Why Your Idea Doesn't Matter

One of the biggest misconceptions I had when I began dabbling in business and entrepreneurship a year ago was that ideas matter a lot. Ideas don't matter. The word "idea" isn't good to describe something that makes you think about ways to start a business. Problems are what lead to great businesses. Problems can be issues you have everyday, or issues the people around you have everyday. Before the iPod, people didn't really think that the way they listened to music had faults, but ten years later the iPod has changed the way that most people listen to music. Sometimes, people don't even know they have certain problems until someone comes along and provides a service or product that makes life easier. There are some problems I have that I know how to solve, while there are other problems that are much tougher for me to think about. For instance, I think someone in the world has to find a way to develop a pair of prescription eye glasses that only cost $1.50 to make. There are hundreds of millions of people in the world who would love to have better vision for $2.00. There's an enormous number of people in the world who have problems that are sometimes ignored. Problems are all around us. Don't think about ideas, think about problems, and you'll be successful.