Struggling with Business Ideas? Do This One Thing to Never Run Out of Fastlane Opportunities

[MTF]

Thank you for your positive feedback, guys.

MTF mentions to use the IBISWorld site to do your market research, which I think is great if you're willing to pay.

I didn't pay for it. What's available for free is also very useful.

 

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[Oztrepreneur]

Theres an idea for me right there....I am sure I can provide industry reports at a fraction of the cost of the IBIS ones. Angle them to budding entrepreneurs, provide info around entering the market etc. Here in Aus a single report is $995 or 10 for $1250!

 

[OverByte]

@MTF - first off want to say thanks for kicking off this thread. There is some great information in here!

Now I know this thread is a bit old but this seemed the most fitting place to post my question before putting it in a new thread.

I'm currently trying to validate an idea for a service (B2B) I have. In order to validate I looked at some of the other player's offerings and saw what I consider to be some holes. I'm trying now to figure out if their customers (businesses I believe to use these services) actually do use these services and are currently unhappy with the level of service they are getting.

So my process so far has been to google for some companies I believe likely use this service and ask them some questions.

My problem: It seems so simple but how do you guys find contact information for these companies? So far I have been browsing LinkedIn to find out who works there. The emails are never publicly available so I try to google for their name and come up with some hit. I've had very limited success so far.

Googling "how to find email addresses" has yielded some interesting results like introducing me to services like "rapportive" where you can basically trial and error email addresses john.doe@company.com and if it turns out to be the one they LinkedIn their linked in profile, their profile information will show up. However, this (and some other methods I have tried) seem to no longer work - again likely because of increasing privacy restrictions in software.

So while I continue to beat down this path of my own research I figured some fastlaners here probably already have been down this path and could save me a good chunk of time.

So I ask - when you have a company you want to contact and have determined a name there who you want to contact - how do you get their contact details to actually reach out?

As an aside - I'm sure this varies with the questions you are looking to validate but do you typically aim high up the food chain for the individuals you are contacting (ie CTO, CEO)? or do you have more success with the lower levels (ie engineers, marketers, etc)?

For me, I'm aiming for Program Managers since they likely have to fund the service in question and so I think they would know the quams with it. But I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MTF]

So I ask - when you have a company you want to contact and have determined a name there who you want to contact - how do you get their contact details to actually reach out?

I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but the simplest way is to call the company and ask for it. Some will probably reject you (by telling you to send an email to a generic info address), but some should be happy to point you in the right direction or even give you the phone number of the person you want to reach.

As an aside - I'm sure this varies with the questions you are looking to validate but do you typically aim high up the food chain for the individuals you are contacting (ie CTO, CEO)? or do you have more success with the lower levels (ie engineers, marketers, etc)?

Always decision makers first, or as close to them as possible. You're wasting your time talking with the lower levels since they can't decide anyway.

 

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[MTF]

The Dirty Truth about Business Ideas (Plus a Bazillion New Business Ideas)

Fact: most of your business ideas can work as long as you're not calling your new business a "startup" (just kidding*).

Reality: your business won't build itself. I.e., it's not about ideas, it's about execution, and particularly about marketing (no idea matters if you can't make sales).

I'm going to contradict myself and say that idea extraction is not really that necessary in many cases. You can launch an MVP in 7 days or less (tip: do everything manually) and validate in a proper way whether it can work or not.

The problem with idea extraction and pre-selling is that most clients won't pre-order your product, but it doesn't mean they won't buy it when it's available for sale.

A simple product and a little hustle to get your first clients (instead of spending weeks on idea extraction) is very often a much better way to get your business off the ground.

Okay, I made one thing much simpler for you as I know that idea extraction is intimidating to many people. Now, on to business ideas...

Some newbie entrepreneurs associate coming up with business ideas with something that has to be extremely creative. If you don't come up with an original idea that sounds "cool" or inventive, you don't have a good business idea. That's BS. As long as the business idea fits your personality (and that's a thing many entrepreneurs don't really think about before it's too late) and somebody else is already making money with it, you can make money with it, too.

Case in point...

A Never-Ending Source of New Business Ideas

Two words: productized services.

Find a service people for which people are already paying and do it a little bit better. It doesn't even have to be something extraordinary. Guaranteed turnaround, quick response, different positioning (the Ferrari of the industry vs Fiat) and plain old work ethic - each of these things is enough to differentiate yourself.

