If i tried to make a hot air balloon backpack my business would have been virtually guaranteed to fail the truth is the sky isn't the limit with all business ideas so many startups set themselves up for failure with two critical errors they make the wrong bet and build a product that no one wants this is called not having product market fit or they pick a product that is extremely hard to execute and leaves customers disappointed in this module i'm going to take you through the process to find product ideas and validate them this exact process that i use for my company view it's meant to maximize your chances for success let's dive in come up with a business idea one of the best places to start is by looking at your own life for problems that you experience write those down here's a business truth that you need to internalize people don't buy products they buy solutions think about it you buy advil because you want to stop having headaches you buy a cashmere sweater because you want to look suave and other sweaters feel itchy starting with a problem you've directly experienced gives you a personal connection to the solution it's always helpful to be able to understand the mindset of customers from the inside once you've identified a problem write down your unique ideas to solve it next brainstorm some ways that are currently being used to solve the problem what's wrong with the current solutions do they have bad branding are they ineffective how could you make a product that provided a better solution when you identify a gap between customer desires and existing solutions that's when you have a real winner for view this was the problem i was having trouble staying focused during deep work sessions like when writing scripts the other solutions like coffee and energy drinks gave me a burst of energy but they also gave me the caffeine jitters and made it hard to sleep after doing a deep dive it turned out that an alternative existed functional mushrooms like lion's mane cordyceps and reishi have been used for thousands of years to help increase concentration and keep the mind calm after some research i realized that there were other functional mushroom products on the market but most of them tasted terrible.

I realized that if i could make a more effective product that also tasted delicious then i'd be on to something see how that worked. coming up with a business idea is a creative process so don't be afraid to switch between research mode where you can get inspired in synthesis mode where you can freely make connections where does your mind wander for me it's alone on a walk albert einstein had some of his best ideas while shaving so carve out some time this is where connections begin to happen another way to find product ideas is to identify passionate communities online that you can build products around sneaker heads minimalists bodybuilders skiers gamers and cosplayers there's a rich diversity of passionate communities that want products that help them do what they love or that align with their values sometimes great product ideas are simply the result of taking an existing product and marketing it to a new community try identifying a community and brainstorming what value you could add to their lives at view i was already part of the productivity community i tried products like standing desks and techniques like the pomodoro method and read books like atomic habit when brainstorming communities think about the type of people that you hang out with and the content that you love to consume turn to your favorite social media sites to find out what types of communities you already engage with go with the community that you know well it will make everything so much easier if you can't identify any problems or communities off the top of your head don't worry we've created the big list of business ideas to get the wheels turning on top of that you can use consumer research resources to get inspiration like metaphorsite trend hunter think with google or nielsen consumer research once you have an idea you're going to want to run it through these filters that are meant to stress tests and hopefully validate your idea to solving this problem and improving this group of people's lives truly excite you passion is an important factor because the only way to excel at business is to truly be in it for the customers caring about the customers is what will drive you to ask questions to make connections and take the actions that make you thrive your passion for customers and your mission is going to keep you motivated through the valleys that you need to cross to win most people think entrepreneurship looks like this but in truth it actually looks like this is the idea economically viable economic viability is an equally important ingredient to a successful product because it's how you make your idea real how do you know if it will make bank well ask yourself these five follow-up questions does a market already exist some people think they shouldn't pursue a product idea because it's already been done before on the contrary other companies doing what you do is actually a good thing it's proof turning your product idea into a successful business is possible how much money do these competitors generate simply type the business name into google with the word revenue beside it sometimes you can find revenue shared on sites like pitchbook or press releases the more revenue they generate the more economically viable the idea is if revenue data isn't available check their linkedin page you can use the number of employees as a proxy for revenue more employees equals more revenue how much do competitors sell each product for higher prices means more potential for profit and that's important to take into account because profits what's going to power your marketing if products are too cheap shipping costs can become prohibitive and that might force you to sell in bulk however premium products over a thousand dollars sometimes require more complex sales cycles and customer support products over fifty dollars and under 200 live in that sweet spot for online sales if your first major business milestone is to make ten thousand dollars in revenue per month do some quick math to determine how many units you need to sell to make that happen how much upfront investment does your idea require every entrepreneur knows you need to spend money to make money the question is what level of investment works best for your situation and experience certain businesses where you design and manufacture products have minimum order quantities meaning you must commit to a big batch at once other businesses like print on demand or drop shipping require very little upfront investment since your partners fulfill orders as you sell them if you plan on making the product yourself you're going to want to have a rough idea of how much it's going to cost you in materials and manufacturing how often will customers repurchase repeat customers are one of the most important growth factors for two reasons it costs way less to market them meaning more profit on those sales this also means that new customers are helping you grow instead of replacing old ones some products are only purchased once every decade other products need to be repurchased monthly does it have a growing market size describes the number of possible customers market size is directly related to your ability to grow first type in the product ideas category followed by the keyword market size into google you'l be able to see how much money the market earns annually and projections for the future then head over to google trends and type in your specific product idea you'l see a graph of search trends that will give you a good understanding of whether the market is growing flatlining or on a downswing next use a keyword tool like ubersuggest or google keyword planner to get an idea of how many people are searching for your product per month is it a seasonal product well on google trends pay attention to if there are seasonal spikes for example products tied to holidays or weather go through big spikes and deep valleys it's good to know this right away because if you choose a seasonal product you'l need other products to round at the year is your product a need or a desire need base products like dishwasher detergent have an edge when it comes to ease of sales why well your choice isn't should i or shouldn't i buy it's should i buy this one or should i buy that one desire-based products like high-end fashion or hobbyist products can be extremely successful but they require more aspirational marketing how complex would it be to make and get the product to customers as entrepreneurs we're not really judged based on our vision if we were elizabeth holmes wouldn't be in prison right now great business ideas are a dime a dozen what really defines an entrepreneur is their ability to execute the complexity of your business will have a big effect on your ability to scale quick definition here scale is not the same thing as growth is about your business's ability to attract new customers scale is your ability to increase revenue faster than your costs fewer people inventory equipment and overhead costs that you need the more scalable your product idea is can the product be easily found locally if you're selling your products online you don't want to choose a product that's easy to pick up around the corner usually people turn to the internet when finding something locally is impossible or inconvenient how easy will it be to ship you need to consider the size and weight of your product idea as this is going to affect the shipping costs you're also going to need to take in account durability fragile products will require more packaging what's your product's shelf life some products are perishable and the clock starts ticking from the moment they are created spoilage can really eaten to your bottom line so the shorter your product's life the faster you're going to need to sell and ship it choosing the right product to sell will shape your entire business your branding marketing shipping pricing and more will all be influenced by this decision so do your research and take your time hopefully this got your gears turning and you're on your way to creating a product that customers will love and that you're equally excited to start selling this might feel like espionage.

But it's the only way to get an edge and stop our competitors from eating us alive we're going to conduct a competitor analysis together but first you'l need to understand the three types of competition.