IdeaStorming. Flip It.
In this seventh issue we explore some effective tips. techniques & tweaks for converting ideas into exciting and profitable revenue streams. This follows our sixth issue?where we delved into some of the people and their ideas that have changed the world in the first 20 years of the 21st Century - post-2000.
If you're new to us it is recommended that you read issue 1:?One Idea is All it Takes
About:?Trevor Nel is an 'ideas-generating machine' and co-founder of?WISDOMS?. You can connect with WISDOMS? and become: 1. a?PATRON?and/or; 2. a?PLAYER?, and/or; 3. a?PARTNER?- follow each link for more info.
When it comes to brainstorming ideas, there should be no rules. So why not call it ideastorming? At WISDOMS??, we have never been afraid to flip words, concepts, attitudes, rules, ideas, et al on their head. To turn them upside down, inside out, throw them out of the box, challenge the status quo, question everything, do the opposite of what is expected, et al.. just by adopting a simple mantra: FLIP IT.
For instance, I was about to start this article with the beginnings of an alphabet of effective tips. techniques & tweaks for converting ideas into exciting and profitable revenue streams. i.e. A; B; C; D; E; F. And, then the natural process of ideastorming that I have adopted for years kicked in. 'What if I flipped that?'.. F; E; D; C; B; A. What would happen?
A silly thought. A crazy thought, I know - FLIP IT - it gives a different perspective for looking at challenges at hand. Let me explain by example of what happened to us recently.
I well remember when covid-19 hit our shores in March 2020, as innovators of a local business chamber we were packing people into our meetings & workshops.. which all came to a grinding halt in an instant.
In this announcement we stated what we intended to do:
Extract - 'So here's what we're going to do - we're going to INNOVATE by testing digital online meeting, sales, marketing & promotion tools using the same dates/times allocated to our suspended Friday-morning open business networking meetings & Tuesday-morning member support meetings (as best as the technology will allow).
'At Wisdoms123 (founder member organisation) we refer to this concept as 'FLIP IT' or FLIPPING IT'. Taking what might be a crisis to many and flipping it to identify the OPPORTUNITY / IES presented by the current situation. Some really interesting opportunities for business growth & development present themselves for ASAP implementation. As the second pic in the series below suggests (I'm desperate to share the magnificent days I was experiencing on my break), no matter what your perception of the impending day might be, the sun will always keep rising (unless you are the ultimate pessimist) on another GREAT day in Africa! It's our role to get that sun shining on our personal and business lives.'
That simple decision to - FLIP IT - took us instantly from a local presence to a global presence from our home-bases while most were lamenting how lockdown had rendered them helpless at home. We have since logged well over 368 WISDOMS Chats during the covid lockdown period and have hosted significant WISDOMS Global Summits & Virtual Trade Fairs with participants all over the world from the UK; US; Eurozone; Africa; Australia; New Zealand; to Bali & Singapore.
So let's have some fun with the deliberate flip of the beginnings of the ideastorming alphabet:
F - FLIP IT - the process of stating the opposite or reverse of any proposal made to explore new perspectives. For example, most ideas are shot down by commentators who proclaim: 'It can't be done because/if..'. The FLIP IT protagonist says: 'Let's explore the flip of that statement - It can be done because/if..'
Take the most fun flip of all - flip-flops. They are cheap and commonplace all over the world, right? Imagine if someone came along and said 'let's go into business producing flip-flops'. The critc will say: 'It's been done before. There's no margin. They're all over the place.' The FLIP IT protagonist says: 'Let's explore the flip of that statement - let's build a global business producing high-demand fashion-forward premium-brand flip-flops at a premium-price.' They did exactly this at Havaianas - recognized as the ultimate flip-flop brand and valued at +$1 billion through a forced shareholder sale in 2017.
The critic will say: 'It can't be done again.' The FLIP IT protagonist says: 'Let's explore the flip of that statement - 'It can be done again. Let's ideastorm how and why.' They will refer to the value of the global flip-flop market estimated to be at $17.8 billion in 2018.
In the mid-2000s Brad Munro tweaked the flip-flop with interchangeable straps to build Boomerangz Footwear into a $300000 a year online business startup.
In 2011, 15-year old Madison Robinson started a brand of FishFlops that sold 60,000 pairs at retail value of $1,2 million.
Flip-flop success stories will repeat themselves over and over again. Flip, man! FLIP IT.
E - EXPAND IT - Extend (visualize potential product line extensions & brand extensions). Extrapolate. Quote/s: '..to create something new you need to learn to extrapolate what you know and apply it to what you don’t.' 'Breakthrough ideas and genius insights are the result of deep, deep thinking. Never scratch the surface of an idea when you can tear it to shreds and understand its true core.' Extrude. Get creative with dictionary definitions - '..You can extrude all kinds of materials and products by forcing them through an opening, including cheese puffs, pasta, candy, plastic toys like the hula hoop, assorted pipes and hoses, and glass tubing.'
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D - DRAMA IT - Use drama - stories - dramatic images that tell a personal story. This township entrepreneur created a quality line of sneakers and dramatized his designs on canvas to create collectors items of his design ideas.
C - COLOUR IT - Add colour to jazz up your product/brand ideas. CrazyEgg provides a chart explaining the emotional triggers of colours - '6 colors that are proven to boost sales'. Jet Label corroborates with 'a tried-and-true method of choosing colours for a brand'.
B - BUILD IT - Most people have extreme difficulty in 'seeing' the ideas/concepts of others. They cannot visualize the end product. People like to see, touch, feel, taste, test, sample. Build a prototype. Here's 3 Simple Steps to Build a Remarkable Prototype.
A - ACTION IT - Ideas are the most abundant resource in the world. Almost everybody has ideas. Ideas are dime a dozen. Unless an idea is put into action.. unless an idea is implemented to produce its desired result.. it is of no use to anyone.
Even those ideas actioned/implemented that did not produce the desired result can have life-changing global impact: 15 Life-Changing Inventions That Were Created By Mistake
Theordore Levitt wrote a compelling piece appearing in Harvard Business Review 2002 stating: 'A powerful new idea can kick around unused in a company for years, not because its merits are not recognized but because nobody has assumed the responsibility for converting it from words into action. What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation in the action-producing sense, i.e., putting ideas to work.'
Ideas into action is the imperative.. with one small warning. Do not think that you alone are the first to your idea. As an idea-generator I have a mantra designed to humble myself into recognizing that ideas alone do not a fortune make. It is this:
'If you think it, it's already been thunked'
Before you hock your house and home to fund your idea do your research first. I like HJR Global's: Actions Steps To Transform A Bright Idea Into A Successful Business.
Let's flip the beginning of the alphabet for converting ideas into exciting and profitable revenue streams back the right way up to see how it is developing:
A - ACTION IT
B - BUILD IT
C - COLOUR IT
D - DRAMA IT
E - EXPAND IT
F - FLIP IT
Remember..?just one idea is all it takes.
Next week: issue 8 -?I'll repeat and expand upon an article I wrote many years ago for a profile newspaper entitled - 'From Big Idea to Big Profits in Business'.
Trevor Nel?is author of numerous publications & articles, including :