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Hey Reader,

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Ideas...sigh.

I have been in an idea drought for as long as I can remember.

I felt when the universe created me, it forgot to add a sprinkle of ideas and creativity.

I knew ideas and opportunities were all around me because YouTube, 𝕏 and entrepreneurship forums like Indie Hackers were overflowing with posts of other's success with their ideas.

But for me, crickets.

I waited patiently for the idea fairy to sprinkle idea dust over me, for one magical idea to sprout a beanstalk out of my head. Then, launch to the #1 product of the day spot on Product Hunt.

However, I later realized I was going about it all wrong.

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​Here are the 4 things I was doing wrong:

1. Not keeping track of ideas

I didn't have a habit of taking note of my ideas.

As soon as they came in, they cartwheeled out. How was I supposed to act on anything if I didn’t even remember what it was?

I vividly remember the day I started taking note of them to create an idea bank. I had recorded about 55 potential ideas that day - That I later talked myself out of trying 🙄 (see #2).

As soon as they make an appearance, write them down! I try to scribble down every idea that comes to mind, even if it makes 0 sense.

It is important to keep taking action and experimenting. So, having a bank of ideas is excellent when the idea well has run dry, and you need something to start working on.

Capture every spark; lost ideas leave no marks.

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2. Being super picky​
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When an idea waltzs into my mind, the Piranhas in my head instantly rip it apart.

I come up with every reason under the sun, moon, and stars not to attempt it, usually because I didn't feel passion.

Many businesses exist that I suspect no one is passionate about. Like making window blinds, PVC pipes, and insurance. Who the hell is passionate about insurance?

I suspect an opportunity presented itself, and they just ran with it.

Anyway, I want to push past this pickiness.

I know I am losing out on many insights by not making an attempt. So, I forced myself to pick something random. Something that was already out in the wild and had paying customers.

I am still working through this strategy, so I'll have an update on this approach in my following newsletter.

I now believe that for some of us, passion will manifest when we find a painful enough problem.

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3. Focusing on ideas instead of problems

Ideas are ✧ solutions ✧ to problems.
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Therefore, you cannot have an idea without a problem. The problem comes first. As simple as this sounds, this concept flew right over me.

I was so focused on brewing an idea potion in my head.

One of the first "ideas" I had back in 2017 was to build a job board for small towns. "Mini city jobs," I called it. I thought this was a good idea because... Maybe? People would move to smaller cities in Ontario for cheaper housing.

Except I had no clue if this was a real problem for anyone.
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I just thought it was cute.

Focus on looking for problems within communities and keep an eye out for what people are struggling with. Impactful ideas are born from real, tangible problems and require understanding the struggles faced by communities or yourself.
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4. Trying to re-invent the wheel

This one I am a bit embarrassed about.

I spent all this time looking for something ✨original✨. Like Uber for lawnmowers - I'm joking. Even that isn't original because Uber is already a thing. I had no luck with this approach because the "ideas" were never tied to an actual problem.

For example... on second thought, never mind the example. They weren't good anyway.

About a month ago, I learned the easiest way to find an idea is to copy something already existing.

It's so painfully obvious.

Which is why I am embarrassed. I guess I thought that was plagiarising?!

Just pick something that already exists, get feedback and then try to improve it. It exists because people/businesses continuously write a cheque for it because it solves their problem.

This is the best strategy if the idea well is dry and you want to get unstuck.

You learn way more along the way, and it's likely that you will run into other problems that you can either pivot to or work on after.

Snack For thought 🧠

Ayush 🙏 @ayushtweetshere If you want to build a profitable food business - You won't try to invent a new cuisine. You will open up a food truck in the most crowded corner in town. And sell burgers. Your idea doesn't have to be unique. But it does need killer distribution. Same for software. 10:30 PM • Oct 2, 2023 4 Retweets 46 Likes Read 9 replies

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This Tweet sums it all up.

It doesn't have to be unique and probably shouldn't be for your first few attempts. You have so much to learn when you are just starting out, so pick something so you can start stacking those skills.

Even if it doesn't work out.

The skills you acquire will eventually help you build the one that does.