Before we get into answering that question, I think it’s important to get one point across that many entrepreneurs don’t understand or sometimes don’t want to accept.

Your idea is not special.

Countless successful entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitalist will tell you that ideas are not special.

They will also all tell you that the only thing that matters is execution.

Shift your obsession with the idea into an obsession with the execution of the idea and you will be on your way. You can read more on this here, here and here.

Now that we have that out of the way, lets get back to learning where startup ideas come from.

Startup ideas are everywhere and generally, the most successful ideas solve some sort of problem. The more people that have this problem and find your product to solve that problem, the more successful your idea will be.

If you’re paying attention, there are problems ready to be exploited all over the place.

You just need to be tuned in and listening to the right words and phrases around you.

When you tune in and pay attention, you realize there are 1000s of great business ideas all around you.

Most hugely successful business ideas today are not breakthrough inventions.

What we generally hear about most in the media is the unicorn “overnight” successes but in reality, most million or billion dollar businesses have taken existing business models, ideas or products and made them better or just different.

Here are some examples of billion-dollar businesses that jumped in and executed on an existing idea.

• Netflix was not the 1st movie rental company. They took what blockbuster was doing and made it better.
• Facebook was not the 1st social network and it’s not the last. There are hundreds of other social networks succeeding in various niches.
• Google was not the 1st search engine either but they have dominated. There are still new entrants coming into this space doing it differently.
• Telsa was not the 1st electric car. So many backyard mechanics we’re doing this long before Elon Mush jumped in.
• 1-800 got junk was not the 1st garbage disposal company. This old business was reinvented in just the last decade or so.

You don’t need to invent something brand new to start and build a million dollar business, you just need to take an idea and execute on it better or just different than others.

The hard truth is that it really all comes down to execution. If you can you execute better than the existing competition and market and distribute it better, you win.

There are plenty of ideas out there for products that can make you millions of dollars.

Where to find the good ideas

Some people have a problem with too many ideas, while others have a problem of not enough or just not the right one.

If you’re trying to find an idea for a business, the best place to start is with other people’s problems and complaints. find a problem than many people are experiencing and then create something that solves it for them.

Here are 4 types of complaints to listen and look for.

1. Complaints of change
2. Complaints of expectations
3. Complaints of fraud
4. Complaints of boredom

Complaints are problems looking for solutions. Listen to people, read the news and blogs and you will see problems everywhere.

Pay attention to these terms:

• I hate…
• I wish…
• This sucks…
• I wish there was…
• It would be great if there was…
• I wish there was an app for…
• I wish there was a product that…

There are many others you can use but these are things people talk about all the time in life and online.

You can find these terms and what comes after the … on Google, on Facebook,  on review websites, on Twitter, Reddit and basically anywhere people leave feedback or comments.

In summary

Ideas are plentiful. There is opportunity everywhere as long as you’re looking, you will see them and find them.

The key to turning that million dollar idea into actually a million dollars all comes down to execution.

It’s how you take that idea, develop it into a product and build distribution channels to get it out to the masses.

I hope this helps you come up with some ideas or at least look at the world in a different way and be open to the opportunities around you.

Any questions or comments please feel free to leave one down below.