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Lateral­-Thinking

In each of the following situations, visualize yourself in these scenarios and simply brainstorm…

1) Notice when a chore or extra work frustrates you, so you avoid it.

a) Clean up the flour that sticks to the counter top after making pastry.
b) Spraying the house with pesticide. (Messy and dangerous)
c) Preparing for a party or large gathering and cleaning up afterward.
d) Cleaning up the yard, i.e. Fallen fruit (oranges), branches, etc.2)

2) Ways that people waste their time or expend extra effort to accomplish something that seems like it should be simpler.

a) Putting up and taking down Christmas lights.
b) Taking the day off and waiting all day for utility installation or a repairman to arrive.
c) Washing the floors.
d) Brushing the dog.

3) When a product or service seems too expensive.

a) Rocks for landscaping.
b) Rubber liner for a garden pond.
c) Lego toys. (Definitely worth the price, but still, they must have a huge markup.)
d) HBA – especially beauty products.
e) Paper products.
f) Picture framing.
g) Directory assistance – but not as annoying as the free ones now available.

4) When you avoid a product or service, or avoid the best source because of inconvenience or driving distance.

a) Bait and tackle shop. (Goes where the fish are? Hot line?)
b) Hallmark card shops. (Never nearby)

5) Notice when you are disappointed by size or availability of a store item.

a) A litter basket for my car for the backseat hump that doesn’t fall over. (1960’s era)
b) Colorful luggage straps/tags to make my bags stand out on the baggage belt.
c) Dress slippers to wear in an airport or waiting room.
d) Microwave sauté pan – with a heavy nuke-pre-heatable base
e) Generic but nice gifts in a certain price range – i.e. $30­, $40.

6) In your line of work or a hobby notice things that are tedious or time consuming.

a) Cleaning the screen of my monitor
b) Holding up a book to read while lying in bed or sitting upright.
c) Toting a fifty-­pound backpack while hiking.
d) Watering plants – waiting for them to drain.

7) Notice a new product or service that makes you say: “I wish I had thought of that.”

a) Spring-­loaded clips for holding large extension cords (bulk at Home Depot)
b) Disposable plastic razors, disposable pens, and disposable diapers.
c) Plastic ice cubes.

8) Notice times that you have lost something, had something stolen, been cheated, or been taken for too much money.

a) I got sucked into buying home insulation without doing any comparison shopping.
b) CD player and CD’s stolen from your car in a parking lot.
c) Automobile with no haggling – cost too much.

9) Notice things go to waste most around your house by expiration or because they keep breaking or stop working?

a) Chip clips. (Get lost or break.)
b) Vertical blinds. (Get destroyed by the dog.)
c) Frozen foods. (Get defrosted but not cooked, so get refrozen w/freezer burn.)
d) Milk. (Goes bad)
e) Lighters.

10) Notice items you can never seem find when you need them?

a) Portable phone.
b) Scissors.
c) Pens or pencils.
d) Playing cards.
e) Tape.

11) Remember past ideas never brought to fruition by you, even if somebody else has since done so with the same idea.

a) Car rear ­window marquee.
b) Pneumatic woofers using voice-coil­ driven vents, powered by a gasoline engine.
c) Bathtub drain with a catch­-strainer for hair.
d) “Flypaper” to clean pine needles, etc. from screens.

12) Think of ways to take advantage of the susceptibility of certain potential customers.

a) Toys, cereals, etc – Children scream until their parents buy what they want.
b) Avoid embarrassment – Men often don’t know how to shop for clothes.
c) Avoid being cheated – Women might buy a guide to getting a car repaired fairly.

13) Brainstorm original ideas for products or services that fill a need.

a) Iron-­in replacement pockets for trousers. (or iron-­in pocket protectors)
b) Interactive photomorph kiosk for nightclubs, bowling alleys, and game arcades.
c) When using a regular ignition key, odo shows mileage driven under valet key.
d) Pageable (clapper?) TV remote control.

