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Hugo134

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Hello everyone,

I have been looking for an idea to start my own business for a while now,but I am struggling quite a bit on finding what is that people actually need/want.

Probably I am overthinking it but I don’t know what to do to go forward.I looked on Twitter,kept my ears open with a producer mindset but I can not find complaints.

Would be nice to see what you guys have to say about this topic.
 
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Kung Fu Steve

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Open your eyes, my friend! They are EVERYWHERE.

Why not simply start with yourself?

What do you need/buy all the time? If you just went through your day and listed out everything you bought / thought about buying / or wished you had access to ... what would that list look like?

Don't think of it in terms of some world-altering thing but simple daily needs or wants.

Would you be up for making a list right here, right now?

Tell us all the things you bought in the last week. Food/clothes/fun stuff/entertainment/etc. etc.
 

MJ DeMarco

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Hello everyone,

I have been looking for an idea to start my own business for a while now,but I am struggling quite a bit on finding what is that people actually need/want.

Probably I am overthinking it but I don’t know what to do to go forward.I looked on Twitter,kept my ears open with a producer mindset but I can not find complaints.

Would be nice to see what you guys have to say about this topic.

So happy to see someone who believes everything in the world is absolutely perfect.

Perfect products, perfect customer service, perfect delivery, perfect prices, perfect function... everything is perfect!
 

Hugo134

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thanks for the fast response guys.

@MJ DeMarco I do not believe that everything is absolutely perfect,far from it.That is the problem,I know I do not need to reinvent the wheel,but I am stuck there...

In response to you @Kung Fu Steve
List of things I bought.
-Food.
-Gas.
-T-shirt and jeans.
-Gym membership.
-Book.
-Spotify/Audible membership.

I find myself wasting so much time on looking for books that are actually worth reading.Sometimes I don´t know what theme to read,I only want something interesting with which I can learn something usefull.
 
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socaldude

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Here’s a clue: Entrepreneurship is one of the economic inputs to production. You are maximizing utility.

Although interestingly it was removed from some college textbooks. And now it’s just land labor and capital. They don’t want entrepreneurs and private ownership LOL.
 

MTF

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Let me give you a simple suggestion...

List a few things you learned in the last year or two. Which of these things were difficult to learn? Did you ever catch yourself thinking "why there's no easier explanation how to do it?" Did you figure it out yourself and now know something that isn't shared so often online?

Also, what items, services, people, etc. you need to do these things? Are any of these lacking, aren't satisfactory for you? Is there any way you can make it better?

I find myself wasting so much time on looking for books that are actually worth reading.Sometimes I don´t know what theme to read,I only want something interesting with which I can learn something usefull.

Then you can think of creating:
  • a book club,
  • a book recommendation app,
  • a book recommendation website,
  • a book blog,
  • a book summary service,
  • a book review YouTube channel.
 

Kung Fu Steve

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List of things I bought.
-Food.
-Gas.
-T-shirt and jeans.
-Gym membership.
-Book.
-Spotify/Audible membership.

I find myself wasting so much time on looking for books that are actually worth reading.Sometimes I don´t know what theme to read,I only want something interesting with which I can learn something usefull.

So not that you would actually get into any of these markets, but it might be a good exercise to go through each category and say:

1. What specifically did I buy?
2. What was already great about it?
3. What could have been better?

New questions get you new answers. Journal out these answers, PHYSICALLY write them down and look at them. You'll start to see opportunities and you probably won't take those opportunities but it will help you see the incredible abundance of stuff you could do.
 
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Kevin88660

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Hello everyone,

I have been looking for an idea to start my own business for a while now,but I am struggling quite a bit on finding what is that people actually need/want.

Probably I am overthinking it but I don’t know what to do to go forward.I looked on Twitter,kept my ears open with a producer mindset but I can not find complaints.

Would be nice to see what you guys have to say about this topic.
Find a few markets that are hot: Many People are paying regularly and frequently for the products and service.

Pick one that you think you can do better than most of the competitors.

