Ideas can have many potential applications - sometimes the initial intended application is not the best commercial opportunity. For example, what started at 3M as non-sticky glue, found its way on to our desks as Post-it^® Notes. The change in application for the product ultimately resulted in promoting it to a different market.

The best commercial outcomes often result when market opportunities are identified and ideas are developed into products and services to meet those opportunities. This is referred to as a market demand 'pull' approach.

The alternative is to 'push' the idea out to the market in an application. However, this can be high risk and expensive as the market may not realise the need and want or even be ready for your product or service.

There are  some key elements and considerations that will help develop your idea into a commercial reality

Coming up with a great invention idea takes much more than observation — it takes determination, grit and creativity. Long before drawing up your innovation through a mock up, or even creating a functional prototype, an inventor needs to consider a product’s materials, manufacturing methods, functionality and aesthetic. This kind of design work and decision making needs a strong idea foundation, as it establishes a product’s credibility among future buyers, investors and/or manufacturers. So how can inventors start this process

Developing a novel, and creative, idea is the first step in the innovation process — but not every idea will have market potential or be worthy of your time. There is no step-by-step guide to coming up with great ideas, but there are certainly ways for inventors to get their minds thinking creatively, providing more opportunities for that ah-ha moment to strike.

Often times, it’s not about what a person is thinking about, it’s more about how a person is thinking about something. Steve Jobs once — and now famously — said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” Listed below are a few ways inventors can foster an innovative mindset

Concentrate

Explore

Interpret

Document

Pursue

Inventors should identify the area in which they would like to generate new ideas — whether it’s a certain medical practice or a type of new technology. Doing so will help a person focus and prioritize a specific area of thinking pre-idea

After an inventor selects where they will focus their attention, it’s time to create opportunities to explore said area. To do so, go out and actively observe a specific field, looking for anything out-of-place or underperforming (or, conversely, products or services that are exceeding expectations)

 Focus on the product successes in your are of concentration, and pay careful attention to why people purchase or use certain products. Gathering this kind of information will inform your idea’s design and functionality.

Thinking is great — but without action or deadlines, ideas will likely never come to fruition. To keep yourself on track, establish an idea quota each day or week. This motivates an inventor to write down ideas, both good and bad, as a form of brainstorming

After a few weeks of generating ideas, you’ll likely have a notebook full of them. Now it’s time to pick out the best ones and start analyzing them, all while forcibly eliminating the rest. By being discerning in this phase, you’ll probably have some great ideas remaining — ones that you would be proud to pursue