareness produced by thinking is an idea.
In simplest term : An idea is - A random thought.
We get ideas when we think about something and a random thought of a human can reach infinity. Those ideas can sometimes lead you towards various directions where you’ll probably find your way of success. Now let’s see what are the phases in this process, from thinking a random thought - to create an actual product idea.
What actually you do - probably imagining or wondering things.
Whenever you sit idle you might find yourself wondering about things that goes on in your mind or suddenly strikes your mind. Look at these small circles below, consider them your thoughts. They might look same inside your mind - disassociated and too many. That’s how these thoughts come and go naturally in a human mind. Experienced psychologists themselves have validated that the number of thoughts visiting a human mind per hour is 3000 or 50 per minute or 1 per second. Imagine that is about 70,000 thoughts per day. Big deal right?
I’m looking at myself in a mirror before sleeping to do my regular hair care routine and suddenly find my hair looking attractive. So, I start thinking about my hair.
What actually you do - Introducing a new idea.
Have you ever noticed yourself when you get stuck in certain “track” of thoughts for a long time until you realize - you weren’t actually thinking about it at first but somehow ended up there? Pay attention to what thought you are processing on. Every thought you come across can be an ultimate idea to you or for you. Look at these small circles now which we assumed as our thoughts before, these are not only your thoughts now but a chain of your ideas in your mind. So, allow your mind to pay attention on every idea that come and goes.
I was thinking about my hair and I carried out my regular hair care routine by applying my herbal hair oil. But I didn’t like the smell of that hair oil. So the only thought strikes into my mind that time was- “Why don’t they add a good fragrance to some oils?” and “Why don’t they ask us which ingredients we are comfortable with so that we can choose it the way we want?”
What actually you do - Gather the information.
You are aware of what ideas got your attention and you might think about it several times. So the task of ideation can be brought to the next level. It could help to explore different things, opportunities and inspire you in some way. But sometimes inspiration isn’t the problem, it’s determining whether you actually have a good idea or not. It’s important to be critical of your idea and ask for feedback from as many people as possible. Success happens when you are willing to listen and consider others. Make research and collect all the possible information related to your idea. Analyse possible details or outcomes you get through it. Look at these circles below - they were empty circles before but now they are filled, consider they are filled with information you carried out by doing your research.
Scenario of doing research:
When this idea of herbal hair oil and choosing suitable ingredients for my hair strikes into my mind, I figured that - there would be a lot of people or users like me who might feel the same. So I did a research on Herbal oils, the target audiences, blend of ingredients that can be used, gathered feedbacks from target audiences about their experiences while using the product and much more which can help me further. Likewise, I gathered all the possible data related to it.
What actually you do - Organize the information.
Having a clear or sharp eye sight of an idea is important. It will help you to analyse the aspects such as what, how, when and why. By taking your previous collected data under consideration, try to organize that information into a specific manner . Organizing information helps you to link knowledge and find solution in every aspect of what, how, when and why as mentioned above. It can also help you navigate the tricky “in-between” stages when your idea feels a lot less powerful. Have a look at the image below- those filled circles are now organized properly in such a manner that it gives a clear idea about the concept.
Scenario of clearing vision:
After collecting all the possible data related to my idea. I tried organizing it in such a way that it helps me to answer my doubts like- What problem is faced by users and how the problem can be solved? Sometimes people use herbal products because they contain strong ingredients inside it but hate the smell of it. According to my survey I found out that - users are more likely to use products, when they are given a choice of choosing their favourite ingredients. In short, people only love things that are made according to them so why not providing them an option of oil customization? Eg. selecting their favourite ingredients and adding a fragrance.
What actually you do - Plan the process.
You should be developing a crystal clear direction after creating a clear vision, it is essential to have a clear understanding of what your starting point is and the direction you need to travel. Having a clear sense of purpose can guide you when things don’t go as planned and help you navigate those directions when you feel unsure of your next steps. Hence creating a roadmap helps you to plan your process in a better way. It also helps you to identify your next actions. Look at the image below, you may find circles connected to each other by a line to follow the process one by one.
Scenario of creating roadmap:
When I’m clear with my idea of designing a product that can help users customize their own herbal hair care products, I’m writing down the steps from - where actually I can start (eg. creating a logo) and end the process. (eg. building a prototype). Steps can vary according to your ideas and urgency of process.
6. Try building
What actually you do - Implement the process.
Process implementation is basically - a carrying out, execution, or practice of a plan, a method of any design, idea or model. As such, implementation is an action that is carried out in order for something to actually happen. When you find yourself being clear with your directions and plans, put yourself into building phase by putting the project plans into actions. Building, testing and improving is involved in this stage. Most of the times its iterative and if you’re lucky then you’ll figure out all the things in a first go only. But never consider that as your good point, iterative method always help you to analyse many things that you might never come across in a first go. Now look at the image below, it is the last stage where you try to build an idea from your random thought. By going through the process you finally figure out your ultimate idea. Turn that idea into success.
Scenario of building:
In the process of creating a roadmap of my activities, I performed a few activities twice and thrice. Some activities were looking good in a first go and I realized - Every activity I performed bought be more closer to my goal. So, I finally tried to design my product of herbal hair care customization. And this happened to be my successful product idea based on my single random thought.
Link to my product idea - IKAIKA (An online application for customized hair care products)
That’s it friends!
This writing was for everyone who find themselves struggling on how to come up with an idea for their product or business and start ups.
If you like my writing and have anything that can be added to this list - feel free to share. I’d like to know about your ideas too.