Dr Jeff Cornwall

A question sent to me via e-mail from I.E.:
Most successful businesses, are not based around a revolutionary product or service. Many entrepreneurs that I’ve read about, simply enter a field where a number of competitors are already doing well, but the market demand is growing, and a segment of the market is partially underserved. Can you suggest any way to identify such opportunities? This seems especially hard because most competitors are private, so there is no way to know the level of demand in a particular market.
Someone I know is always trying to figure out the next great product to sell on QVC. But try and try as she may, she probably will never succeed with this strategy. Why? She has never had any experience with developing, manufacturing or selling consumer products.
Most successful entrepreneurs don’t simply “enter a market.” They build off of their experience, their knowledge, their education, and their skills. Successful entrepreneurs find some need in the market that is not being met that they have the knowledge, skills, and experience to satisfy for their customers. Maybe it is an area they gained expertise in from their education, maybe they’ve worked in the industry, or sometimes it can even come from a hobby or special interest. But even with a strong base of knowledge, more learning and more research is almost always needed.
Also, it takes people beyond the entrepreneur him/herself to successfully start and build a business. For example, my last entrepreneurial phase in life was in the health care industry. We had identified a niche in the market what was fairly new, was not being exploited by any other companies, and showed potential for significant growth. My partners had extensive experience in the health care, which I lacked. But, they needed me as a third partner to bring knowledge and skills on how to build and grow a business. Between the three of us, we had what it took to build a successful health care business. Any one of us trying to pursue this opportunity alone most likely would have failed.
Success requires first the ability to identify an opportunity for which there is a market. This usually takes some knowledge of that industry. Second, you must be certain that it can generate adequate profits to meet the cash needs of the business and the entrepreneurs. Finally, you (or more likely your team) must have the ability to successfully implement the plan and manage the business as it grows. Having the skills to manage the business as it grows is critical. However, many entrepreneurs are able to learn new business skills as they grow their businesses, and they can add new team members to fill any gaps in key business skills that arise over time.
Success does not simply come from a “good idea.” It comes from some basic knowledge about the product or service, good information about the market, and having the right business skills represented in the members of your team.