6 Easy Steps to Create a Great Product: #1 - It all starts with an Idea!
Rome was not built in a day, and neither was a Great Product
Do you want to create a new Product but having a hard time knowing where to start?
Well, you’re not alone! Creating a new Product is an uphill task that can slow down even a rockstar like you. However, from having an Idea, to Getting your first 1000 Users, it’s all a science. But remember, it is not rocket science!
While challenges may be more than you can ever imagine, in this 6 Easy Steps series, I will show you step by step how you can resolve the complexities of building a great product. Let’s look at the first one…
Step 1 — It all starts with an Idea
The first step — before you quit for your startup or buy a domain or even write a single line of code — is to figure out, What your Idea is? What do you want to create?
It doesn’t have to be big, ground-breaking, or clever. Just an idea will do the job.
Now that you have one, let’s sketch it out. You don’t need any special tools to sketch your app idea, a pen, and paper are enough. Start sketching, drawing, writing everything down, and see if the idea comes to life on paper.
Sleepover your Idea
You must already be feeling the adrenaline rush to create the next Uber or Netflix. You want to talk to your friends and family, share what you have, and start right away before anybody else can think of it. You want to land on the moon, first.
Statistics show that 38% of startups fail due to a lack of time and involvement. Hence, before any revelation, sleepover your Idea for 7 days. Yes, 7 straight days. You will thank me later :)
Trust me, this is as important as having the idea itself. At the end of these 7 days filled with anxiety, you will know for sure if it was just the excitement and emotion of wanting to create something or you really really want to do this.
If you are still as excited as you were when you had the Idea, nothing can stop you.
Do Some Market Research
You have an idea and you are exhilarated, but wait, don’t you want to know if your App Idea is viable?
Ask yourself questions like?
- What problem is your product going to solve?
- Are there any alternatives available?
- Will your customers pay to have your product?
Based on your research you can clearly define the problem your app solves, and who you solve that problem for, your audience.
This will also help you in finding out:
- How your audience is currently solving the problem?
- What mistakes your competitors are making?
- If people are looking for an app like yours?
That’s right! You can estimate the demand for an app without even making it. According to CB Insight, 42% of ideas fail because there are no market needs for their product or services. I can’t emphasize enough!
One of the best resources for validating Ideas, I personally recommend, introduced to me by my good friend — Anthony Miclet is the book — The Mom Test by the one and only Rob Fitzpatrick. It’s a step by step guide of how to talk to people and get reliable, unbiased feedback on your ideas even before it exists.
Does this mean you should never start until you have the secret sauce? Absolutely not! Netflix, one of the best products out there, started as a rent-by-mail DVD service and yet rules the on-demand streaming services today.
The only reason Netflix was able to do so is by iterating on their idea over and over again and providing customer value every single time.
Is your product the next Netflix? Let us figure it out together during this journey :)
In the next episode (do not forget to follow me), we shall look into What is an MVP? Advantages of an MVP? And, how do you make one in no time, less effort yet achieve maximum results. Until then…
Let ideas flow :)
