Cannot come up with a world changing business idea.. what is wrong with me?

None of the businesses you listed were world changing ideas – they were copies of what already existed

Trying to do something nobody has done before is a bad idea because how do you know if it will succeed? It’s much better to copy somebody else that is successful but do it cheaper and or better. Why do you think the world has 100 companies making telephones?

Okie dokie, so here’s the thing. Wanting to change the world is a selfish desire that at first glance looks like an altruistic one. It’s similar to wanting money or fame or your highschool crush to notice you. It’s a desire to be special, but specifically to be seen as special for doing something altruistic, or impactful.

1. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that.
2. It’s not a great motivator for getting you where you want to go.

It’s like wanting to be rich. Nothing wrong with wanting to be rich, but because it’s an internal desire and nobody around you really shares the desire to make you rich, it’s hard to make a plan to actually get rich based on the desire alone. Same thing with changing the world. Because nobody else shares that desire of wanting you to change the world, it’s very hard to make a plan to actually get you there from the desire alone.

Let’s look at the companies you listed. You have two major categories. People who were fascinated by new technologies and saw the potential:

* Apple started with 2 people in a computer club excited that COMPUTERS would change the world and just wanting to start a computer company.
* Amazon started with a guy who saw that the INTERNET would change the world, and he wanted to be part of it by selling books online so you didn’t have to drive to the store.

And people who experienced problems who wanted to make their own solution:

* Airbnb started with people who couldn’t find a hotel for a conference trying to make it easier to find a place to stay
* Uber had trouble getting a taxi and just wanted to press a button to get a taxi.

The venn diagram between these two approaches probably has some significant overlap, but it’s illustrative.

**Approach one** is the approach of finding a technology or development fascinating, exploring it, seeing potential, and identifying a business opportunity within it. It’s a deep process of learning about an emerging trend or technology, connecting with people in the community, trying to understand the aspects of it that others don’t, and seeing how to do it better. This approach is done for the love of the game, and there’s just as much chance you get nowhere as get somewhere. It’s recognizing that the new trend or technology is the thing that’s going to change the world, not you, and that you just want to be part of it.

It’s a super long road with no guaranteed outcome. It’s not a great way to make a real business, and most who set out on this journey don’t get there. Ask any silicon valley tech bro. Think about Google. It was started by two guys finishing their PhDs at Stanford exploring better ways to do internet search ranking. Now think of how many people did their PhDs that didn’t find a groundbreaking new technology.

You can think of this approach as similar to “finding your business idea”. Any time it works it’s a bit of a lucky punch from people who just love their technology and are looking for some way, any way to apply it. It’s a guy with a hammer going around looking for a nail to hit.

**Approach two:** This is the safer way to start a business. You find a problem that isn’t being solved well and you solve it. The reason this works is that it’s a directed approach. Nobody else cares about your problems or desires, they only care about their own. So if you set out on the journey trying to solve their problem, people will be much more likely to care about your journey and what you’re trying to do.

To take on this approach, you need to get out of your own head and understand a problem:

1. Who has the problem?
2. How big is the problem they have?
3. How are they solving the problem today and why is it not ideal?
4. How could they solve it better?
5. How much is having this problem costing them?
6. How much would they pay to solve this problem?

This whole process is a process of self-forgetfulness. It’s about getting out of your own head and into the minds of the people who will be your customers. In doing this, you will have a much higher chance of getting to the outcomes and rewards you are looking for, ironically.

Why not do something already existing ? A lot of entrepreneurs thrive this way.

*I WANT TO BE A ROCK STAR BECAUSE I LOVE MUSIC BUT CANT PLAY GUITAR OR SING, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?*

Youre focusing on the idea… not the problem

Here is an idea for you assuming youre American.

America’s roads take forever to repair, the quality is trash in many states and the roads take forever to get approved

How about changing the model. Figure out how to structure a business that will enable you to build roads faster, less repairs, better quality, cost less to make and once made, will produce additional revenue

Now get your ideas together to solve the problem. Easy.

Oh also. World changing ideas are stupid. They are risky and generally fail. Just go for something simpler that gives you great returns and will have a higher chance of succeeding.

You dont need to be a billionaire. Last I checked, 10 million cash in the bank is a beautiful lifestyle at 8% div yield.

Do you actually believe people just sit there and think and then go ‘ah, got it!’?

Often these things happen by accident or as a consequence of some kind of problem they then go on to solve.

I realised that as a veteran with PTSD I received absolutely no support from the military once I left. I thought that was wrong. So I set about to create an app that specifically helps veterans with the transition to civilian life and get support for health and wellbeing issues.

Much of this comes from life experiences so spend less time thinking and more time living and chances are it’ll come to you.

And for the benefit of whoever needs to hear it, entrepreneurs don’t set out to be entrepreneurs. They set out to solve a problem or start a business. The term entrepreneur is pretty meaningless (well, it means long hours and extreme stress, little to no pay for years and you’ll probably end up giving up at it, but try again).

Most business ideas come from actually doing things, solving problems and getting good feedback. Sitting behind your computer trying to make something up will not work.

Find an existing business that you like, emulate it, then tweak it and make it your own.

Have a great business idea isn’t about an “AHA” moment. You should look at all of the business niches out there that exist. Find which ones you legitimately find interesting and study them. See how they’re successful, how much market share do they have, how much money do they make, how are they doing it, etc. Then, create something very similar. Once you create it, it’s about trial and error. Simply try a million things and keep tweaking it in different ways. TRY, FAIL, TRY, SUCCEED, TRY, FAIL, TRY SUCCEED, etc. In time, the the business will take on a life of it’s own and become something you never even imagined from the beginning. But, this only comes with percipience, determination, and consistency.

Creating a great business is a journey, not an immediate destination.

Why don’t u try to change your own world first and then the world?

I help people on an almost daily basis generate ideas.
World changing?
Maybe some, however, they’re mostly very small business ideas that have aspects to become world changing.

Here’s an example – a water filtration company that reinvests profits in atmospheric water generation technology that was initially designed by the Inca’s.
There are a lot of companies doing it today, and with food insecurity + water pollution, it’s a billion dollar industry.

There are plenty of problems that are listed out there that need solving. Look to the UN’s SDG’s and put together a plan to solve each one. How would YOU do it?

What say we do an exercise here and whoever wants to get involved can add their ideas or business model?

Here are 3 global issues that can be resolved (in my mind) with innovation or simply reallocating old tech and re-imagining policy.

1) Inflation – cost of living crisis. What is something you could do for this?

2) Adult education – alleviate unemployment and poverty by educating masses, which provides them opportunities to build wealth in ways they didn’t have access to before.
How could you go about building something in your community that would grow?

3) Small and medium enterprise (SME) failure rates.
I don’t know what country you’re in, but in the US 20% fail in their first year, and 50% fail within their first 5 years.
It’s quite similar in a lot of developed nations.
What is a business you could start that could combat this on a local level and grow as new businesses were drawn to it?

I’ll share some example ideas as soon as you do.

Remember, no idea is stupid. It’s always a stepping stone to improvement.

“I mean, I love animals and being crafty but there are no world changing”

Invent a helmet so that your dog can call you and speak human to you via the interface.

Worldchanging.

Or a spray that can vaporize dog poop…call it Vapoorize…wait, that has already been invented.