3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find That Profitable Idea

Lately, I’ve posted a lot of “personal” stuff on this blog. I think it’s time to get back into business. Don’t worry though, you’ll see more about our new baby later on and how that will affect our goals and what I’m doing online to meet those goals.

A long time ago, I had a poll which asked: What’s the #1 Thing Holding You Back From Making Big Money Online? Again, here are the results:

The most popular answer: an idea (at 37.5%!)

That’s definitely a stopper. Without an idea, you can’t really do much else. My goal with this post is to give you a thought process you can use so YOU can find that idea. The thought process comes with three simple questions that you should ask yourself. Let’s go through them one-by-one.

Question 1: What Do You Do?

A lot of people who look for profitable ideas start with keyword research and look for what other people are looking for. That’s fine, but one of the most important aspects about having a successful business is passion, which comes MUCH easier with stuff you’re already into. Even if you find a niche that will work and will make money for you through keyword research, you’ll find that you’ll quickly lose energy and motivation if it’s something you’re just not that excited about.

So, ask yourself: “What do you do?” Think about your daily life. What could you spend hours doing because you enjoy it so much? What are some goals you have that you’re working toward each day? What do you do well? Answering these questions will help you determine what you may have the energy for when establishing yourself and your business online. I’m sure there are hundreds of things you do each day that you are totally passionate about or are really good at. It is those things you should write down now, and don’t even think about how you could make money yet.

For me, I was passionate about passing the LEED exam. I really wanted to add that credential to my resume, and it just so happened I had the energy to start a business because of that passion. With this blog, I really had a passion for making passive income online, so it’s really easy for me to write about it and share my experiences with you.

Question 2: What Would Help Make What You Do Easier?

With your list of “things you do”, look at each item and ask yourself, “What would make doing this thing easier or more convenient?”

Think about this question from all angles. For example, if one of your passions is “making soap”, don’t just think about physical items and gadgets that could make your soap making experience easier or better, but also think about what kind of information you would find useful too.

In addition to what would help you now, think about what would have helped you when you were first introduced to this topic—as if you were a beginner who knew absolutely nothing about it. Use your experience and knowledge about the subject to figure out something that you really wish was around when you first started.

Try and think of 3 or 4 things for each item in your list from question 1.

Question 3: Has It Been Done?

Take what you learned in question 2, and do a Google Search for anything like it.

If you’ve found something like it…

That’s a good thing. That means there’s probably a market for it and people are spending their money on it. At this point, you should ask yourself this question: What can I do better than these guys? What are they missing that I would include? If you can answer these questions, you’ve found a potential idea that can be profitable that you know you’ll have the energy and passion for. Don’t worry about the competition…it’s good that they’re there. It’s good for both the consumer and for you, because when you create a product that’s better than what already exists, you’re going to attract more customers and grab a portion of that existing market.

If you’ve found nothing like it…

Then you’ll have to ask yourself a couple of further questions: Why hasn’t anyone created this item already? Is it something that everyone else figured out would not be profitable, or is it a novel idea that hasn’t been thought of yet?

You’re going to have to do a little more research to see if it is a good, profitable idea that would help other people, not just yourself. This can be done through keyword research and just asking people in your potential audience.

So By Now…

I don’t expect you to have an idea already, but I hope this post has been able to at least get the gears going in your head and give you some direction as to how to find that passionate and profitable idea.

Good luck everyone!