Great ideas come in many shapes and sizes – whether it is something as small as a new logo for your business or something as big as rolling out a brand new product. What is important is that you give your best ideas a shot at life.
Great ideas are like gold. Everybody hopes to find them buried under the floorboards in their house. But just like finding gold, you often need a treasure map. In fiscally constrained times such as these, ideas are what matter most. Businesses live and die from the ideas they come up with. Great ideas get attention and bring people through the doors. The tricky part is figuring out how to find them.
So what does a great idea look like in practice? Here is an example; Peter van Stolk, founder of Jones Soda Co., is a business owner who was not afraid to take his great idea and run with it.
Van Stolk took his $20-million business to $42-million in four years by coming up with an idea that generated $25-million in free publicity. Jones Soda was a small Seattle-based beverage company competing against Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Combined, those two monoliths spend a billion dollars a year on advertising. 
So how did van Stolk and Jones Soda compete? In 2003 van Stolk had the idea to create a "Turkey & Gravy"-flavored soda to be released around Thanksgiving. Soon his brand began to get mentioned in the national media, and his product began to sell out.
Peter had the idea in his car one day, and he acted on it. Ever notice how you get your best ideas when your mind is
not trying to come up with them? Think about it. How many ideas have you thrown away on the treadmill or in the shower that you should have tried that could have earned you millions?
Everyone has great ideas. The problem for most people is realizing that even the most silly or outrageous idea they come up with could in fact work. Generating ideas – useful ideas – is a skill, and, like any other skill, it can be learned. The more you practice, the easier it will be to come up with ideas whenever you need them. What is to follow are my suggestions on how to generate killer ideas to jump-start your venture:

Carry a Notebook
The only thing worse than not being able to come up with an idea is thinking of an amazing idea, not writing it down, and then forgetting it. You may think you will remember, but you won't. Having a small notepad or digital recorder with you at all times guarantees that those ideas will not escape. Keep one in your glove compartment, on your nightstand, and in your desk drawer. Keeping a few spare sheets of loose paper in your wallet or purse is a good idea, too!

Eavesdrop
Listen to people talking on the bus, at the coffee shop, or in the elevator. You will get a good feel for what people care about: Their concerns, wishes, and interests. And you may also hear a great idea or two in the mix. Build on the snippets of conversation you overhear to create a story, and let that story lead you to a brilliant idea.

Do Something New
Sign up for a class, take up a new hobby, listen to a different kind of music, or do anything that is new to you. Not only will it get new parts of your brain humming, you will meet and connect with new people – which is a great way to find great new ideas.

Hold a Grudge
What annoys you? When you think about the list of things you wish were different, the chances are those things also annoy other people. Keep a running list of all things that bug you and find solutions that will make them better.

Find the Peanut Butter to Your Jelly
Take two ideas and put them together to make one new idea. After all, what is a Snuggie but the mutation of a blanket and a robe? Think beyond the obvious connections to come up with something truly innovative.

Listen to Music
You may find that a little Mozart awakens your creativity, or you may respond better to a little Metallica. Whatever works for you, fire up your iPod, get into the groove, and let your mind work.

Get Physical
Movement increases the flow of endorphins, as well as sending more blood to your brain. OK, I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV, so maybe I do not have all the physical stuff exactly right. However, I do know that getting active helps me think. So, run, skip, jump, climb stairs, or otherwise get your pulse rate up to get your brain moving, too.

Get an Outsiders Opinion
There are times when you are so close to a project that it creates a mental block for idea generation. Bringing in a fresh perspective can make all the difference. Get someone who is not familiar with your situation to ask you questions about it. It may be over dinner with friends, with a colleague at the water cooler, or in line at the grocery store with a stranger. They may ask things that lead you to an idea that you overlooked because it was too obvious. No one around? Imagine that someone is coming to you with the problem you are trying to solve. What would you tell them? Your answer may be the solution you are looking for.

Just Listen
It may sound obvious, but really listen when customers talk to you. When you do, you will hear ideas for new products and services, ways to improve customer service, and uses you never considered for your products that can open up new markets for you. Your customers may not recognize when they are giving you ideas, but you need to be able to spot them. Are several customers making the same comments or asking the same questions? Act on it! You can get great ideas this way!