Personally I think the best argument to get into the business is “If they can make money here and I can do better than them..”. That saves you the trouble of having to figure out a lot of things.
 

woken

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I find myself wasting so much time on looking for books that are actually worth reading
There you go.



Write more on what you’re wasting time. There’s lots of people in the same boat.
 

Hugo134

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Let me give you a simple suggestion...

List a few things you learned in the last year or two. Which of these things were difficult to learn? Did you ever catch yourself thinking "why there's no easier explanation how to do it?" Did you figure it out yourself and now know something that isn't shared so often online?

Also, what items, services, people, etc. you need to do these things? Are any of these lacking, aren't satisfactory for you? Is there any way you can make it better?



Then you can think of creating:
  • a book club,
  • a book recommendation app,
  • a book recommendation website,
  • a book blog,
  • a book summary service,
  • a book review YouTube channel.
Thank you so much @MTF ,I will definitely think about the things I learned.
So not that you would actually get into any of these markets, but it might be a good exercise to go through each category and say:

1. What specifically did I buy?
2. What was already great about it?
3. What could have been better?

New questions get you new answers. Journal out these answers, PHYSICALLY write them down and look at them. You'll start to see opportunities and you probably won't take those opportunities but it will help you see the incredible abundance of stuff you could do.
That looks like a great exercise,I will write them down.
Find a few markets that are hot: Many People are paying regularly and frequently for the products and service.

Pick one that you think you can do better than most of the competitors.

Personally I think the best argument to get into the business is “If they can make money here and I can do better than them..”. That saves you the trouble of having to figure out a lot of things.
How do you find these markets @Kevin88660 ?Some things that come to my mind are health or entertainment for example.
 
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theOfficialRJ

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What are some tedious tasks in your daily life that you wish you didn't have to do? Make a list of them. It's likely that many other people can relate. Find a way to solve this problem for a large number of people.

For example apps like Instacart and Skip-the-Dishes bring your groceries and food right to your door so that you don't have to leave your house.

When I was working a 9-5, I would always leave filling up my car with gas until the next day when I was driving to work. Because I procrastinate. This would often cause me to be late. I know for a fact that many other people around the world face this same problem. Find a way to solve it. I'm not a golfer, but I'm sure golfers would love a service that regularly delivers golf balls and Ts to their house so they don't have to go shopping for them. This is just off the top of my head. Maybe it already exists. Even if it does, I'm sure you can find ways to do it better.

Another way to find problems to solve (and the way I did it) is to look at your favorite hobby. Whether it's cycling, photography, or bodybuilding; people are always inventing new products, apps, and services to make life easier. But you can't go into it with the intention of making money. Products like Lumecube could have only been invented by another photographer, someone who truly understands the challenges that photographers face. Lumecube could not have been invented by someone who was just looking to become an entrepreneur to escape the rat race. You really have to take an interest in whatever it is, in order to truly understand how to make life easier for people in that particular field of interest.

Good luck!
 

CaptainAmerica

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I'm going to add to this that it's not just solutions to problems that you're having. Find the people you can tolerate as customers, and solve their problems.
 

Hugo134

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Thanks for your insight @theOfficialRJ.

I will make that list and hopefully I can get something usefull out of it.

By the way I didn't know about Lumecube,it is remarkable to be honest.
 
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Hugo134

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I'm going to add to this that it's not just solutions to problems that you're having. Find the people you can tolerate as customers, and solve their problems.
That's what I need,problems to solve.
 

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Needs can be pretty simple, sometimes its just a matter of finding products, services, or materials that benefit a group of end-users.

For example: plumbers probably need a fair amount of tooling and accessories.
Same for construction managers.
And sous chefs.
And fashion designers.

All the above place orders on a weekly basis, in fact some of them daily.

Be the guy who they buy from.
 
G

Guest-5ty5s4

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You could also identify a need in your market. Let's say your town has no grocery store - the nearest one is 20 minutes away. I bet the residents don't like that very much!