Launching a company offering productized services (or usually, just one service) is one of the easiest ways to start a business (a Fastlane one at that). Here are some ideas off the top of my head (some inspired by this episode and their other episodes):

• pick one part of running an online business and offer to perform one specific task most entrepreneurs don't like to do/don't know how to do. Setting up a membership site (I can't even begin to tell you what a pain in the a$$ it is for a non-technical person), setting up CRM software, setting up autoresponders/newsletters, cleaning up SEO, split testing - there are literally hundreds of tasks you can specialize in. If you pick a problem that's common for most online entrepreneurs, you'll have almost infinite scale. What's cool about this business idea is that you don't need any money to test it - just a simple website and some hustle to get your first clients. You can learn the skill first and perform it by yourself or outsource the task while overseeing the entire project.
• offer peace of mind. WPCurve guarantees that if you have any problems with WordPress, they'll fix them quickly. There are few things more annoying for a non-technical person than random errors. A similar idea - http://designpickle.com/ for small design jobs. Another good way to reduce the burden for a non-design, non-technical person.
• build a business around a specific, popular solution. WPCurve does it for WordPress, ShopifyNinjas do it for Shopify. This one can violate the commandment of control, but it shouldn't be an issue as long as you pick a very popular solution that's not going anywhere.
• services for new online businesses. Writing about pages, creating short about us videos or product videos, setting up social media properties and filling them with initial content. New entrepreneurs are already confused enough and many of them would like to delegate some of these tasks right away.
  
• "x in a box" type of a service. Tucker Max is doing it with Book in a Box. You can do it with a podcast, video series, video courses, membership sites, blogs, and virtually any other platform.
• "let's help you save a lot of time on boring tasks" type of a service. Let's say a well-known person wants to write a blog, but she doesn't have time or doesn't enjoy proofreading, editing, formatting, looking for the right image, and posting the post on her blog. Why not offer her a service that will turn her raw post (sent in an email or a .txt file) into a proper, professionally-edited, well-formatted SEO-optimized article and post it on her blog on her behalf?

Seriously guys, it's probably one of the simplest ways to start a business. If you already have a marketable skill, it's going to be even easier. If not, learn it or learn just enough to make sure your contractor is doing a good job and focus exclusively on marketing (which is IMO much more difficult than coming up with business ideas).

* I'm actually being half-serious. More often than not, people talking about startups (especially mobile apps) are creating stuff nobody needs or wants. Don't be one of them. Offer something of value.

 

[MTF]

Follow-up to my previous post: learn how I started my productized services company in 2 days.

 

[MTF]

Go Where the Explosive Growth Is

I wasn't entirely sure where to post it, but in the end I posted it in my other thread. Click the link above to check it - I think it's also relevant to this thread as it gives yet another way to find viable, proven business ideas.

 

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[BookWorm88]

I've found that just taking a pen & paper then reflecting on the biggest problems and issues you have encountered in your past is very effective for getting some ideas flowing. Whether it is in jobs you previously had or just everyday things that got in the way.

Also creating a map of the people you know by drawing it out on paper, is a great tool to be able to physically see everyone you know and the industries they are involved in. Then you can simply touch base with them and ask them what their biggest struggles are in their business or everyday life.

Everyone has an invisible sign hanging on their back saying "make me feel good". I think it's a matter of connecting with people and seeing how you can add value to their life and make things simpler for them. Because if they have a problem, there are 7 + billion other people out there who may also have that problem if they have not encountered a solution.

 

[Chitown]

In my interviewing of vacation rental companies for one of my business concepts, one company found customer retention, recognition and welcome packet creation to be such a hassle that they were willing to pay five figures for development of a SaaS solution if I managed the build process. They were then going to help me sell it to other vacation rental companies. I'd be happy to do an email introduction with the business owner for the right person here.

@throttleforward,

Did anyone take you up on your offer?

 

[Chitown]

@NoLackey nice....and people get hung up on business names..lol. If you offer great value and it's what people want, name it whatever you want.

@Bigguns50,

Great point! Exhibit: GOOGLE

 

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[Chitown]

LOL bro, you will not believe how many people unfollowed me after I made the post in the "astonishing secrets of zen*******" thread where I explained how if you blindly follow a system, you will ultimately fail. I win the gold medal for losing a record number of followers with one amazingly truthful post.
The Astonishing Secrets That zen******* Never Told You…Exposed!

@IceCreamKid,

F*ck 'em! F*ck 'em all! Let them un-follow you. Then what they ought to do is find an alligator, stick their head up its a$$ and tell that bad boy to go find some deep water!

I am sick and tired of people busting their humps through trial and error, seeking to add value in whatever way they can only to have some lazy a$$, chump change, Snidely Whiplash-type motherfcker rip them off! I don't even know all the details of what happened to @biophase and I'm pissed off!

Sorry for the rant.

 

[throttleforward]

@throttleforward,

Did anyone take you up on your offer?

Nope. And at this point they probably made their own solution by now.

