Issue 25

June 19, 2024

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How to Find Business Ideas

How do I find business ideas?

I’ve asked myself this question many times. And I’ve heard others ask it too.

There are many ways to develop ideas for products and services you can sell. Some are better than others.

If you look at the things you pay for every month, I’m willing to bet they solve some problems for you. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t pay for them.

Let’s take a look at three different ways that you can use problems to generate business ideas.

Solve your own problems

This is by far the easiest way to generate possible business ideas. You may have heard the phrase “scratch your own itch.” When you do that, you’re solving your own problem.

This is a fantastic way to find ideas because you’re already an expert in the problem. You might even have some thoughts on possible solutions. And since you care enough to do something about it, you’re less likely to abandon your solution.

This is how I came up with the idea for Agendaful, my first SaaS app as a solopreneur. I’ve been having 1:1 meetings as an individual contributor and a manager for more than 16 years. I’ve tried various meeting agenda tools in the past, but none of them felt quite right.

I’ve been using Slack for years now and always wanted to build a Slack app. So I decided to make one. Agendaful helps managers and their direct reports create collaborative agendas for their one-on-ones.

Solve your team’s problems

You can also find potential business ideas in your team’s problems. When I say team, I don’t only mean your team at work. This could also be a sports team, a club, an organization, or a group of friends.

What’s nice about this method is that you already have your first users. If you can solve a problem your team is having, your team can help you confirm your solution.

If your team is having this problem, it’s likely this problem also exists for other teams. And if your solution works for your team, chances are it will work for others as well.

Solve someone else’s problems

One more way you can find business ideas is to listen to other people’s problems. People love to complain on social media. Whether you’re on X, LinkedIn, or Reddit, pay attention to what people are posting.

Reddit is particularly useful for this exercise. Check out a subreddit that interests you, e.g. traveling, cooking, or parenting. Focus on negative keywords that might suggest a complaint, problem, or pain point. This can give you ideas on possible solutions. And you can even message users to learn more about their dissatisfaction.

Another goldmine for complaints and problems is the reviews section on e-commerce websites. Search for any product on Amazon and you will encounter negative reviews. Sometimes this is all you need to spark creativity and ideas.

There’s a reason why I’ve associated problems with ideas. Problems lead to solutions. And solutions sell. The best way to find a business idea that you can monetize is to solve a problem.

People pay for products and services that:

• Save them time
• Save them money
• Help them make money

Netflix saves you time and money. Instead of going to the movie theater or buying a movie on demand, you log in to Netflix.

Buying a bottle of wine from a liquor store saves you time and money. Imagine how long it takes to turn grapes into wine let alone the cost.

Stripe helps you make money. You can charge people for your product or service with their payment tools.

Not every idea you think of needs to solve a problem, but it makes the next steps easier. When you focus on a problem, you can start looking at groups of people who have that problem. And those people can help you verify your solution.

Thanks for reading this week. See you next week! 👋

David Weiss Founder • Made by DW ​Follow me on X, LinkedIn, & Instagram​

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