650: 7 Proven Ways to Generate New Business Ideas, with Real-Life Examples

01/09/25 • 49 min

2 Listeners

How do you come up with a business idea?

Aspiring entrepreneurs often get stuck in the business idea phase — that is, they’re confident they could run a killer business, make a ton of money, and live the good life — if they could only come up with the right idea.

If that’s you — the idea seeker — I’ve got good news for you: coming up with new business ideas is actually pretty easy.

It’s what comes next that’s hard!

But today, let’s go through some of the proven methods you can use to come up with your first (or next) business idea.

Full Show Notes: 7 Proven Ways to Generate New Business Ideas, with Real-Life Examples

New to the Show?Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!
Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today!
OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!

How do you come up with a business idea?

If that’s you — the idea seeker — I’ve got good news for you: coming up with new business ideas is actually pretty easy.

It’s what comes next that’s hard!

But today, let’s go through some of the proven methods you can use to come up with your first (or next) business idea.

Full Show Notes: 7 Proven Ways to Generate New Business Ideas, with Real-Life Examples

New to the Show?Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!
Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today!
OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!

Previous Episode

649: This Firefighter’s Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

Mike Ettenberg spent 10 years as a firefighter, but was constantly losing or breaking his sunglasses on calls.

Frustrated, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Frontline Optics makes durable sunglasses for first responders with a no-questions-asked replacement policy.

Despite having "no business experience," the Side Hustle Show listener took Frontline from side hustle to full-time venture, selling over $1M worth of sunglasses along the way.

Tune in to episode 649 to learn:

How Mike found his first customers
The "microinfluencer" strategy that generated consistent sales
When he felt comfortable quitting his firefighting day job
His plans for the future

Full Show Notes: This Firefighter's Side Hustle Grew to $1M in Sales

New to the Show? Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!
Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth!
OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!
Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!

Next Episode

The Sweaty Startup: How to Start a Local Service Business (Greatest Hits)

Do you know how much cash flows through your hometown on a monthly basis?

In this episode we explore how to get some of that cash flowing toward you!

I'm joined by Nick Huber, co-founder of Storage Squad and host of The Sweaty Startup podcast.

Storage Squad, a student storage service, has grown to over $3M in sales since starting it as a little part-time project back in 2011.

I invited Nick on The Side Hustle Show to help walk us through his "sweaty startup" framework. That is, how you can start a low-risk, low-overhead, local, service-based business, set it up for success, and let that be the vehicle that drives you away from a lifetime of cubicle slavery.

Tune in to hear Nick’s thoughts on generating service business ideas you could start today, evaluating the market and competition, and scoring your first customers.

That’s why I think this is pretty exciting -- it really doesn’t take many customers to begin to make a meaningful income here.

Full Show Notes: The Sweaty Startup: How to Start a Local Service Business

New to the Show?Get your personalized money-making playlist here!

Sponsors:

Airbnb — Discover how much your home could be worth and find a professional co-host today!

Mint Mobile — Cut your wireless bill to $15 a month!

Indeed – Start hiring NOW with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post!

OpenPhone — Get 20% off of your first 6 months!

Gusto — Get 3 months free of the leading payroll, benefits, and HR provider for modern small businesses!