What are some things I can do to improve my chances of success while I search for a product idea?
My background is in Software Development, so it seems I've always got this nagging urge to build. Lately I've been looking for product ideas and markets to research, but every time I decide a market or idea is not for me, I feel like I've wasted a lot of time.
I know that this is an irrational thought because ruling out ideas is a step in the right direction, but I can't seem to shake the feeling. I'm wondering if there are some things I can work on during this seemingly long ideation process that would benefit my goal of creating a product, regardless of what it ends up being.
Any input is greatly valued. Thank you.
Trending on Indie Hackers
The more you surround yourself by likeminded people and conversations, the more dots that start connecting and things start happening.
It can be overwhelming know where to start or what to focus on. The pressure from looking at everyone is real. Real magic, progress and change does happen if you let that angle go, and dive into the community with an open mind to help, learn and connect.
I'm not big on 'goals', more consistent habits. Show up every day, even if it is just for a few minutes, and build upon that.
@dvassallo is worth a follow too. He's done well over the past year to find his path.
Thank you for the kind words. "Show up every day" is really my goal right now.
I've said this in other threads so I hope I don't sound like a broken record, but my advice would be to stop looking for ideas.
I was like you at one point, possessing all the skills necessary to build products but lacking a "good idea". So I bounced around building various projects, thinking every subsequent idea was better than the last, thinking this time it would be different. But every time I would launch, then lose interest a month later when the project inevitably failed to gain interest or make any money.
Everything changed when I focused on a core problem space that I'm genuinely interested in, and committed to building one product in that space.
Your current challenge should be figuring out what it is that you're really interested in, really passionate about. Then look for big, hairy problems to solve in that space. Don't worry about making money, or competitors, or "where your audience congregates" or any of the usual startup 101 advice. What you need first is to find your passion, it's a fundamental ingredient and without it all the other advice is moot IMO.
I took this approach a few years ago and failed. I was passionate about nutrition and fitness so I built a nutrition app. Super burned out with no money and now I'm back at trying to figure out what I should be working on.
The deck is stacked against you either way. So you have to give yourself the best chance of success by working on something that you can commit to. You did the right thing, it just didn't work out. Keep trying.
This is a concept I've definitely struggled with. I've been spending a lot of time looking at markets that I believe to be valuable based on growth, accessibility, etc. Perhaps I'll spend more time looking inward. Thank you for this.
Every day problems can be a great inspiration for new products.
"There's gotta be a better way" are pretty powerful words.
Many of the products I've created are a direct result of problems I personally experienced.
Most recently, I was running into business-related issues on two different websites I operate. After hours and hours of searching for solutions that didn't exist, I worked with some developers to create the solutions.
Will those software products ever generate money for me? Well, I didn't make them to generate income. I made them to solve a problem I was experiencing. But, who knows, maybe I'll find opportunities to monetize them some day.
I have a few others similar to that too -- just haven't taken action on them (yet).
Another valuable lesson I've learned is that Marketing is the #1 key to a product's success, most of the time.
You could have built the best widget in the world, but unless people know about it, it won't matter.
Great products can do terrible and fail, just as terrible (or not-so-great) products can do wonderful. (i.e. Pet rock, Chia pet, Snuggie, etc.)
Plus, you need to have a certain amount of interest in the product or idea. The reality is, it's unlikely that your product will experience overnight success.
So, it's important for you to have a decent amount of interest in something, because most businesses take a very long time to even see moderate & sustainable success.
Kevin Plank (UA founder) commented one time that it took him 10 years to become an overnight success. Be sure to keep that in mind on your journey.
Here are some great quotes related to overnight success:
http://shinequotes.com/overnight-success-quotes/
Lastly, I'l echo what @adplaga recommended -- check out the other IH Groups. Plus connect with some Product folks here like myself, @phalox, or other Product Manager-type folks.
