It doesn't matter if you run a blog or run a business, there will come a moment in time when you're really stuck for fresh ideas. Fresh ideas can lead to new business opportunities, so brainstorming should be a process you adopt frequently if you want to stay ahead of your competition. I've compiled a list of tips and tricks that I use when I'm innovating, and each apply if you're trying to come up with new products, services or blog posts. Spotting solutions and opportunities is just a form of mental exercise. The more you do it, the better you'll get!

    1. Be really grumpy!Keep track of the things that annoy you. This is a great place to start, as you know the problem intimately as well as being the first customer for any solution.

    2. Listen to your clients, customers and readers.Complaints are a great source of insight as it's a very quick way to find something that needs a solution. So identify the common problems that your customers are experiencing and consider possible solutions to their troubles.

    3. Think like a child.Children have a fantastically simplistic and candid view of the world, something we lose as we become adults. Employ a strong sense of curiosity and simplicity when looking for solutions. So many things in this world happen due to convention or habit, so thinking like a child helps to break this pattern.

    4. Talk to friends and family.Find out what annoys your friends and family. What do they moan about? What problems do they encounter? Do they say stuff like "if only there was a service/product that did XYZ"?

    5. Watch and listen to the news.Keeping up with current affairs will help you to keep up-to-date with new legislation and new regulations. Any new constraint usually means that some kind of process needs to change. Where there's change, there's usually an opportunity.

    6. Learn from your mistakes.When you do something wrong, do you work out how and why you made that mistake? What could have limited the impact of your mistakes? Is there something, that if it existed, would have stopped you from making that mistake?

    7. Do volunteer work.Mixing with people from an entirely different background will help you to think from a different perspective. You can make new friends and get ideas for things you don't usually think about. As a bonus, you help someone too!

    8. Bounce ideas with a friend or business partner.If there's someone who you work well with, spend time brainstorming ideas together. Two different minds can often lead to great ideas, since you'll find you feed off each others thoughts.

    9. Analyse your products/services.Look at your current offerings and identify the best and worst features. See if you can add any features to your existing offerings. Also consider different markets who would be interested in what you offer. You can do the same for a competitors products and services too.liuxuepaper.com