Niche down hard

It seems like one of the hardest things for entrepreneurs to do is to focus their target market. Most entrepreneurs seem to want to focus on the mass market and have everybody as their target market.

In most cases however, you don’t need everybody as customers, and you will also find out, that customers have very different needs and tastes.

An alternative strategy is to really niche down you market and focus on a very narrow niche and develop a solution that fits this very specific niche. This will make you an expert in a  very specific niche, and you will be able to have a very loyal customer group that is big enough for you, but too small for a big company to fokus on.

Filed under: ideas, customer, ideas, niche, segments, user

Are you a lead user?

Being a lead user of a product is a good basis for stating a business – or at least for developing the business idea.

If you are a very enthusiastic user of a type of products – and especially if you are an upfront lead user – you have an understanding of the problems and frustrations that users face. And if you are a lead user, you will know the problems that less advanced users will face in the future.

If you were one of the first people to buy an iPad or a Kindle-reader, you might already have a lot of experience in how people will be using tablets and what they are not suited for.

So where do you already have user experience that the majority of people will only have in years from now? Or where do you just have enough user and customer experience to really understand the frustrations of customers.

Filed under: ideas, customer, ideas, problem, user

Find somebody to help

In your search for a problem to solve, it can be very inspiring to identify somebody to help. This actually means finding your target market before you know what your business idea is.

This might be contradictory to the way we usually think about new an innovative ideas, but there are a few good reasons to do this as an entrepreneur. And whether they are aware of it or not, a lot of entrepreneurs do it this way.

First of all, it forces you to think about a target group that you actually know! Most entrepreneurs know their first customers, because buying from a new business is a matter of trust. So knowing people in your target group gives you a better chance of success in the startup phase. And by knowing your taget group, there is a better chance, that you will actually be able to come up with a solution that they will actually use – and buy.

Another point is, that you will start focusing on real peoples problems and not just the problems of a big abstract market.

And finally you will be able to choose your customers from the start in stead of launching a product, where you will have to take the customers that choose you. Having the right customers is of course a mater of sales and profits, but it is also very much a matter of how much your enjoy the work with your customers. As a startup you are in very close contact with them on a daily basis – and they will all want to speak to you personally.

In my own business I have worked for entrepreneurs and small businesses, but also with big corporations and public institutions like universities. And I tell you, there is a big difference…

So here’s what to do: In the field where you are passionate,  ask yourself: Which segments have a problem to solve? And who would you like to work with?

When you have identified one or more segments, it is time to learn more about them to understand their real problems.

Filed under: ideas, customer, ideas, market, problem, segments

Be problem alert

Looking for problems to solve is the obvious way to think about new business ideas. Every problem is a business opportunity – if the problem is so big, that people will want to pay others to solve it.

To some problems there are already solutions, but some solutions are not good enough and if you are lucky, they don’t even exist.

If you have thought about your passion and identified a field, where you are particularly passionate, I recommend you to look for problems there.

As I have mentioned before, I am very passionate about cycling, so I might look for problems within cycling: What problems do riders have with their equipment (bikes, clothes, maintenance etc.)? What problems do they have during races (food, drink, crashes, heat, rain etc.)? What problems do they have, when it comes to nutrition, training right, training in winter time etc.)? Or I could look at cycling from another angle: What problems do race organizers experience? What problems do cycle tourists experience? And what about the fans?

You see?! Even in a narrow field you can search in many different places for hundreds of potential problems. So if you want to become an entrepreneur and search for a problem, I recommend you to start in a field, where you are passionate. Not only for the sake of your passion, but because focus is a crucial step in the proces. Just searching for a problem is like saying “I want to write a book”, and then open a new document in Word on your laptop. There is just a big white screen and not words to build on.

Filed under: ideas, ideas, passion, problem

How do you spend your time?

It is sometimes difficult to decide what is actually your passion. If you spend most of your time working passionately on something, you will know, but if you are stuck in a job or in studies that you are not 100%  passionate about, you might not have found your passion yet.

In that situation it could be very relevant to look at the way you spend the time, that others don’t control.