BTW looking forward to meeting you in February!

 

[Chitown]

Nope. And at this point they probably made their own solution by now.

@throttleforward,

Wow! Just as more than one person stated in this thread - you don't have to worry about competition. Most people are not going to swing enough to even attempt to get off home plate.

BTW looking forward to meeting you in February!

I receive that! Thank you! Let's grab a drink!

 

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[Chitown]

@MTF,

First, I've always loved your avatar! Second, great thread! I just spent close to 4 hours re-reading it and caught things that I missed the first time I read it. Wonderful posts and some fantastic responses from various members.

 

[MTF]

Thanks, @Chitown! I appreciate it.

 

[Ross Morgan]

1. Cold e-mailing/cold calling

Pick an industry (use http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/home.aspx for some cool industry reports), google "[your chosen industry] [city]" (or use www.manta.com), browse their site to find their contact info and send them an e-mail or call them. Here's one of the scripts I used when e-mailing one of the industries I researched:

Subject line: Can you help me [first name]?

Hey [first name],

Found your contact information on Manta.com and felt the need to reach out to someone with your experience.

My name is [your name] and I am an entrepreneur doing research on the [your chosen industry]. My goal is to learn about the biggest pains you have running your business and to solve a big problem that will make your life easier.

What are your biggest frustrations with managing your business?

Love to hear back from you, even if it’s only one sentence.

Kind regards,
[your name and contact info]

It's pretty similar to Dane Maxwell's idea extraction e-mails. Keep in mind your initial response rate for cold e-mails won't be higher than 5%, so for each 100 e-mails sent you can expect maybe 5 replies. You can greatly increase your response rate by personalizing your e-mails.

I didn't try cold calling, but my friend is doing it and he finds it very effective for his research.

I sent out 249 emails today, got 6 responses so far. Surprising how much great info some people are willing to take the time to share!

 

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[Razz]

Thanks @MTF for this thread. The time invested in reading through it, following the links, and getting a general appreciation for what it attracted in others, is pretty awesome.

I love the contributions from @IceCreamKid

Yes there's ideas in this thread, that should get any INSIDERS going. However, that's not the point. Read it over and over again until you understand and embrace it. And add it to other things. Then go and read through @MTF progress threads, and see how his perspective is put into action.

The information here, when put into text with your experiences and progress, is absolutely awesome. Just think the title should be more of: Upgrade Your Mindset: Experience true Fastlane Gains.

This thread and the contributions in it embrace this:

You'll get half-assed replies from people who approach their business from a half-assed perspective, and legendary ideas from success-oriented people.

And beyond the mindset take-away, the discussion on value is awesome. @RHL nailed it with how things can be non-evident, the non-value, the negative value, and what can be true value.

And MJ's constant reminder about due diligence should already be built into the process. But with all the bumps, can see how it isn't. Sad how forum contributors, readers, and users don't accept responsibility. Life doesn't come with a parachute. Learn to walk before jumping off a cliff.

Then the discussion about customer perspective or product perspective was also illuminating. My take away is - always shift perspective to get a complete view. Don't rely solely on one over the other. Each industry can appreciate valuable things businesses rely on them. And not every customer can appreciate the product until you show it to them. Great marketers help connect the product's value to the audience, and if it's phenomenal but unknown, it has potential to win.

Others can reverse the process and create great value from solving the customer's needs and wants. Shifting perspective away from product development, and instead solving need fulfillment.

Either way, 1) value is generated by a 2) mindset that embraces it and 3) action that creates it.

 

[MTF]

Brilliant summary, @Razz. Thank you!

 

[Rincewind]

Subject line: Can you help me [first name]?

Hey [first name],

Found your contact information on Manta.com and felt the need to reach out to someone with your experience.

My name is [your name] and I am an entrepreneur doing research on the [your chosen industry]. My goal is to learn about the biggest pains you have running your business and to solve a big problem that will make your life easier.

What are your biggest frustrations with managing your business?

Love to hear back from you, even if it’s only one sentence.

Kind regards,
[your name and contact info]

Thank you for this great template message!

I started reaching out to people two days ago and sent 36 mails so far. I have 7 answers yet, so the initial response rate is almost 20%! I will ask more people, but the platform I use currently limit my cold contacts to 20 per day.

I read in several threads about an initial response rate of 3-5% for the first mail. But when I ask a second and a third time, I could get up to 20% since almost nobody does this. So now I have two questions:

1. Would you reach out again to those who didn't answer, even when I have 20% responses for the first contact?
2. Do you have such a great template for the second mail, too?

 

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[MTF]

@Nils Löwe:

1. You could, though if it's a cold email, sending a follow-up borders on spam. I most likely wouldn't do it.
2. I don't have any other templates. It's been two years and a half since I posted this thread; I'm no longer using this approach.

