First things first, I believe in execution.
But you have to execute something. And it starts with an idea.
I think when people are brainstorming “business ideas”, they’re really trying to find a great market first, but many probably don’t realize this. Often times, I’ll hear people say they’ve thought of the next best thing — it’s some product or service that they seem to know will change the world.
Of course, there are less extreme versions of this. Some may just say “Hey John, I’ve been thinking about so-and-so. What do you think?” But entrepreneurs are usually pretty optimistic people, so there’s usually at least of hint of excitement when someone thinks they’ve got a good idea.
Nowadays, the first thing I ask someone after they’ve pitched me an idea is “What’s the size of the market?”
In my opinion, the Idea Man, the person who loves thinking about and generating ideas, should really think about this question when they’re thinking about prospective products and services (i.e. businesses).
If you’re set on focusing your efforts on starting the “Next Big Thing,” well, by all means go for it. But just be honest with yourself. It’s okay not to, too.
Though, it may be best to just think in terms of a small market. That way you won’t give up immediately when you don’t have users and customers coming to you from every direction right from the beginning. It’ll allow you to focus your efforts on making your product or service really great for your small set of users and customers. And who knows, maybe it’ll be something a lot of others want, too.
As the saying goes, even the big guys were small at some point — even if it was only for a short time.
So, as you continue thinking about new product, service, and business ideas, be honest with yourself and analyze the size of the market for each. If you think you’ve got an idea with a large market, you’ll probably know pretty quickly if that’s true. But try not to get discouraged by small markets. Just don’t start by spending millions of dollars and hiring lots of people in them.