How do you get a business idea?
I've always wanted to start my own tech-related business. If I woke up tomorrow for an idea for SAAS business, I generally know how to bring it to fruition. I've literally wanted to do this for decades. My problem is, I can't think of something that I can build that someone else would want to pay for. I'm not concerned about getting rich. If I could clear $2000-$5000 a month, that would be great.
So, my question is, for those of you who have done it, how did you get an idea for a SAAS kind of thing, or even indie software or some sort of product?
3 comments
[ 2.3 ms ] story [ 21.8 ms ] thread1. A business is not a product, project or a program. It is an entity designed to provide something people need in return for money such that the result is beneficial (profitable) to the business.
2. The question you should ask when thinking about business is “what can I provide, at a competitive price, that people (or other businesses) need to buy.
3. So why do people need things? Answer: sustenance, pleasure, efficiency and convenience, solving an important problem, or ability to make something else of value, ie. a tool. These are things that provide “value” to the buyer.
4. There are subtleties in (3) that can be exploited if you have lots of experience in a specific area. For example, a chef may know of things, tricks or tips of value related to cooking.
TL;DR In summary, it doesn’t matter what kind of product or software you are building, or whether you use a SaaS model or other business model. What matters most is that the business is designed to build something of value for lots of people that results in a healthy profit. The “idea” has to be the solution to the value problem.
I'm just not in the SaaS business because those are not the kind of ideas that occur naturally all the time to me.
Sorry I couldn't be more help but I'm not a software developer anyway even though I've programmed computers off and on for years. For decades I made a living even into the 21st century using my own code, but it was not wares of any kind since it was not for sale (or rent). I just used the programs exactly as I saw fit to the extreme advantage of clients.
Mainly to bring them valuable results from chemistry lab advances which I pioneered, which is where I have always been making a living from my own technology whether employed or in business for myself.
Science-as-a-Service are us and it was also interesting when I had products in worldwide distribution, but they were emerging physical products. No software involved although the potential was there, it was too early in the PC generation and things were OK as it was.
All I could say is stick to where the ideas are overwhelmingly abundant, and pick from the best.