DAY 5
An Irresistible Idea
Estimated Reading Time: 10 Minutes
Entrepreneurs are more than just a growing part of the American economy. They are now a significant part of American folklore. We often hear stories about Steve Jobs at Apple or Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook and assume that a critical part of being a successful entrepreneur is youthfulness. But according to recent research, the average age of a successful entrepreneur in high-growth industries such as aerospace and health care is forty. Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over the age of fifty as compared to those under the age of twenty-five.1 The determining factor in a starterâs success isnât age; it often depends on the strength of their ideas.
If youâve picked up this book and read this far, you probably have an idea for a service or product that you believe has marketplace value. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your idea may suck. Lots of entrepreneurs have bad ideas. But the best ones will continue to search until they replace a bad idea with a good one or find a better version of the bad idea.
But that raises a question: how does an entrepreneur know if an idea is good or bad? Some assume that the value of an idea is in the eye of the beholder, and when it comes to the details of your idea, that may be true. If an entrepreneur came to me with a new type of soda, I wouldnât be interested. I donât like soda, and I donât drink it. But just because I donât consider it a good idea for me doesnât mean it is inherently bad.
The true value of an idea, however, is not a matter of taste. This is actually one of the worst ways to judge an ideaâs merits. The reason for this is âconfirmation bias,â or the human tendency to filter facts according to what we hope is true. As Richard Watson of Fast Company wrote, âIf someone has an idea that they believe in, then any fact that supports the idea will be quickly seized upon, whereas any fact that questions it will be instantly dismissed.â2
Entrepreneurs need objective measures by which to judge their business ideas. In my experience, the best ideas have four characteristics that enable success, like the four legs that support a stool.
They Solve a Problem
Often, entrepreneurs create a product that is a solution in search of a problem. The best start-ups, however, are built on problem solving. As bestselling author Seth Godin says, âDonât find customers for your products, find products for your customers.â As long as consumers have problems, they will always search for solutions and you will always have a business. Your ideas are only as strong as the problems they solve.
Of course, problems are like people. There are big ones and tiny ones, quiet ones and noisy ones. How do you know if your idea seeks to solve a worthy one? The best problems to solve are built around three elements:
1. Necessity: Search for problems that people need to solve. That will make your good or service a âmust-have,â not a ânice-to-have.â Ideas that solve deep-seated issues have more potential than luxury products that tackle fringe problems.
2. Pain: The more pain the problem causes, the more powerful the solution will be. If your idea can relieve significant pain in the life of your customer, youâll find quick buy-in and create lifelong fans. If a problem causes physical, emotional, even financial pain, it is a good one to solve.
3. Urgency: If there is a time component involved, the power of your idea can be amplified. A new kind of chemotherapy that can cure a lethal form of cancer is a more lucrative product than a new form of ibuprofen that is more sensitive on the stomach. The latter isnât nearly as urgent as the former.
They Scratch Your Own Itch
This leg of the stool is related to the last point. You need to make sure that both the ideaâand the problem it seeks to solveâare important to you personally. Working to solve someone elseâs problem is never the best choice. Donât start a baby clothing company if you donât have children. Donât start a tour guide service for mountain climbers if youâre afraid of heights. You have a better outlook and a greater chance of success if you align your personal interests and life with your business ideas.
As Brian Hamilton, chairman of Sageworks, said:
Likewise, make sure the idea fits with your lifestyle. If you canât afford it, itâs probably not your idea. And if you donât enjoy it, it probably isnât your idea. Filmmaking icon Walt Disney may have said it best: âWe donât make movies to make money. We make money to make more movies.â
They Are Timed Right
At least one person had a vision for Netflix, a company that has helped dismantle the cable industry in America. At least one person had a vision for Airbnb, a company that has rocked the traditional hotel industry in America. At least one person had a vision for Uber, a company that has sent the public transportation industry in America scrambling. The ideas behind all three corporations have been wildly lucrative and have spawned a cottage industry of knockoffs. But one important thing they all have in common is timing.
A great idea launched at an inopportune time is a bad idea. Imagine if you had an idea for a revolutionary brick-and-mortar travel agency or a new and improved pay-phone booth. In the early 1990s these may have been good ideas, but today anyone will tell you that they are bad ideas. The only thing thatâs different is the timing.
Timing is about more than just time. Itâs not just when your idea occurs, but what is happening in the world, in your industry, and in the marketplace. Brandon Watts, a renowned publicist who has represented scores of start-ups, said:
They Are Scalable
A bad idea is one that allows you to make money only if you have more time, so it is wholly dependent on you. Why? Because that kind of idea has a ceiling. Even the hardest-working entrepreneurs ultimately run out of time. And when they do, theyâll grow frustrated and burned-out trying to grow their business when growth is no longer possible. The best idea is one that can be scaled so that the entrepreneur can make more money while investing less time.
In the end, putting your energy behind the best idea possible only increases your chance of success. It doesnât guarantee success. Youâll also need to be a passionate entrepreneur with a killer work ethic and a boatload of patience. An idea can be good, but only you can make it irresistible.
COMPLETE DAY #5
REMEMBER
âThe value of an idea lies in the using of it.â
âThomas A. Edison
ASK
If you stated the problem youâre trying to solve in one sentence, what would that be?
BELIEVE
My ideas are only as strong as the problems they solve.
DO
Rate how your idea measures on each of the following criteria, on a scale of 1 to 5:
The problem Iâm solving is a necessity. âââ...