“Ive Got The Idea!”

What you should know

The most innovative products in the world start with that very phrase. When you think of your idea and imagine how the world will react to it, you can feel the energy and adrenaline run through your body, you tell family and friends and they love it. This HAS to be it!

And it may be…… but…. let’s run through a few things you should be thinking about.

The Market

Did you check the market inside out and upside down for competition? Did you identify who is the absolute closest to your idea and examine what they have built? Make the list. Write down every one of the competitors and TAKE THE TIME to play with each one. They already put in countless hours and money trying to achieve success, so its like getting free advice. Don’t be scared to learn about what someone else built that may be close to your idea or even your exact idea. Be open minded. Take it in, think it through and make adjustments to your idea to create something even better.

If someone hasn’t made your idea yet, you just may be onto something big.

But wait, there’s more…..

The Cost

App development can be expensive, especially if you don’t hire the right team. I can’t tell you how many times I have had projects come to me as their second or third development team hire. It can be tricky to know which is the right team for your project. A studio can charge in the upwards of $150/hr per programmer, where overseas you can find programmers for $20/hr. Paying the low tier is a big risk, and so is the high tier, so what gives? Be sure you know the programmers are qualified with experience building something similar to what you need. Do not just go by what a project manager says about the team. You want to know you are in good hands of the people who will be coding your project for hours everyday. Also, be sure that the programmers assigned will remain on the project for its duration without hand-offs to others (this unfortunately sets back the project and ultimately costs more for you). It can be expensive to have your idea brought to life, but the key here is to do it right the first time.

The Idea

It’s very common for entrepreneurs with a fresh new idea lose their motivation when someone is critiquing their idea. Please don’t let this be you. The tough criticism is when you need to be listening the most! Yes, you want to know what’s great and different about your idea, and why it will succeed, but what will become most critical is fixing the things that aren’t right. One in a million products release and shoot to the moon overnight. This is not common despite how the media pushes stories like “They made an app in their basement, and within a week they were millionaires.” Almost all successful businesses release their product, then STUDY METRICS and GATHER FEEDBACK. Study the metrics (numbers don’t lie). Listen to feedback of your users. Find the pain points and face them head on. Yes, you will likely have to pivot, but that is part of the process of building a successful product.