Entrepreneurs who listen to a lot of communication on the approaches to be developed to build a business, spend too much time working on identifying a problem. As highlighted in the earlier sections – there are issues of biases that come from the way we frame the potential problem we intend to solve, as well as biases about the solutions that we have to solve these problems.
The amount of time spent to validate the existence of the problem, when done incorrectly, is a sheer waste of time and resources. Even if you can get your potential customers to say that this is a problem, it does not mean that you can build a business around it. There are a few more parameters you need to consider while building a business.
Some of the points we observed, which could help in deciding if a problem can be a potential business are – are the majority of the people saying this is a problem, and am I willing to pay for it ASAP to get it solved? Think immediacy, think urgency, think the number of requests! What is the context in which the pain is so heightened for the customer that they would not mind paying the amount to get it solved?
Now that you have spotted a potential group of customers, what is the quickest way to solve the problem without making drastic changes in the existing flow of operations for the customer? How do you alleviate his/her concerns? How frequently can you access the customer’s site to better understand the usage and improve on the offerings, the stickiness, and ease of use? Last but not least – Can you also think of a potential revenue stream beyond the first foot in the door?
To build a business and a relatively long-lasting one, you would need to focus beyond the specific problem: on the decision scenarios and scenarios around the problem. Then reflect on these observations to strengthen the offering as well as build a strong case of the initiation and sustenance of a business.
Ask yourself:
What is the urgency of the problem experienced by the customer? Is the problem frequent?
How do they currently address the problem?
Do the features of your offering deliver the required satisfaction for the customer?
Based on these observations, could I say that the number of customers is large enough to develop a sustainable business?