What to do if you don't know what to sell?
1 simple tip
What’s good young and eager mind?
What do you do if you don’t know what you should offer?
It won’t come as a shock to learn that I’m a fan of market research.
So my first tip would be, decide on an audience you wish to serve and then figure out what their pain points are.
But if you’re still stuck after that, there’s a simple method I like.
The Dyson Method
Dyson is one of my favorite brands.
There’s so much I love about that brand.
But one of the things you can learn from them is their lack of creativity when it comes to the products they decide to make.
You see… Dyson doesn’t invent new stuff.
There’s no Dyson lightsaber, a Dyson teleporter machine, or a Dyson warp drive.
Instead, they take existing products that suck and try to make them awesome.
Take a page out of Dyson’s book & figure out what products you think suck. Then simply make them better.
Here’s the trap you need to avoid though…
It must be better according to your audience.
Not better according to you.
I’m making this distinction because otherwise you’ll do dumb shit.
You’ll make it better by adding “features” only you care about.
You have to make sure that your preferences aren’t idiosyncratic.
A good example of this is the car industry.
For the first time in a long time, there seems to be a growing disparity between cars and what people actually want in a car.
We got smart screens blinking red with the word “BRAKE” on it.
Super helpful to have to look down and read a message, look back up and then brake. Totally not distracting.
We have the obsession with removing buttons and burying simple features deep in menus on unresponsive screens.
That’s dope cuz it means you’re forced to take your eyes off the road for extended periods. A fun little puzzle to solve for when you’re bored!
We have lane assist that nudges you, ever so aggressively, into parked cars on the side of the road.
Guaranteed adrenaline rush when you’re forced to drive close to the middle of a two-lane road. Who needs Six Flags when this shit is free?
YCombinator’s advice of just making something you yourself might be good advice if you’re a technical founder playing around with cutting-edge tech while having the support of a multi-billion dollar industry behind you.
But it’s terrible advice for you.
So go look at subreddits, online forums, amazon reviews, product testimonials, and social media platforms, and try to get a decent understanding of the things people love about the product, the things they hate, and how you can improve it.
Talk to you tomorrow.
RJY
Wood & Water.