Business: 6 strategies for the right idea

1. Ask yourself: what will be the products of the future?

Sit down and try to think: what are the products of daily use that can be improved? Downloading research from the research and development department of large companies can help you find new inspiration.

2. Resolve your problem.

Always start from your problem and imagine how to solve it. How did Colin Barceloux. The university books seemed too expensive. So after graduating, in 2006 he founded Bookrenter.com, book rental business with discounts up to 60% on the cover price. Today, Barceloux has over 200 employees and 1.5 million customers

3. Look for a new niche

Guitar plectrums have always been the same. Yet Stephen Key has found his niche. In 2003 he founded Hot Picks by throwing skull-shaped plectrums: a gimmick also marketed by big shopping chains like Wal-Mart.

4. Take advantage of your skills, but in a new field

The Swiss Jeanmichel Cap t took advantage of his profession of violinmaker to create a wooden speaker: from the appearance of a simple curved panel, it can be hung on the wall

5. Look around: Is there an old sector? Innova

Can innovation be brought into the label world? Yes, judging by what Stephen Key did. He founded Spinlabels.com, a manufacturer of labels that give more information, thanks to the two superimposed layers with “windows” that can slide one on the other.

6. Build a low cost version of an existing product

His glasses cost a third of those of the competition but they are the same. And WarbyParker.com, founded in New York in 2010 by four school friends, now has over 100 employees.

Summary

This article sets out business idea strategies, encouraging readers to think about what everyday products could be improved, to start from a personal problem they want to solve, to find an under-served niche, and to apply existing skills in a new field. It gives examples including a plectrum niche brand and a violin maker turned speaker designer.

Questions this article raises

• How do you validate a new business idea before investing in it?
• What made these specific niche products successful where others failed?
• How much capital is typically needed to launch a niche product like this?