The 2 Types of Business Ideas

From the customer’s perspective, broadly all business ideas can be divided into 2 categories – the “Help Me” ideas and the “Show Me” ideas.

Help Me Ideas: These are business ideas which aim to solve a current pain-point of the customer. The customer is feeling a pain and the idea’s goal is to solve the same. For example, TripAdvisor was a business idea which aimed to solve the customer pain of not having enough and trusted information to make decisions about travel.

Show Me Ideas: These ideas, on the other hand, have a goal to enlighten customers about how things can also be done. The customer may be reasonably happy with the solution which is already available in the market. The Show Me Idea will show the customer a better way to do the same thing. For example, Uber would be a classical example which was able to provide a better customer experience using technology.

Having said the above, all ideas of a particular category also have certain elements of the other category. A Help Me Idea will also partly play the role of a Show Me Idea and vice versa.

Tips on where to look for your next Startup Idea

To startup, the first thing you need is an idea. So if you really want to start a venture, how should you generate one? Here are some common places where you can start.

Search Engines: If you type business ideas or business opportunities, you will get a number of results with a list of ideas on them.

Look Internally: Identify what skills you have and try to know who you can serve using these. Then you can try to make a business model around it.

Look Around You: If you look around you carefully, you will be able to list down a number of things you do daily or on a regular basis. Identify one such thing which you do with difficulty and which can be done in an easier way. That can lead you to the idea you are looking for.

Latest News: Latest developments lead to potential business opportunities.

Research Reports: Read about different Industries and their structures. This might give you an insight into a gap which may exist.

Networking/Communities: Attend events and meet as many people as you can. You do not know when you meet someone who can suggest some opportunity to you.

Do these for a while and keep listing down any interesting opportunities you come across. Identifying a good idea is a time consuming process. Finalizing a particular idea should not be rushed into.