Product ideas or services that your computer business will offer are not as easy to decide upon as you may think. When you start a new business this part of business planning is often taken for granted.

Deciding upon a product idea or service to offer typically starts with an assessment of your technology skills. Once you know what you are good at, it is easy to come up with a service or product idea that interests you. Therein lies the problem.

Many new business owners base their service and product ideas on their interests rather than their target customers' needs.

Two Approaches to Service and/or Product Ideas

Approach Number One
Find a platform that you enjoy working with that sounds really, really cool and sounds like a product idea or service that everyone would want and need.

Then go and read every single book you can get your hands on, on that topic.

Attend every workshop and conference being held about this product idea or service.

Prepare for, and write, a certification exam to improve your credentials when offering this service or product idea.

Approach Number Two
Start talking to very specific kinds of business owners and managers that are most likely to need IT services on a regular basis from your firm.

Determine from their answers, the services or product ideas they are most likely to need in the next year.

With Approach #1 you will need to sell clients on your product ideas and services. You will need to convince clients that they need what you are offering. In contrast, with Approach #2, the product ideas and services should sell themselves.

You've already done the selling by asking them what they need. It's pretty hard for them to deny needing the product ideas and services they told you they needed in the first place. If you asked the right businesses, then these people should have the willingness and ability to pay for the services and product ideas you are offering.

Bottom Line on Product Ideas
Your product ideas and/or services must come from your potential clients. If you choose based on your interests, you will have a much tougher time selling your product ideas to them. When you go straight to the source and then match your skills with the product ideas they suggest, your business will take off all that much smoother.

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