Inspiration can come from anywhere—even your own backyard. “Some companies, they get inspired by a trip to Italy or a trip to somewhere in Europe,” Alex Drexler, founder of the fashion brand Alex Mill, says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “But for us, our inspiration, our vibe is really from New York City.” Anywhere you look in New York, Alex says, “you can see such beautiful details, from the color of the buildings to just walking down the street. New York is really, truly an inspiration.” For Alex, the city inspired him to create the perfect button-down shirt.
Business inspiration is the spark that leads to a great idea or energizes you to build your business. There are many different ways for aspiring entrepreneurs to find inspiration, and what works for one may not work for another. Read on if you’re looking to tap into your creativity, develop some fresh ideas, or get your company back on the right track.
The importance of business inspiration
In the business world, inspiration is the process of stimulating your brain, so you can reach a eureka moment. Inspiration can lead to new business ideas, product concepts, marketing strategies, and more. As your entrepreneurial journey gets underway, you can lean on your original inspiration to maintain a competitive advantage and clear brand vision.
You may stumble upon inspiration from time to time, but learning strategies for finding it—such as researching your competitors, seeing how other industries approach problems, or collecting customer feedback—can help you uncover opportunities more consistently.
Ways to find business inspiration
- Observe industry trends
- Listen to social media commentary
- Tap into your local community for business ideas
- Collect customer feedback
- Use failure as a learning opportunity
- Travel somewhere new
- Read a wide variety of material
- Meditate
While it’s possible to have a sudden burst of inspiration out of nowhere, you don’t need to wait for it to happen. Instead, be proactive and dedicate time to finding business inspiration by trying the following strategies:
Observe industry trends
To know where your industry is headed, set up an RSS news feed or Google keyword alerts for your business or product category, so you’ll get alerted every time there’s a major development. Industry conferences and networking events can help you meet like-minded people in your industry, get valuable feedback, and form new connections. Likewise, newsletters can help you keep tabs on specific issues in your industry and what your competitors are doing.
Listen to social media commentary
As often as social media is a source of distraction, it’s just as often a well of consumer insights. When you take the time to read through what your followers and target customers are saying in the comments, you might be surprised by the themes you come across.
“I love reading all the comments on our social media,” Knix founder Joanna Griffiths says on Shopify Masters. “One of my favorite things to say is that the answers are in the comments. And I think I really want to stay close to the customer and what it is that they’re saying to us. So most of our great product ideas come from comments and suggestions that come from our customers.”
Tap into your local community for business ideas
If you’re feeling burnt out by the digital world, spend some quality time with your local community. In addition to providing you with encouragement and joy, your friends and family can help you understand what real-world customers need. What do they enjoy doing? What are their values? What issues can your business help them solve? Research has shown that volunteering can even reduce stress and bring joy to your own life.
“I’ve always been big on watching what’s actually happening in real life,” Joe Cornfield, Vitaly’s president and CMO, says on Shopify Masters. “I’m not a huge consumer of things on the internet; I don’t spend a lot of time looking at Instagram to figure out trends. I really, honestly just spend time walking around the city. I know that sounds silly, but I find that it’s the most authentic representation of what’s happening in the world right now. So that’s my market research: I just look around and go, ‘OK, what are people starting to do right now? Where does that naturally go from here?’”
Collect customer feedback
As your business grows, customer feedback shows what you’re getting right—or wrong—and provides new ideas for moving forward. You can collect feedback through surveys, contact forms, focus groups, and social media. Make a plan for how you’ll act on that feedback. For example, you may decide to improve your services, develop new products, or try other customer retention strategies.
When Copper Cow Coffee founder Debbie Wei Mullin asked customers why they placed only a couple of orders a year despite raving about her coffee, she learned they wanted more of an everyday option. So she launched ground coffee in addition to single-serve pour-overs, and orders soared. “As soon as we got the ground coffee on shelves, that had like triple the velocity,” she says on Shopify Masters.
Use failure as a learning opportunity
Every business owner wants to find success, but it’s important to remember: Failure is often part of the journey. Most overnight successes, in reality, do not happen overnight. Henry Ford’s first two automobile companies failed, and Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple before later rejoining. A good leader knows failure is a natural part of business that can offer lessons or create new opportunities for change.
If you’ve recently experienced a setback, take a moment to journal about it or talk through the experience with a career coach. Reflecting on the experience can reveal new insights into your strengths, weaknesses, and how to move forward.
Travel somewhere new
Sometimes you need to get out of your own bubble to think differently. “Whenever I can, I travel,” Compartés owner Jonathan Grahm says on Shopify Masters. “Traveling puts me into a different mind-frame, where I could take the business hat off for a second and be more creative, be inspired by the things that are around me, by my surroundings, by nature, by flavors, by food. I’m constantly trying to take my surroundings and my experiences and put them into my brand.”
You don’t necessarily have to travel extensively. If you can visit a different part of the country you’ve never seen before or visit a friend who’s just moved to a new city, that can be enough to jog some fresh ideas.
Read a wide variety of material
Most successful business owners read when they’re not working, whether it’s books, blogs, trade journals, or news articles. Reading widely allows you to broaden your knowledge, discover new ways to solve problems, and learn from history. The best startup books for ecommerce business owners can inspire and help you overcome challenges and achieve your vision.
Consult the following resources for fresh business inspiration in a range of industries:
Meditate
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with daily tasks, it can help to take a beat to sit in silence and quiet your mind. That certainly has helped Ann McFerran, founder of Glamnetic. On Shopify Masters, Ann explains that taking a step back and observing her own thoughts plays a big role in boosting her creativity, inspiration, and general happiness. That happiness then sets the tone for the rest of the company and helps others she works with feel inspired every day.
Business inspiration FAQ
What is the difference between business inspiration and creativity?
Business inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated, and creativity can be the result of getting inspired. For instance, you might become inspired by meeting new people and learning new concepts at a trade conference. The inspiration allows you to create solutions for a problem your business is having.
Why is business inspiration important for small business owners?
Small business owners need inspiration to stay ahead of changing trends. When demands shift, you need to be able to position your brand as distinct from the competition, push visitor conversion, and find the right way into the market. All of this is possible if the business owner can think of creative solutions and change processes when needed.
How can I turn inspiration into a profitable business?
A successful, profitable business is possible when you can offer consumers value through a new product, idea, or service. Being inspired often is the first step to innovation, but you’ll need a plan to take a great idea and make it a reality.
Should I be looking for inspiration outside my own industry?
Yes. Inspiration can happen anywhere, so business owners should regularly consider ideas outside their own industry and meet people with different jobs. Someone in a different field is drawing from a different pool of knowledge, and they’re not mentally constrained by some of the known solutions to problems in your field.