You could open the only grocery store in town and work your a$$ off to expand as time goes on. This is a slower method than building an app that reach millions in the first year though, so it might not be as exciting.

We all came here for the fast ideas anyway ;)

That being said, a grocery store chain can make you a billionaire.
 
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bibbysoka

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I'll throw you some ideas off the top of my head.

The parking lot I have to use for work in front of my office downtown doesn't have an option to pay for parking online ahead of time. I have to physically walk across the lot, use my card, print a ticket and put it on my car.

Here in the midwest, it gets extremely cold and driveways are covered in snow and ice. My neighbor has a herniated disc and won't be able to shovel or plow the snow in his driveway.

The family owned bakery that I like to visit has a website with no pictures of their amazing doughnuts or cookies - just old a$$ pictures from when they first created their site with someone sketchy.


Find flaws, find solutions.
 

Hugo134

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So @Itizn if I understood well your approach is more of a supplier than an inventor?

Haha @thechosen1 we want the fastlane :)
 

Hugo134

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I'll throw you some ideas off the top of my head.

The parking lot I have to use for work in front of my office downtown doesn't have an option to pay for parking online ahead of time. I have to physically walk across the lot, use my card, print a ticket and put it on my car.

Here in the midwest, it gets extremely cold and driveways are covered in snow and ice. My neighbor has a herniated disc and won't be able to shovel or plow the snow in his driveway.

The family owned bakery that I like to visit has a website with no pictures of their amazing doughnuts or cookies - just old a$$ pictures from when they first created their site with someone sketchy.


Find flaws, find solutions.
Here in europe,where I live,we have to do the same regarding parking.It is quite annoying when you think about it.

Thank you so much for your insight!
 
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bibbysoka

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Here in europe,where I live,we have to do the same regarding parking.It is quite annoying when you think about it.

Thank you so much for your insight!

Maybe you could build a website that allows parking lots to take payment online?
 

Hugo134

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Maybe you could build a website that allows parking lots to take payment online?
I made some surface research and it turns out that you can have a device,called Viat,with which you can pay wireless.The parking lot scans your number plate when you arrive,then when you want to leave it scans it again and charges it directly to your bank account.It is the same device used to pay tolls on highways.Not all of the parking lots have that tech,though and not everyone has that device.Maybe something can be done about it.
 

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The supply chain and logistics industry is broken.....there is a housing shortage.......people are too lazy to cook....the restaurant industry sucks....there aren't enough QUALITY retirement/assisted facility homes.....customer service in general sucks everywhere.

I can do this all day. Stay away from the Youtube money/blogging/affiliate marketing. I'm sure people are doing well with those, but we need people to really step up to the plate and create products and services that don't suck. My wife is starting another business as we speak. There weren't any good stores in our area that cater to ethnic hair care....voila !
 
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Agoleglo

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The supply chain and logistics industry is broken.....there is a housing shortage.......people are too lazy to cook....the restaurant industry sucks....there aren't enough QUALITY retirement/assisted facility homes.....customer service in general sucks everywhere.

I can do this all day. Stay away from the Youtube money/blogging/affiliate marketing. I'm sure people are doing well with those, but we need people to really step up to the plate and create products and services that don't suck. My wife is starting another business as we speak. There weren't any good stores in our area that cater to ethnic hair care....voila !
In order to find something you will succeed at, you have to find something you're good at. I haven't had time to read this entire thread so I am going off your first post. I know I need leads. What I need is to pay a small amount for leads for business opportunities to be sent to me .. example

I am looking for contracts for self employment after my day job, I contact your app or website and pay a fee, you then send me ten contacts of people looking for services I offer. It's just an idea and all I can give you but if we all give our ideas, we might be able to help someone in our group.

C
 
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KindRibEye

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So happy to see someone who believes everything in the world is absolutely perfect.

Perfect products, perfect customer service, perfect delivery, perfect prices, perfect function... everything is perfect!
Maybe he can sell people delusion that everything is fine.
A Stoic for the 21st century?
I'd certainly part with $20 to believe everything was great.........
 

