The best entrepreneurs are idea machines.
They are trained to recognize ideas, opportunities, and pains.
They use these observations to build startups, develop new products, and grow their businesses.
So… I wanted to deconstruct how you can think like the top entrepreneurs and find the top 1% of business ideas and opportunities.
1/ Ride the waves
Entrepreneurs see trends (new technologies, industry data) and leverage them for success.
Noticing trends and seeing how they can impact your business is important whether you want to build a huge startup or a small consulting business.
These trends could be as big as the Internet or AI revolution, or as small as seeing customer complaints or a viral story you can use to market your business.
Source: VectorStock
Once you see the trends, be ready to ‘ride the wave’ and use it to your advantage.
2/ Take notes on all the problems you face
Take notes on every little annoyance you encounter.
The extra time you waste waiting.
The extra effort to wake up early.
The software you think is outdated.
Most of your problems are problems for other people too.
Writing down your thoughts and ideas trains your brain to recognize these opportunities.
Successful entrepreneurs do this. They don’t find a $1B idea immediately, but when the time comes, they recognize opportunity and take advantage of it.
3/ Reframe the problems you see as a question
Most business ideas center around your unique product.
But this often limits you to one perspective, and you often don’t see how you can help the customer in new ways.
So frame it as a question.
Not “How can I make this product work?”
But instead, “What is the best way to solve this problem for my customer?”
This reveals the different ways you can solve the problem and lets you improve your product and come up with new ideas.
4/ Refine the idea
Now that you have a fresh idea or perspective, think about it from different angles.
How would a consumer approach it?
A scientist?
A Fortune 500 CEO?
A marketer?
Ask others for feedback.
Talk to your friends.
Talk to your co-founder.
Talk on social media.
Now that you've refined your idea… WAIT.
Wait for the best moment. The perfect time to ride the wave.
Don’t waste your time pursuing an OK idea you think is profitable. Wait for the 1% of ideas and opportunities.
Think like an entrepreneur.
- Warren Lee
PS - Here’s a video I found useful on creating ideas: Sam Altman explains how to come up with a great startup idea