Think, Refine, and Research

Spend more time researching and creating your strategy over chasing the market for your share of the pie.

Understand the Space You’re In

Start by looking at the space and checking out the competition.

Surprisingly, this is something a lot of people skip. Understandably, you’re probably excited about this new idea and just want to get started on building the solution, or you’re afraid of finding another product or service very similar to your idea. The latter doesn’t matter much because execution is everything and building on existing business models is great because you have an existing market to tap into and learnings you can borrow from. You’ve only got to look at Ola competing against Uber or Stayz with Airbnb.

Which brings me on to my first question.

Has it been done already?

Coming up with ideas these days is like [insert something that happens every day here] because for every solution provided there are more problems created. So, if it’s a great idea and it’s been done already:

Don’t let the competition deter you
Learn from their story
Research and come in from a different angle

Just because your friends said it’s a great idea, is it really?

If you’ve been telling people you know and love about your idea and haven’t heard a single negative thing, it’s either because:

They love you too much to tell you it’s not good
They don’t really know what else to tell you

Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter what they think, what you think or what I think; It’s all about what your target audience thinks and if they need it. Your primary goal is to deeply understand your potential consumer, their habits and their needs by simply speaking to them. You’ll gain valuable information that will validate or invalidate your ideas, and give you a direction to pursue.

What to Do

Researching and understanding if your idea is going to work is pivotal. It’s about facing the facts and testing the idea with the audience you’re trying to engage with. It’s easy to say you “haven’t got the cash” to research but it’s even easier to say “I’m broke” after 6 months because you’ve pushed development of an idea without the research.

Research and understand the market for your idea
Check out your competition and strategize on how you can be different
Connect with your potential consumers and see if their needs match up with your idea