• What do you do, when you have extra time on your job or in your studies?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What do you do in holidays?

Is there a certain topic that you study extra hard? Are there certain things, that you try do do as much as possible? Are there things, that you maybe think you do too much, because you enjoy it?

If you do this little exercise, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Don’t pretend to be spending your time on sensible things if your are not.

Even if you only relax on the couch or watch television. What do your read? What do you watch?

Looking at how your spend your time might give you an idea about where your energy is going. That is what passion is about!

Filed under: ideas

Look at yourself for ideas

If you can do anything you will end up doing nothing. Searching for a business idea is a matter of narrowing you search. It’s like writhing a story. With a white sheet of paper it can be difficult to get started. What should be the first paragraph. But as soon as you have written the first paragraph, it will inspire you to the next, and there will be a lot of directions you can’t take from there.

One way to be more focused in your search is simply to look at yourself.

• Do you have a hobby or a passion?
• What are you good at – or at least experienced in? And what do you enjoy doing?
• What would you really like to learn something about?
• Where would you like to test yourself?

I personally have a passion for cycling, and I have seen many ways of transforming that passion into a business: Opening a bike shop (online or offline) of course, but also starting a cycling magazine, a cycling website, being a freelance massage therapist for cycling teams, arranging trips for cyclists to famous places or good training terrain, arranging races or even starting a professional cycling team.

To start with a passion is a strong driver and will keep you motivated, but it is not alway about the ultimate passion. Sometimes it can simply be about giving yourself a challenge. A lot of entrepreneurs that I have met have had a strong will to show the world what they were capable of. Especially if their bosses didn’t give them the credit that they deserved.

Your search for ideas can even start with something that you want to learn more about. Starting a business i the ultimate way to learn. A friend of mine bought a camera, some good lenses and Adobe Photoshop and started taking pictures. Then he started selling footages and working freelance for other photographers and after a few years he opened hos own studio. He learned everything along the way.

Starting with yourself is a good starting point in your search for ideas, since you are the essential person in your business. Passion and skills combined will make things a lot easier – and if you are passionate, it will still be fun when you are struggling and don’t earn money.

Filed under: ideas, ideas, passion

Where do I get the right idea?

A lot of people use the excuse, that they haven’t come up with the right business idea yet. The walk around waiting for the right idea, and when it suddenly pops up in their head, the find another excuse to avoid action.

Actually asking for the right idea is the wrong question. Your ultimate idea is maybe only going to come, when you have been working as an entrepreneur for ten years. When you have developed your business and leadership skills and when you truly understand what you really want – and what your customers want.

So what you should go for in the beginning is not the ultimate idea, but a reasonably good idea, that can make a reasonable profit and that you would love to work on right now. Remember, your first idea is not a choice for life. You will change it many times anyway during the first years – or even months.

But I know that you are looking for good ideas, so let’s get started. I will give you a handful of simple ways to start your search for ideas:

• Look at yourself - do something you are passionate about, good at or already involved in.
• Be problem alert – see everyday problems as business opportunities.
• Find somebody to help – choose your customers before the idea.
• Niche down hard – identify a narrow niche and let the big companies serve the mass market.
• Look for changes – try to spot trends in the world around you.

If you have patience, I will elaborate a bit on these approaches….

Filed under: ideas, ideas

Quick trendspotting

Trenspotting is a great way to get inspiration for new business ideas, but don’t spend too much time on making y0ur own research, when there are a lot of other people out there gathering information – and keeping eyes open.

Trendwatching.com collects information on trends from 8000 users. They are not necessarily professionals, but they probably got two eyes and two ears like the rest of us.

There is a lot of free material on the website, but they don’t give away everything.

Filed under: ideas, Topics, trends

Inspiration for business ideas

After a quick warm up in the first couple of lectures, we are now entering the phase of creating business ideas. Our own brainstorming might lead to “the next big thing”, but why not get inspired from what others have already thought.

Springwise.com has 8000 users spread around the world to spot new business ideas, that might be The Next Big Thing. At least thats their ambition.

Feel free to copy and steal within the law and reasonable ethics

Filed under: ideas, trends