 

[Rincewind]

@Nils Löwe:

1. You could, though if it's a cold email, sending a follow-up borders on spam. I most likely wouldn't do it.
2. I don't have any other templates. It's been two years and a half since I posted this thread; I'm no longer using this approach.

Ok, thank you!

Do you use another approach today? In the original post, you wrote about three ways. Do you use the other two still?

I try to talk to people in person as often as I can, but since I try to get in contact with (software) freelancers, they usually don't have a physical presence that I could visit.

 

[MTF]

@Nils Löwe, I no longer do it because I've since focused on one business and don't need to do such research anymore.

 

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[Rincewind]

Ok, good to hear. I hope I will be there soon, too

 

[rickirl]

@MTF thank you so much for this thread. So much valuable information in here it has really got me out of a rut.

The "next big thing" way of looking at my potential future business has always held me back. This approach is real refreshing and I can't wait to try it out

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[MTF]

Thought about this thread when I heard about these two businesses:

https://shipsnowyo.com/
https://shipfoliage.com/

Behind the scenes from the founder: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-...actually-became-successful/answer/Kyle-Waring

This guy has a 5-figure business selling snow (in the 2 winter seasons they’ve been in business they’ve shipped 1,500+ lbs of snow) and foliage (1800 leaves sold in the first season).

You really don't need a sophisticated business idea to succeed. Even if his businesses are probably not going to turn into million-dollar empires, at least, like he said in his Quora post, he learned a lot about the shipping industry (and I'd say he learned a little and then some about running a business). This is worth way more than the money he has earned so far on these two ventures.

 

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[Dunkafelics]

@MTF thank you very much for creating this post, just reading through your points provides a lot of value to us who are looking to create a new business. I am looking forward to applying these principles ASAP!

 

[Niptuck MD]

haha yea that's another need that people are trying to fill like crazy. But in my area of PA they are not going to completely move away from salt any time soon.

Which brings me to another need. Salt.

I bet that there is money in importing and selling salt to states and municipalities. I like the fact that it's a heavy product that creates logistical problems, because the logistical problems (i.e., moving and storing) create opportunities within the opportunity. And it's not like there's a million different types of salt. In the case of the state it all comes down to price. If you out bid the competition then you win.

I know that the company that my department buys from has millions sitting in the bank. There is a salt shortage and they just ordered another 270k worth of salt to get through the rest of the winter.

I have a good solution for this; where do you suggest I start with contacting someone in PA State DOT for this remedy? haha

 

[Matt Hugh]

When I moved last year, I borrowed 50 plastic crates from my mother for packing and they helped tremendously. Anyone could easily create a crate rental business for explicity this purpose. I would have paid a couple 100 bucks to rent them for a week to assist in my moving. When I checked, there were a few that did this, but I never knew about it. That means they are not marketing well. It's a rental business and if properly systemized, could follow a franchise model.

I've been researching this market here in Australia and in 2017 found almost 30 companies offering plastic moving crate rentals not counting some removalists that also offer 'free' and/or hired plastic moving crate options included with their service.

Maybe some of these companies were founded by some members of your forum @MJ DeMarco?

One potential value skew with the current market in Oz I noticed was that there doesn't appear to be a national supplier for Australia (for interstate moves etc.) Many of these are in Sydney and then a smattering in the other capital cities. When I moved interstate this year and bought cardboard boxes I gave them away for free afterwards on Gumtree. Cardboard is still definitely a pain in the a$$ with construction and disassembly. I didn't know about the plastic moving crate options at the time so marketing could still be a value opportunity. Looking at the existing market though I don't know if there would have been a option that catered for my interstate moves.

Even though there appear to already be plenty of competitors in this market in Australia I suspect there is still room for a company with the right value skew.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I've been researching this market here in Australia and in 2017 found almost 30 companies offering plastic moving crate rentals

Wow, so there's proof that the need and demand exist. 30 is a lot.

Still don't see this a lot in the states though.

Maybe some of these companies were founded by some members of your forum @MJ DeMarco?

Could be.

Even though there appear to already be plenty of competitors in this market in Australia I suspect there is still room for a company with the right value skew.

Yup, there is a lot of potential for skew that goes beyond just boxes. However with 30 companies, I'd imagine there's got to be a few who recognize it.

 

[B. Cole]

Rented shipping crate business, or anything to do with moving, would kill here. Hampton Roads is a military town, entire neighborhoods are rented by military personnel that will be stationed here for a few years.

Personally the Truckit app I thought was pure genius, it’s craigslist for people that need someone to move something with a truck for them.