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Carter Hoerr advised on 26 Dec 2011
Experienced Business Manager; National Expert, Online Meal Ordering
Interesting...the way you ask the question assumes that each of the 100 possible ideas is equally appealing to the customer and equally profitable to you. Doubtful, of course, but if true then the answer is to pick the ideas(s) most appealing to you. Then you'll be earning a profit while publishing content that you're most interested in.
I would suggest taking some time and talking to as many potential customers as you possibly can. Ask what they like, what they want, what they need, what they would pay for, etc. Ultimately to be successful you must identify a distinct customer need that you can profitably fulfill over a period of time...but the customer need comes first!
I would suggest taking some time and talking to as many potential customers as you possibly can. Ask what they like, what they want, what they need, what they would pay for, etc. Ultimately to be successful you must identify a distinct customer need that you can profitably fulfill over a period of time...but the customer need comes first!
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An inversion of this method is to instead start with you. Start with what you know, who you know, and what you're interested in. The answers to those questions should begin to form a direction in your mind about what market you'd like to pursue. Think broadly. Keep in mind that you may even uncover a latent demand that's no apparent at this moment.
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Figure out what are the common elements of these different ideas and start running small tests to learn what works and what doesn't work about each element. From there it's likely that you can start piecing together these elements in a way that addresses a customer need while at the same time makes you money. So in summary, it's running small tests on your idea to see what works and what doesn't work. Lean Startup is all the rage right now and talks about this in detail: www.amazon.com
Let me give a quick example of what I mean by quick tests to put this in perspective... One day I decided it would be cool to start a nacho delivery service. I love nachos and I know a lot of people who love nachos, but you can't get nachos delivered like you can a pizza. Why? The most common response is that they will get soggy. There are a few elements of this business that I wanted to test:
To test the first two points, I designed some door hangers that looked like they were from a real restaurant. I put a phone number on there that went to an automated message saying that the business was closed or something. I delivered 400 around my neighborhood and ended up getting 17 phone calls, a 4.3% response rate which is pretty good. From that small test, I felt confident on element #1: people were interested in the concept of nacho delivery. I haven't gotten around to testing the other elements yet.
I also encountered some surprises along the way in the tests. That is my friends thought the best part of the idea was actually the hilarious pre-recorded message. This started percolating some ideas around how to make this more than a nacho delivery service and make it a nacho delivery experience. An unexpected surprise, to be sure.
Hope this advice and example is helpful in you setting up some tests for your venture.
Let me give a quick example of what I mean by quick tests to put this in perspective... One day I decided it would be cool to start a nacho delivery service. I love nachos and I know a lot of people who love nachos, but you can't get nachos delivered like you can a pizza. Why? The most common response is that they will get soggy. There are a few elements of this business that I wanted to test:
- Would people be interested in nacho delivery? I'm talking about real interest where people are ready to buy, not just say "Ya, that would be cool."
- How much would people pay?
- Could we deliver nachos in a way that they wouldn't get soggy?
To test the first two points, I designed some door hangers that looked like they were from a real restaurant. I put a phone number on there that went to an automated message saying that the business was closed or something. I delivered 400 around my neighborhood and ended up getting 17 phone calls, a 4.3% response rate which is pretty good. From that small test, I felt confident on element #1: people were interested in the concept of nacho delivery. I haven't gotten around to testing the other elements yet.
I also encountered some surprises along the way in the tests. That is my friends thought the best part of the idea was actually the hilarious pre-recorded message. This started percolating some ideas around how to make this more than a nacho delivery service and make it a nacho delivery experience. An unexpected surprise, to be sure.
Hope this advice and example is helpful in you setting up some tests for your venture.
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The best way is list out all the ideas in a paper. Leave it for a week. Revisit, you will be able to reject good %. Leave one more week. Revisit the idea list. Now you know the best ideas which are filtered and is readily available in your hands and the same is proved with time. ie., even after 2 weeks you are able to identify the ideas still make sense and have a feel of goodness of the ideas. Now rank the ideas and pick the top three or four. And based on the response from market select the one which suits your business. And keep the rest as fall back.
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Great suggestions! Running with an idea that hasn't been validated in any fashion is sure to end it tears. Even the smallest, no-cost "reality checks" can save time, money and heartbreak.