Need Advice: Stuck between two business ideas!

[Kevin5563]

Hi everyone,

I have the time right now to dive into something deep, but I'm stuck between two business ideas and could really use your input:

1. Starting a PL in the Pet Industry on Amazon: The Pet Industry is booming, but I'm concerned about the level of saturation and fees Amazon can take from you. I've always wanted to start my own brand but I'm worried it wont go far with everyone doing the same thing and not having high enough margins. Competition could be ruthless.

2. Developing a business around a unique, unsolved problem: This would be ideal, but I've been trying for years and still haven't found that problem to solve yet. I don't know where to focus my energy or what markets i should be looking at. I'm thinking most of the opportunities are in the tech industry, but I have no background whatsoever and have always dreamed of creating a real physical product.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys
Kevin

 

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[amp0193]

Hi everyone,

I have the time right now to dive into something deep, but I'm stuck between two business ideas and could really use your input:

1. Starting a PL in the Pet Industry on Amazon: The Pet Industry is booming, but I'm concerned about the level of saturation and fees Amazon can take from you. I've always wanted to start my own brand but I'm worried it wont go far with everyone doing the same thing and not having high enough margins. Competition could be ruthless.

2. Developing a business around a unique, unsolved problem: This would be ideal, but I've been trying for years and still haven't found that problem to solve yet. I don't know where to focus my energy or what markets i should be looking at. I'm thinking most of the opportunities are in the tech industry, but I have no background whatsoever and have always dreamed of creating a real physical product.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys
Kevin

IMO, you're not far enough along with either of these ideas to make a good decision, and maybe they even overlap each other.

"Starting a PL in pet". Ok, so you've narrowed it down to hundreds of thousands of potential products. You need to keep digging and niching down. I guarantee you there are products in pet where the existing options suck, and there aren't many people selling them. Find those products, and then you have a business idea.

In either case you have to solve a problem or fill an unmet need or you won't be successful.
There has to be some barrier to getting going, or you won't be successful (competition will come, as you said).

And also, the opportunities aren't mostly in tech, they are in literally every category, waiting for you to dig them up.

 

[REV5028]

To me it seems you are mostly interested in #1 because it happens to be a booming market. It seems you would have more fun learning and would be much more likely to take action if you went for option #2. But as @amp0193 already said, you should think a bit more before deciding what you do.

You definitely don't want to enter a dying market, but I think it will help you to think about it a little differently. What will people always care about? The three that get thrown around a lot are wealth, health, and relationships. If you have a hard time fitting something into these categories, think about what people have been interested or have used for a very long time. Example: People and dogs go back some 20,000 years. Also, what have been pain points in your life that you've overcome? What are some problems or annoyances that you still have? What products do you use every day that could be better in some way? If you haven't read it in a while, I'd suggest re-reading The Millionaire Fastlane to help you think more through these things, especially if you've been stuck thinking on it for a few years.

 

[Kevin88660]

What's a PL in the Pet Industry on Amazon?

 

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[NervesOfSteel]

Hi everyone,

I have the time right now to dive into something deep, but I'm stuck between two business ideas and could really use your input:

1. Starting a PL in the Pet Industry on Amazon: The Pet Industry is booming, but I'm concerned about the level of saturation and fees Amazon can take from you. I've always wanted to start my own brand but I'm worried it wont go far with everyone doing the same thing and not having high enough margins. Competition could be ruthless.

2. Developing a business around a unique, unsolved problem: This would be ideal, but I've been trying for years and still haven't found that problem to solve yet. I don't know where to focus my energy or what markets i should be looking at. I'm thinking most of the opportunities are in the tech industry, but I have no background whatsoever and have always dreamed of creating a real physical product.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys
Kevin

I would rather go around and talk to some 100 pet trainers and 1000 pet owners about what gives them a 'hard time' with their pets?

Then you will have a problem to solve in pet market.

Otherwise it makes no point in fighting a war in drop shipping in same pets niche on price point alone.

 

[Kevin5563]

IMO, you're not far enough along with either of these ideas to make a good decision, and maybe they even overlap each other.

"Starting a PL in pet". Ok, so you've narrowed it down to hundreds of thousands of potential products. You need to keep digging and niching down. I guarantee you there are products in pet where the existing options suck, and there aren't many people selling them. Find those products, and then you have a business idea.

In either case you have to solve a problem or fill an unmet need or you won't be successful.
There has to be some barrier to getting going, or you won't be successful (competition will come, as you said).

And also, the opportunities aren't mostly in tech, they are in literally every category, waiting for you to dig them up.

Well said, i've tried looking at a few products in the pet industry already, while they're ok... i might try to keep looking for something even better thanks. I agree, these ideas could overlap and I think that's where I'm going to spend most of my energy finding a real problem in this industry. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Kevin5563]

To me it seems you are mostly interested in #1 because it happens to be a booming market. It seems you would have more fun learning and would be much more likely to take action if you went for option #2. But as @amp0193 already said, you should think a bit more before deciding what you do.

You definitely don't want to enter a dying market, but I think it will help you to think about it a little differently. What will people always care about? The three that get thrown around a lot are wealth, health, and relationships. If you have a hard time fitting something into these categories, think about what people have been interested or have used for a very long time. Example: People and dogs go back some 20,000 years. Also, what have been pain points in your life that you've overcome? What are some problems or annoyances that you still have? What products do you use every day that could be better in some way? If you haven't read it in a while, I'd suggest re-reading The Millionaire Fastlane to help you think more through these things, especially if you've been stuck thinking on it for a few years.

thanks for the feedback! I'm going to combine the two I've decided, and really focus on a unmet need or pain point in the pet industry.

 

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[Kevin5563]

I would rather go around and talk to some 100 pet trainers and 1000 pet owners about what gives them a 'hard time' with their pets?

Then you will have a problem to solve in pet market.

Otherwise it makes no point in fighting a war in drop shipping in same pets niche on price point alone.

Well it would be PL not drop shipping but i get your point. I've posted in forums already and found some problems or things people have wished they had in this industry, I'm going to focus my energy on catering to those people. thanks!

 

[Kevin5563]

What's a PL in the Pet Industry on Amazon?

private label

 

[amp0193]

Well said, i've tried looking at a few products in the pet industry already, while they're ok..

It will take you 80 hours.

“Trying to look at a few products” will get you nowhere.

Dig deep.

 

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