Use Your HeadBrainstorming and mindmapping techniques can help you tackle your business problems.

Jeanne Lewin, a Frankfort, Illinois, registered occupationaltherapist, didn't set out to start a company; she just wantedto solve a problem. The children Lewin worked with needed a pieceof equipment that would help them improve their motor skills. Ithad to be safe, strong, compact, adjustable and easy to maneuverand disassemble.

To come up with her product idea, Lewin could have sketched whatshe needed and made a prototype. Instead, she used systematic,creative problem-solving techniques to invent a piece of equipmentcalled the Tramble--named after a combination of the words"table" and "ramp"--that encourages children tomove in a fun and playful way. Her product fit the bill so wellthat she has sold more than 500 Trambles to therapists in theUnited States and Europe.