Three reliable sources of ideas
- Your own job: tasks you have done yourself and found slow or repetitive, such as quotes, follow-ups, reports and replies to customers.
- A sector you know from the inside: a family business, a former employer, an association. Direct access to prospects matters more than a clever idea.
- Recurring complaints: read the online reviews of twenty businesses in one sector. Patterns appear quickly: slow replies, missing information, long waits.
Score each idea on five criteria
Give each idea a score from 1 to 5 on each criterion. The goal is to compare, not to predict the future.
| Criterion | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Pain | Does the problem visibly cost time, money or customers? |
| Access | Can you talk to ten potential clients within two weeks? |
| Skill | Can you deliver a decent first result without long training? |
| Ability to pay | Does the target have a budget for this problem, even a small one? |
| Recurrence | Does the need come back every month, or is it a one-off? |
The access rule
An idea that scores below 3 on access is rarely a good place to start, however attractive it looks. Without people to talk to, you cannot validate anything.
One service, one target
Do not offer "everything AI". Pick one service for one type of client, for example managing Google reviews for independent restaurants in your city. Expand only after you have your first clients. Browse the service sheets and industry guides for inspiration.
Say it in one sentence
Use this template: I help [a precise target] get [a concrete result] with [a service], without [a constraint they dread]. If you cannot complete the sentence, the idea is not specific enough yet.
Your action for today
Write three to five candidate ideas in the one-sentence template, score each on the five criteria and keep the one with the best total and at least 3 on access.
Questions
How many ideas should I compare?
Three to five. Beyond that you spend more time comparing than testing.
My idea already exists. Is that bad?
It is a good sign: it proves demand. Stand out through your target, your proximity and the quality of your service.
