Innovation
Starting a business but don’t know what to sell? This post might help you decide.
For example James Dyson thought his vacuum cleaner sucked – well actually that was the problem – it didn’t suck too well at all – that lead James to create what would become a revolution in vacuum cleaner design.
Some people spend years thinking about what they are going to do if they leave their day job.
Many think so much that they never start.
Well to help you may I present a piece of advice that I and many others believe is the ultimate and only way to be successful at starting your own business.
So lets lead in with a question for you.
Is there anything in your life be it product or service that you think you can improve on?
For example James Dyson thought his vacuum cleaner sucked – well actually that was the problem – it didn’t suck too well at all – that lead James to create what would become a revolution in vacuum cleaner design.
The team at 37signals thought all the project management software on the market was crap so they built there own. They called it Basecamp and now its used by millions.
Closer to home we built our own bulk email marketing software to send our email newsletter to subscribers because we thought all the existing products were crap. Our clients found out about it and wanted to use it as well and so Mobilize Mail was born.
The key is that the most successful products ever created were from people fixing a pain they had – not someone else’s pain but their own. Only you know how to fix your pain so whatever solution you create will work. The great part about fixing your own pain is that many other people around the world will also have the same pain as you. That means people are seeking your ‘cure’.
This bit of advice is not limited to software or expensive vacuum cleaners – it can be something as simple as a “Post-It” note or a better way to trim garden hedges.
So instead of thinking what existing product you should sell start thinking about a pain you have and how you can solve it. There are a lot of people in this world so your pain will be someone else’s pain and they want a cure.
What should I sell in 2018?
We took our inspiration from the article to create an updated version: What should my new business sell?
