7 Questions to Ask Yourself When Thinking of a Great Startup Idea

If you are interested in starting your own business, you might find yourself facing one of the biggest challenges that most entrepreneurs face: coming up with a great idea for a new venture. The truth is, startup ideas are all around us, and you simply need to know where to look. There are certain questions you can ask or things you can do to think up a brilliant startup idea that has the potential to take off. Here are seven of them:

1. What do People Ask You For Help With?
If you are good at something that people frequently ask for your help with, then you already have a profitable startup idea. It does not matter whether you are an expert in Excel or have great public speaking skills, almost any skill can be turned into a consulting business or a product (for example, an online course or set of videos).

2. What Annoys People in Your Life?
Another great way to find a startup idea is to identify something that annoys your friends or colleagues the most in their day-to-day lives. While some issues may be beyond your control, you might hear something that you could potentially build a business around. For example, your friends might want a quicker way to shop online or a platform to find new and delicious coffee. By addressing an irritating problem, you already have a group of interested customers.

3. What Do You Have an Ugly Solution For?
It is common to patch together a quick solution to a problem in our lives, providing some respite until we can find a full solution. If you have come up with a temporary fix for a problem, there is a high likelihood that other people may be doing the same, or at least, have considered it. If you can develop a product that solves the issue, you will have a market waiting for you.

4. What are People In Your Communities Looking For?
Whether online or in real life, almost everyone is a member of a community, ranging from forums to clubs and sub-communities on sites like Reddit. Having a community is advantageous because it allows you to understand their needs, and you can research what they want to buy. Posting some ideas in a relevant subreddit or suggesting some business ideas to a Meetup group can help you identify the most promising startup idea.

5. What Makes People Mad?
Some entrepreneurs build successful startups by solving a pervasive issue that people face. For instance, JetBlue was launched because people hated airlines so much. Similarly, searching on social media platforms for “I hate (something)” or similar, might show you what people are passionate about and what issues are worth solving.

6. Who is Your Sounding Board?
One of the most critical elements to developing a great idea for a startup is having a few close friends who can be honest with you about your ideas. They can critique your bad ideas, and reinforce confidence in your good ones. Discussing ideas with friends often results in coming up with an even better plan than what you initially came up with.

7. Why Force It?
Finally, trying too hard to come up with a brilliant startup idea might be counterproductive. Forcing yourself to be creative might lead to a creative block. Instead, try to jot down every idea that comes to mind. Try to make a habit of coming up with at least ten ideas a day. The more you train yourself to note down your ideas, the more you will be able to generate even more.

In conclusion, it is true that coming up with a great business idea can be daunting. But with the help of these seven questions, you can start to generate brilliant startup ideas that can possibly become successful businesses.