If you already have a business idea don't be tempted to skip this week's activities, as you're likely to find ways of making big improvements to your idea.

If you don't have an idea yet, then this is the week you will start to think of one.

So where do ideas come from?

Search for problems

A lot off successful businesses have been started as the result of an entrepreneur coming up against a problem in their own life, or something that they wished existed.
Do you ever have moments where you say 'I wish someone would..'? Well, perhaps you could!

Using your skills

A couple of weeks ago you made a note of your key skills as part of 'Knowing where you are now'.
How could you use these skills to start a business?

Adapting an existing idea

Very few businesses are started based on a completely new invention. This is also the hardest kind of business to start. Most successful entrepreneurs build their business by adapting an existing idea.
After all, Richard Branson didn't invent music CDs, aeroplanes, trains, credit cards or any of the other products his businesses sell.

The book has some ideas on how you can successfully adapt existing ideas to create a new business.

Brainstorming

You can now use some of the ideas above to brainstorm some ideas for your business. Get together with friends or family (you can do it on your own if you really prefer to) and spend half an hour writing down as many ideas as possible - no matter how silly they sound! Then spend another half an hour discussing each one and either crossing it out or keeping it on the shortlist.

At the end of this are there any business ideas you really like? If not, try it all again!

Emma

Find out about the idea that Emma came up with.