This morning I said to myself “I am launching a new project through a crowdfunding website like Kickstarter. It will change the way people do things.” You may wonder what kind of project? Read further to get the details.
Some people come up with new ideas over lunch through brainstorming with pen and paper. I get my inspirations when I swim or walk. Today I woke up early morning, had my breakfast and was ready to have my 30 minutes swim. Nothing unusual, I have been doing it for many years. During this half hour of exercising I let my mind run free.
But today was a bit different. I wondered what distance did I swim today? How did it compare to the previous one? How many kilometers did I swim during entire year? I started to think how can I gather this data.
All Apple fans know about Nike+ running app and Nike Fuelband. Unfortunately that has limitations and it is not waterproof. Therefore it would be useless in the swimming pool. There are other fitness bracelets & watches but they seem to miss quite a lot of important things. Hence I thought to create a multipurpose wearable tracking device.
I was so excited that I drove home and immediately searched for anything similar to it. Unfortunately, someone was ahead of me. There was already one such device. It is called Amiigo: Fitness Bracelet. But what amazed me that it was fairly new device that was only yet to be launched. The first batch will ship in June 2013 and it was created by a small team of 4 people(!). Also, I could not find any other similar devices that can be used for swimming.
You would think that in 2013 after all technological advancements that all basic problems would have be solved by now. However again and again I come across obvious things that were discovered only recently. For example the first iPhone was launched 6 years ago. However every year you can still see new simple things keep emerging out of nowhere. Therefore I strongly believe that you have a million dollar idea you never knew about.
Some of the most experienced entrepreneurs claim that it is quite easy to create a superb product or service. You only have to look around you and try to fix your own problems. There are bound to be a lot of inconveniences, imperfections or some kind of issues that you want to disappear. The key here is realizing that you are not alone. If you are having this problem, it is likely other people are in the same boat. There is your market. Isn’t that simple?
My 3 key takeaways from this short burst of excitement:
- Do not downgrade that clever business idea you have been thinking about for sometime. You may be surprised how useful it is.
- No need to be the brightest or the richest to create something. Just offer a solution to your own problems.
- It has never been easier and cheaper to create any product or service. You can register a business online in under an hour. There are vast amounts of quality information that people are able to access for free.
You don’t need to have a 100-person company to develop that idea. Larry Page: Co-Founder of Google
When you solve your own problem, you create a tool that you are passionate about. And passion is key. Passion means you will truly use it and care about it. And that is the best way to get others to feel passionate about it too.
Have you had an idea that was taken by someone else or realized ahead of you? Do you have any advice for new entrepreneurs?