Start a business to find out what business you should really be running … or the pivot

There’s nothing like trying to launch a product and build a business to realize two things:

1. The business you started from scratch probably isn’t going to work. You came in with too many assumptions and not enough human input.
2. The business you that will work is probably going to be found while trying to reach customers for your failing business. That’s called the pivot and there’s a reason pivots have a higher probability of success than the original idea: input/data.

When you’re starting your from-scratch business, you embark on the journey with a lot of hope clouding a lot of guessing. That’s fine and normal. But it’s so rare for someone’s first idea to be the right idea because hope and guessing is about as bad a business plan as you can imagine.

The great thing about the pivot is that it’s born out of testing and experimentation and feedback from real people.

You thought your target customer needed a back massager, but what they really need is for their back to not hurt in the first place…bingo, make a better office chair.

You thought your target customer needed safer document storage, but what they really needed was a way to share documents more securely…bingo, document encryption.

You thought your target customer needed tips on making better hot wings, but what they really needed was a decent wing sauce…bingo, jalapeño honey wing sauce.

You get the idea.

Your first idea should be compelling enough to get you off your butt to start something, but don’t be so married to it that you ignore what your target really needs. As you listen to their needs and fully grasp why your original idea isn’t meeting those needs, you’ll find something new that’s both interesting and useful.

That’s when you pivot.