B.Cotter

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I have been looking for an idea to start my own business for a while now,but I am struggling quite a bit on finding what is that people actually need/want.
Every vehicle driving down the road with a company name printed on it is fulfilling a need. Don't worry about reinventing the wheel. Take a proven concept, find the current competition's weak points and improve on those. Value skew.

One thing that has really helped me lately has been listening to podcasts. I really like The Side Hustle Show, and other podcasts that interview entrepreneurs that started small and scaled. Many of them running into their own compounding needs in the process, then starting new businesses to adequately solve and manage those problems. You can bet if you're running a business and your problems don't have any adequate solutions, everyone else in that same space is having those problems and needs the same solution.
 
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Wojnaradam

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Finding an idea (product or service) does not have to be so painful.
I never started anything new at all. My “discovery” was always around something I had deeper knowledge about and added some other component. Basicaly mixing tohether two or thee services together.

1. Example: real estate (Sharehouse subletting) with providing jobs for foreigners and great content on Youtube and ebooks to drive customers in. Not bad “idea” for something that was not new at all.

Second example: property podcast (based on my own investing experience and business from my 1st example) mixing it with online courses, ebooks, consultations and getting leads from my database. Then provide house sales and investing for clients as usual real estate broker (totally outsourced to my friends who own real estate companies). Sounds complicated but it is not.

Look for areas where you already have deep experience and mix it with something. Also, find out if it is needed in the market place test, analyze, adjust, test, analyze…

Sorry for mistakes. On my way through Austria to Italy for skiing. Roads are litelarly empty! People took Covid restrictions really seriously. It makes me wonder what they are doing on Sat morning? Surfing internet and watching shit. I thing that offering them something that keeps them engaged and provide value would be good idea for a new product :)

Good luck
 
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Hugo134

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Nice one @Wojnaradam .
I am 21 so I do not have lots of experience on anything in particular,I am studying to become a mechanical engineer,my biggest passion is sport cars.But to be honest I do not know how to turn that into value.
I am okay with working on something that is not my passion as long as it is needed.
 

Ing

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You could also identify a need in your market. Let's say your town has no grocery store - the nearest one is 20 minutes away. I bet the residents don't like that very much!

You could open the only grocery store in town and work your a$$ off to expand as time goes on. This is a slower method than building an app that reach millions in the first year though, so it might not be as exciting.

We all came here for the fast ideas anyway ;)

That being said, a grocery store chain can make you a billionaire.
A friend did this. He needed the time of a generation for it. (30 yrs)
 
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Wojnaradam

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Nice one @Wojnaradam .
I am 21 so I do not have lots of experience on anything in particular,I am studying to become a mechanical engineer,my biggest passion is sport cars.But to be honest I do not know how to turn that into value.
I am okay with working on something that is not my passion as long as it is needed.
It is important to get experience before starting business. Without exp. it might be very long learning process and you will pay for it. By working for some one else you get exp. and also get paid.

I didn't start my business until I was 26 yr. Business was based on 7 years of experience. I moved 10 times and switched jobs 13 times within 7 years. I was so sick of another change so my only way was to start a business. This is how I new a lot about accommodation in shared houses and how to help others find job in foreign country. Because it was my struggle first then I could help others :)

Two of my friends started at 21 accounting business. They studied accounting for 3 years. Then started their own business. Both of my friends parents were in accounting business also so they had strong family background which helps. Ten years later, they are millionaires through other business that accounting helped them to get (property, job agency...).

Another friend started at 19 yr in properties. She was studying and working. Saving lots of money and bought first investment flat. Ten years later, she has biggest property investment teaching business in my country and lots of properties that generate nice income.

Hope it makes some sense.

I'm sure you will find something you already know or start acquiring experience asap for your business :thumbsup:

I didn't say anything about passion by the way... I loved ice hockey and I also played for 11 years. I was never top player. I'm not biggest fan of passion as a business.

A.
 

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