Problems Are Opportunities in Waiting
By Joe Crescenzi, Founder Ideaoftheday.com
The most successful ideas are the direct result of somebody who decided to fix a problem.
When it comes to problems, there are two groups of people, those who complain about them, and those who fix them. Both groups see the problem, but only the second group sees the opportunity that comes from fixing it.
The world is full of countless problems, so there are countless opportunities to achieve success by fixing them.
Over 100 years ago, baseball was played without gloves. One day a player put on a glove, making it easier and more comfortable to catch the ball. Although many people laughed at him, another player, Albert Spalding took the idea of a baseball glove seriously and he designed a glove specifically for baseball players. Spalding’s company is still a major producer of baseball gloves and other sporting goods.
If you read the description of just about every item ever patented, you’ll notice that almost all of them solve some kind of problem. Some are improvements on existing inventions, while others solve problems people didn’t even know existed. Sometimes it’s as simple as realizing that an existing product is ugly, and you just make it look better.
So, if you want to create the next big product or service, look for problems. The bigger and more common the problem, the bigger the success you’ll achieve by fixing it.