Business idea for apps are awesome. Ideas inspire, motivate, and give hope, but ideas need to create value or at least add value to be ideas worth pursuing.
We tend to fall in love with our new business idea and this is great, but follow these simple guidelines before investing a minute of your time to the wrong “next big idea”.
Business Idea Worthiness Questionaire
1. Does it create or add value?
This is probably the hardest part. Your idea seems great at first, but does it really creates value? An app that saves me the hassle of remembering where I park my car by making me write the name of the lot, is not useful. An app that detects I am driving home and suggests the fastest route is useful (Thank you, Siri).
Make sure the idea applies to a significant audience. Although creating an app for the left-handed archaeologist in the Arctic may sound like your life mission, first determine if the audience for your idea is large enough. On the flip side, finding a niche and diving deep is always recommended as long as there is enough depth.
2. Don’t reinvent the wheel
Many people come to me with great ideas about making an existing website into an app. Don’t do this. There is a reason why some websites remain as websites and why some apps are better at being apps. Sure, there are opportunities to utilize mobile technologies but if being an app is your only differentiator, your competitors may and will swallow you alive in no-time.
Odds are, your idea already exists but you should not abandon all hope. Your idea is already being done by at least a couple of competitors. Don’t despair. Find your angle, your niche, your 10x better differentiator, and pursue your idea.
3. Building on your idea is only 20% of the battle: I typically tell my clients, building a website or an app is like opening a store in the middle of the desert (let’s ignore Vegas for a minute). Unless you build roads, airports (and a few casinos), people will not visit your store! You need to plan and invest heavily in bringing people to you. Of course, if your idea is that much better, people will likely make the trip to find you.
4. Get excited!
Then more excited: Studies have shown that when we have an idea and tell somebody about it, our brains receive a positive stimulation and then put your idea in the back-burner – Don’t stop here. This is the time to get moving. Write down a simple 5-10 step plan to get your idea in motion and make it happen! (Read John Acuff “Finish”)
Conclusion about your business idea
When thinking of building a new app think about what value does it bring, your 10x differentiator, and your “beyond the app” plan, like marketing, training, and monetization. Overall, make sure you stay positive about your business idea while keeping your feet on the ground!
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