14) Where might you unexpectedly find advertising, coupons, or marketing?

a) Coupons in the classified section
b) Ads inside toilet stalls

15) Think of computer programs or websites that might be useful, yet you have never seen offered?

a) Print ­to ­file with printout browser and bulk/scheduled reprinter application.
b) Slot machine designer and strategy program – slot exerciser and evaluator.
c) Searchable local entertainment website where nightspots put up their own ads
d) An HTML server ­based browser for ISPs to offer to users with slow connections
e) Online guide for dog owners, with localized pages as well.

16) Where might people look around for something to spend money on?

a) At checkout counters, hence impulse racks.
b) While waiting in line for an event.

17) When you look in many homes, where is the clutter? 

a) End tables, because many incidentals have no “designated” storage area
b) Inside the door are shoes, umbrellas, bags, set their “for later”.
c) Garage, closet, elsewhere?
d) Junk drawers – bulls, mail, keys
e) Under beds – Christmas decorations, obsolete (Goodwill) stuff

18) In a business, where do managers least like to spend money? Where is money wasted?

a) Salary – because there are so many indirect costs. Contractors are preferred.
b) Non­- or partial­-depreciable capital expenses such as office furniture?
c) Travel (extra $ for last­minute)

19) Think of fads, avocations or trends that lack a quality supply.

a) Games? Hobbies? Other?
b) Manufacture fake memorabilia – reproductions.
c) Games that can be played while traveling – on a road trip.

20) Think of marketable concepts that require very little upfront cost.

a) Regional scratchpads/notepads printed with a background of an area road-map
b) Employee benefit/reward packages for HR to purchase. Sell local ads within it

21) Come up with ideas that tap the talents or skills of the principles.

a) Write a book, target movie rights.
b) Do Script Writing for Comedians.
c) Book – Making Presentations Entertaining
d) Book – Busting Out of Writer’s Block

22) Browse the available jobs on guru, rent-a-coder, freelancer, Fiverr, etc.

a) Most of the postings are underfunded, naïve, and/or dumb, but…
b) The postings reveal gaps in software solutions, ponder those gaps
c) Pay special attention to those by professionals who have already vetted solutions
d) Website – Collaborative whiteboard sketching, i.e. for architects

23) Think about improvements to jobs/hobbies in which you already have expertise

a) What are some of the biggest challenges?
b) What might customers want or expect, yet is not available?
c) Brainstorm – posit a scenario five years into the future…

24) Leverage your own talent

a) Are you a good writer? Start an online business for writing resumes, composing advertising copy, or proofreading/editing/polishing for authors.
b) Are you good with people and have some nice dress outfits? Become a sometimes local­ rep for companies that occasionally need local representation.
c) Do you have experience and credentials in some specialty? Become a consultant by first writing a series of blogs and building your profile, then create an online presence that you can market.
d) Do you have some creations that you are especially proud of, be they sculptures, woodcrafts, ceramics, or clothing? Don’t sell them but, instead, use them as a portfolio to advertise for custom work, as people often have very unique needs yet cannot find a qualified provider – and they are willing to pay for it.

28) Notice things that are ugly.

a) Ugly white risers that support the hedge sprinklers? Sleeve to drop over the risers that was green and leafy and blended in with the bushes?
b) Fingerprints and gunk all over the window in the storm door? You ought to be able to buy static-­stick patches to protect those areas, maybe with floral prints or sports team logos.
d) Scratches and flaking paint on the window and door frames? Small touch-­up kit right next to the checkout, you’d buy it in a heartbeat.
e) Concrete chips and potholes? You don’t want to buy a big can of concrete adhesive and hefty bag of concrete. It’s too bad you can’t buy a really good kit for fixing small areas.
f) Dry rot on your eaves? You need a strip of white L-­shaped plastic to cover it, but the ones you can find have inner gussets or staggered holes.

30) Leverage Disruptive Changes

a) Adoption of smart phones means women will need their purses less. How might this disruptive change be taken advantage of?
b) A “makeup mirror” phone app, uses the front camera, horizontally flips the image?
c) A flat/sturdy pocket ­size makeup kit?
d) Key chain makeup dongle?
e) Disposable high ­quality makeup in vending machines?
f) Skype plug-­in for makeup photo­-enhancement?

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