Change Your Routine
New surroundings and new experiences can help your brain to shift gears and get you to think differently. Drive a new route to work, try a new restaurant for lunch, start work a little earlier (or a little later), work in a different place, or anything that busts you out of your rut.

Take a Shower, Walk the Dog, Do the Laundry
How many great ideas do you get in the shower? It is not a coincidence that great thinking happens in the shower. Showering is a mindless activity and the warm water is relaxing. Other mindless activities are great for brain- storming too. Wash the dishes, walk the dog, or fold the laundry. If you give your mind the chance to wander, you will free yourself to come up with a brilliant idea.

Make a List (and Check it Twice)
This is a tried-and-true method proven to work wonders. Get out a notepad, or fire up your computer, and write down everything you can think about related to your issue. For example, if you need a new slogan for a product, write down every feature and benefit you can think of, the types of people who need the product, the problems it solves, and so on. Pull out a thesaurus and start looking up synonyms.
When you are done, you will not only have your slogan, you will have a library of words and phrases you can use in your marketing and publicity campaigns.

Wear a Silly Hat
Use a prop when it is time to be creative. It could be anything (such as wearing a silly hat) that signals to your brain that it is time to go into idea-generating mode. Have a routine that you follow when you want to be creative. It might be to put on your hat, grab a ball to toss up in the air, and lean back in your chair. Once you are in your 'Creative at Work' position, start coming up with ideas. Do this a few times, and you will be conditioned to start generating ideas as soon as you see the hat. Your brain will have been trained.

Be a Bookworm
Read everything you can get your hands on: business books, novels, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and everything else. The more raw materials you take in, the more you learn, and the more you know, the better you will become at putting together seemingly unrelated concepts to create something new.

Sleep on it
Just before going to bed, think about the ideas you want to generate. Be specific: "I will come up with great ways to promote our new widget." Tell yourself you will come up with a solution while you sleep. Keep a pad and pen or a recorder next to your bed so you can capture the ideas as soon as you wake up.

Ask the Almighty Google
When you are stuck on an idea, try entering a few words related to what you are looking for. Google will try to automatically complete your query, and may come up with just what you need. Then look at some of the search results to see what inspires you.

Doodle
Make random doodles on a white board or piece of paper. Draw, jot words, make circles, or what you do when you doodle. As you loosen up, ideas may start to form on the page.

Forget Everything you Know
Too often, we let our biases creep in and influence our thinking. Start fresh, without preconceived notions of what you must do or what is impossible. Be open to anything and everything.

Borrow an Idea
Everyone thinks that their business is not like anyone else's. The truth is that all of our businesses are more alike than they are different. Look at what others are doing in other industries and see how you can apply their ideas to your own business. If a solution is working for someone else, there is no reason it will not work for you, too. By the time you adapt their idea and tailor it to precisely fit your business, it will be unique.

Hire a Professional
If you are really and truly stuck on something, or if a deadline is rapidly approaching, there is no shame in hiring a little outside help. Hiring a consultant can be a great investment. Often times, they do not even have to come up with the ideas for you. They simply ask the right questions that will lead you to the great idea that is buried in your brain.

I keep up with my great ideas on a word document that I have uploaded to Google Docs. This document holds some of the most creative thoughts I have ever had. I have never shown it to anyone, nor will I, as it contains ideas that might seem silly to other people, but I value it greatly as a place where I can think freely and creatively without criticism.
That is truly the key to coming up with great ideas. You need to free yourself from worry about what other people might say. If you have a place where you can brainstorm and record some of your most outrageous thoughts for getting attention without having to worry about someone else laughing at you, then you will find that it is much easier to be creative and, well, outrageous. And before you know it, your great ideas will be boosting your business.

Jim Kukral is the author of Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue. For over 15 years, Kukral has helped small businesses and large companies like FedEx, Sherwin-Williams, Ernst & Young, and Progressive Auto Insurance understand how to find success on the Web. Kukral is also a professional speaker, blogger, and Web business consultant. Kukral teaches thousands of students around the globe as an adjunct professor for The University of San Francisco's Internet Marketing Program. He has been quoted or featured in some way in online and offline print publications such as Forbes, Brandweek, Entrepreneur, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Inc., Small Business Trends, FeedFront, Revenue Today, Marketing Sherpa, and Duct Tape Marketing Network. www.jimkukral.com; you can also follow Kukral on Twitter @JimKukral.