Hope the above info helps :)
Thank you for such a well thought out reply. I've been feeling immense pressure to find an "aha moment" during my search. To the point where the stress seems to be leaking into the rest of my life. I'm guessing that's a warning sign that I'm not doing something correctly. Reading these replies makes me realize it's probably that I'm spending too much time looking outside my own backyard.
@cmorgan8506 - If I'm being 100% honest, I'm not sure I've ever had a true "aha" moment yet either.
They've all been roughly "hmm, I gotta fix that" or "yes, I've got to do something about that" moments -- with a side of hope that I'll make something wonderful out of them.
Some of the products I've created have failed miserably. Others have had some or moderate success. None have been home-runs.
One thing is for sure, I've learned a lot along the way. I hope I can apply everything I've learned and apply it to something that becomes a run-away success in one way or the other.
Lastly, I'm not sure I fully subscribe to the find your passion concept. After a long time on this planet, I don't believe I've found a particular passion.
I've found many things that interest me, some of which I've become pretty good at.
Maybe I'll find a true passion in my journey, maybe I won't.
In the meantime, I'm going to go with my gut and work on things that interest me.
Good luck. We're here if you need us.
Love this: "it took him 10 years to become an overnight success"
I find it very useful to browse through all the products on IH https://www.indiehackers.com/products
where you can browse by topic and by revenue
I'd recommend you have a read at those 2 excellent posts:
@csallen - How to brainstorm great business ideas and
@channingallen - How to Come Up with Profitable Online Business Ideas
They are gold mine
I read both, thank you. Great inspiration.
I think you have already started. Keep writing about what you are interested in and what you are learning and continue to see what resonates with others. The more you do this, the more you will refine the idea for what you can build in the near future. You are also a software developer, so you have the power to build almost anything. Immerse yourself in community as @rosiesherry suggested and continue to share your interests and learnings.
Yeah, I'm seeing a common theme with all these comments. I need to spend more time looking into things I enjoy and less on random markets. Thanks!
I think this is one of those challenges that gets too little attention here. Many people have ambitions to build a business, but can't seem to find something valuable to build. I've been there too, but if you open yourself to the world you'll start seeing issues everywhere :) (remember, not everything is a nail when you have a hammer!)
One of the product management quotes is: "get obsessed by the problem, not the solution". As product manager, I had the greatest benefit flying to a different continent for a road trip via 6 customers and meeting them and their environment in person. Personal contact is super valuable and will always get you closer to the underlying problem.
Have a look in your environment, and figure out where people gather (your mom's yoga class? your own sports club? A hobby club?). Read outside of your field; where engineering practices can be easily copy-pasted and it might totally revolutionize the field.
I see you're already having a nice offer with practicalapps, but you don't monetize it? There's a bit more SEO you could do to put that page higher in the search results. Something strange happened with the text (here's a screenshot). It turns visible only when I select it. https://imgur.com/a/qaDLfkW
Finally, if you're interested; I'm looking for alpha testers for validator.phalox.be. A more methodological approach might work for you too!
Hey Phalox, thanks for the words of wisdom. Practical apps was my very first IH adventure and I feel like I learned a lot from it. I never ended up monetizing it because I felt like, compared to the competition, it didn't hold enough value to warrant charging money for it. Even looking back now I see a lot of blatant issues with how I handled that project and how I could improve upon it.
I've always gravitated towards the education side of programming and I think practical apps was my first realization of that. Perhaps I need to consider my roots and use that project as a stepping stone instead of just labeling it a failure and abandoning it.
I'll definitely check out your app. Thank you again.
If that's the path you want to take, I'd really love to take you on an alpha testing journey. We tend to build on 'failures' with more features hoping that it will work out this time.
What's more important is that you understand why it failed, and how to prevent that from happening again. With Validat.r (I hope for it to be an app one day, but currently it consists of personal coaching), I take you back to step 1: Who are you targeting; step 2: What's their problem; step 3: Which solution is valuable to solve the problem.
Feel free to reach out :-)