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I'm frequently asked how I found my 'big idea'. Here are some helpful things to consider that should help you land something that you love AND that’s lucrative...
Let me ask you a question...
Are you:
- Struggling to identify what you should sell?
- Trying to validate what you're about to sell?
If you answer ‘YES’ to either of these questions, then grab a notepad and pen... because this could be one of the MOST powerful lessons you’ll EVER learn, so take notes.
What I’m about to teach you is the EXACT opposites what I learned in college.
I’ll probably ruffle some feathers by saying what I’m about to say, but whatever…
You’re also gonna get a sneak peek into my Core Problem Planner.
YOUR BIG IDEA
So what is your BIG IDEA... and how do you find it?
Your BIG IDEA is the one thing that represents the core of an entire business.
The mistake that most people make is that they try to create the problem and then provide the solution.
This was what I was taught at college... and many infomercials are created this way too.
I'm NOT saying it doesn't work, but I'd rather find a group of people who already have a problem.
IT’S SO MUCH EASIER!
You find what problems your red ocean is suffering from already, then you solve a legitimate problem.
So…
Q: How do I come up with my one BIG IDEA?
A: I don't come up with it.
(… this was something that tripped me up for a long time.)
Instead:
- I go to an insanely competitive red ocean, (which is exactly the opposite that I was taught in college), and figure out the problems that they are ALREADY having.
- Then I rank the problems.
Something that I'll bring you guys through, in far more detailed than I did last OfferMind, is what I call The Core Problem Planner.
YOUR CORE PROBLEM
Each one of your businesses should solve a core issue.
So I look at a red ocean to figure out what the problems they're already experiencing.
Remember…
I don't need to create the problem, it already exists.
Then I start ranking the problems against a series of criteria...
BECAUSE not all problems are:
- Created equal.
- Understood by everybody in the red.
- Something people are willing to pay money for.
If you’re coming to OfferMind, (which I hope you are), this is the stuff I talked about with pictures, drawings, formulas, and maps.
Someone asked me, “Stephen, where all these formulas you’re forever talking about?”
THEY’RE AT OFFERMIND
... just dropping that out there ;-)
So come to OfferMind and you’ll learn:
- What to look for in a red ocean.
- Which red ocean to choose.
- What an ocean is #period.
- What signs to look for when you pick a problem to solve.
- How to create a new offer.
- How you launch your offer to that red ocean.
It's very granular.
Theories are cool. I love teaching mindset stuff, (that's really my main role with the OFA Challenge).
...but at the heart of it, I think some of that stuff gets fluffy.
I want:
- Formulas
- Patterns
- Maps
- Blueprints
... that's the stuff I get motivated over.
I'm a geek, man. I'm a geek, but geeks get paid! So whatever…
YOUR CORE OFFER
I love watching Shark Tank, not because I believe in VC funding, I like seeing the ideas people come up with.
...but lots of times people have these ideas that *they* came up with.
*WRONG*
It shouldn't come from you!
The Core Problem Planner helps you identify the problems that are already being experienced in the red ocean.
Then you rank them according to several things:
- How easy can I talk about the problem? (Not the product, the problem.)
You lead with the problem, not the solution.
This is the opposites of what I was taught in college.
So when it comes down to it...
- I don't come up with the main idea.
- It shouldn't come from me.
- I'm not the one filling my own wallet.
- I'm not the one who's gonna be paying for this.
What I do is I go into the red ocean, and rank out all the problems... and based on a bunch of criteria, I find what I call The Core Problem.
Which means that my entire NEW…
- Idea
- Blue ocean
- Opportunity
... is NOW based on me solving that core problem.
The Core Offer solves The Core Problem.
I'm very methodical about the way I pull stuff out. Just coming up with ‘a good idea’ is too freakin' risky.
I'm an entrepreneur and I'm okay with risk... but I want it to be calculated.
So the thing I've come up with over the last two-three years is how to go identify and rank problem in the red ocean, then create what I call ‘The Core Offer.’
... that’s what my book will be about, but OfferMind also goes into this stuff.
- Day #1: I'm gonna teach this whole framework to you
- Day #2: We’ve got Russell and Dana Derricks are coming in. I'm talking with Myron Golden (I got a soft Yes, we're just trying to make sure dates are fine).
- I'm gonna try and get Mark Joyner and Bill Glazer.
CREATING YOUR BIG IDEA
I have a very unique take on Offer Creation, but the ‘BIG IDEA’ is not something that I come up with on my own anymore...
The BIG IDEA is fueled by the problems that ALREADY EXIST in the red ocean.
I want to make sure that there’s a genuine problem before I go build a whole freakin' business around solving it.
The BIG IDEA doesn't come from me. It is fueled by those that I hope will buy it, and that makes it less risky.
It means…
- I don't have to be a creative psycho genius.
- I just have to be a detective.
- I can just understand the frameworks.
It’s a 30,000-foot view.
BECOMING CATEGORY KING
I'm the category king of two different oceans right now. One was accidental, one totally on purpose.
However…
The thing that causes that Blue Ocean is an idea more than a product. The product just fulfills on the idea.
I don't create the problem.
I'm just gonna solve a legitimate problem in a highly competitive red ocean, which means:
A lot of people have that problem… and then, I solve that problem with an idea.
One of the things I've learned is that if I try to come up with the idea on my own, it's almost guaranteed to fail out of the gate.
It's far more risky.
I'm not saying it won't win. I'm saying the chances of it winning are smaller.
The blue ocean doesn't exist until you create it by siphoning customers from the red.
...but too many times this is what happens:
Imagine yourself on an island...You’ve got some knick-knacks. One day, you put all your knick-knacks in a cart and decide to sell them...
Q: Where are you gonna push your cart to sell your goods?
... 
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