This morning I heard Mike Eppel from 680 news discussing how those big home improvement stores are  falling out of favour and may have reached their saturation point. This Toronto Star article quotes Rona’s CFO, Claude Guévin, saying that “Young people … want to get in and out fast and they value good service.”

How might this news story springboard into a coaching article? Let’s see:

• Marketing coach: Top 10 ways to distinguish yourself as a coach in a saturated market
• Career coach: Top 10 customer service strategies that will keep them coming back
• Life coach: Batching – 10 Ways to save time by grouping your errands together
• Spirituality coach: Top 10 reasons that more is not necessarily better
• Money coach: Vote with your feet – Reward the businesses that are aligned with your values
• Executive coach: Top 10 ways to stay ahead of the trends in your industry

Writing Prompt: Review the news story and article titles and brainstorm any connections to your own readers, clients and prospective clients. I’d love hear what you were inspired to write – please comment below and let me know! Feel free to include a link to your article.

I would have loved to be in Ottawa yesterday to catch a glimpse of President Barack Obama, though I have to say I was much warmer and more comfortable watching it indoors on my TV.

Imagine strolling around the Byward Market, when all of a sudden the motorcade stops and there he is! (Read the story.)

Here are my suggestions for how you can use this story as a springboard for your own article or blog post, depending on what kind of coaching you do:

• Executive coach: Management by wandering around – Get out of the C-Suite and walk around the office once in awhile!
• Business coach: Everyone loves a surprise – 10 ways to delight your clients with extra value
• Family coach: Missing you – Make separation easier by bringing a piece of your trip home with you
• Life coach: Invite the unexpected – Top 10 reasons to look up from your to do list
• Career coach: Put your best work forward – How to stay front of mind for promotions and other special opportunties

Writing prompt: Use one of these suggestions, vary it for your own audience (please comment below with links – I'd love to see what you do), or check your local, national and international news for others stories that spark article or blog post ideas for you. 

Welcome to a new feature here at Idea Generator. If I see an interesting news story, I'll suggest article (or blog post) angles for different types of coaches. Please let me know what you think – was this helpful?

The news story I'm using today is one that came out on Monday, titled "Food costs vary widely across Canada, forcing some to forgo healthy choices." [Update December 18, 2012 – Link is no longer active.]

How can you use this news story as inspiration for an article or blog post? Here are some suggestions:

• Health coach: 10 reasons to invest in your health
• Family coach: 10 reasons to make time for dinner together
• Parenting coach: 10 ways to get your kids to eat healthier
• Money coach: 10 ways to find money for what's important
• Clutter coach: 10 ways to organize your pantry and make the most of what you've got
• Career coach: 10 ways to ask for a raise to meet your increasing costs of living

Quick Writing Prompt: Whether or not you actually link to the news story, use these potential topic ideas to brainstorm some of your own.