Finding Business Ideas with Twitter
Using Twitter is an effective way to find problems that people have, this can lead to creating a business as a solution to these problems.
Every entrepreneur, or aspiring entrepreneur, is always on the hunt for that next million-dollar idea. However, in much the same way as dating, sometimes searching relentlessly yields little to no results. Often times the best ideas come to those that least expect them.
To many budding entrepreneurs (and experienced ones) this waiting game sounds terrible. We are cursed with the least amount of patience when it comes to growth and strive for immediate results. Have you ever banged your head against the wall, scouring through every nook and cranny in the dark dusty corners of your mind for a smidgen of an idea, and return from your introspection empty-handed? I know I have. But I have to constantly remind myself that ideas should not be born out of dusty corners of the mind, but out of real-world problems that need effective solutions. But how do we find these problems?
In this article, we will learn how to ask the crowd what problems they are facing, from which we can derive the seeds of ideas. There is a big room on the internet where everybody yells, venting their frustrations, wishes, opinions, and desires. The yells are usually fraught with immaterial comments and meaningless rhetoric, but lending a careful ear can provide a great return on investment. This room is called Twitter.
Starting with a problem
Great ideas, and subsequently great businesses, do not usually start with a “hey this idea is really cool and nobody is doing it,” but a “this is a problem that many people face, here is a solution.” Strong ideas derived from the ether will typically fall on deaf ears, as they solve problems that nobody knew existed. BUT, ideas derived from real-word problems will catch the attention of anybody who has that problem, especially if the solution is effective.
Find your problem space
Before setting out in search of a problem, it is important to know your search space. Everybody (and I mean everybody) is blessed with a set of skills that can be used to great effect for solving problems. These skills can range from artistic capabilities to systems engineering, global supply chain knowledge to sewing, stand-up comedy to public relations. Revenue-generating ideas can leverage the whole gamut of skills an individual has to offer, but it is important to focus on one particular area. Consider your top skills and abilities to find the optimal problem space. Let’s look at a few examples.
Example #1: Talented pen and ink artist
- Problem Space: Problems and desires that people have that revolve around artistic drawings or pen and ink art
- Example Problems: Need good calligraphers for invitations. Need custom caricatures for promotional purposes. Need an artistic rendition of a real estate property.
Example #2: Skilled programmer
- Problem Space: Problems that can be solved with software applications
- Example Problems: Need a custom program for time tracking. Need a company intranet site. Need a website for my business.
Example #3: Effective communicator
- Problem Space: People requiring the knowledge or capability to effectively communicate with others
- Example Problems: Need a public speaking coach. Need a toast for my sibling’s wedding. Need an effective copywriter for my website
Example #4: Excellent cook
- Problem Space: People have to eat. This one is pretty straightforward
- Example Problems: A lack of good blueberry muffins in the area. No healthy food establishments. Low quality catering options.
Attempt to do some introspection and write down a list of your skills. This will give you a visual representation of your toolbelt and can help you hone in on a problem space.
DO NOT SAY “I DON’T HAVE ANY SKILLS.”
-> YOU DO HAVE SKILLS
Once you have your set of skills, try to think of some problems or desires people have that revolve around these skills. Even if the skills are more of a passion, there is most definitely a market and problem space (see passion economy).
If you are unable to think of a problem space centered around your skills, reach out to me on Twitter and I’d be more than happy to help :)
Scope
Businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors come in all shapes and sizes. From large FAANG-like companies (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) to a talented chef gracing their neighborhood friends with a baker’s dozen of cookies each weekend, problem spaces can be as broad as on-demand video streaming, or as focused as delicious chocolate chip cookies on a Saturday afternoon. Notice I did not say large and small. Theoretically speaking, a cookie business could grow to the scale of a Netflix or Facebook with a different type of focus.
Once you have identified your problem space, it is important to think about where your focus lies. Are you looking to find a nice accompaniment to your nine-to-five job, a way to become your own boss, or are you looking to completely disrupt an industry? When searching your chose problem space, always keep scope in mind.
For example, if you are an environmental engineer you may come across the following problem:
“I wish there was way to lessen the amount of emissions on my large off-road truck”
This is likely a huge problem with a huge scope that requires a lot of man hours, research, and effort which may not be tractable for you. However a problem like this might be a lot more attractive:
“I wish there was an easier way to grow my garden in the backyard”
I am not telling you to ignore big problems with a potential large impact. All I am saying is that you should always keep scope in mind. Even people who make baked goods out of their house stand to make a pretty penny in the state of Texas (https://texascottagefoodlaw.com/).
Setting out on Twitter
Once we have identified our problem space and scope, we can set out to search for problems with a more focused set of criteria. We will be using Twitter and its advanced search capabilities to find problems and desires that people are being vocal about that match our problem space and scope.
Twitter, in a similar vein to Google, provides a set of operators so that searches can be conducted with greater precision. These operators and query strings can be used to aid us in our problem search and to effectively listen for meaningful words in a room of screaming voices. These operators can be seen in detail here. Let’s see how they can be used to find problems in our search space.
Finding opportunities
Let’s assume that we are an individual skilled at programming looking for a small problem that can be solved in a relatively short amount of time that could lead to a small side hustle. Considering the scope, building on top of an existing platform could make for a more focused approach and provide a gateway to existing users. Examples of platforms include: Slack, Google Chrome, Shopify, Google GSuite, Salesforce, Facebook, or Twitter. Twitter is chock-full of people either complaining about these platforms, asking for additional features, or in search of a solution for a problem they are facing. Let’s listen to them.
Using the exact phrase operator by surrounding a string in double quotes, we can look for common phrases that people might ask the crowd when they are searching for something. Here are some examples that return interesting results (filtering out retweets to eliminate noise):
"is there" "in slack" -filter:rewtweets
"is there a" "in chrome" -filter:rewtweets
"is there" "chrome" "extension" -filter:rewtweets
"is there a" "shopify" -filter:rewtweets
"i wish" "shopify" -filter:rewtweets
"i wish" "google docs" -filter:rewtweets
"i wish" "google sheets" -filter:rewtweetsUpon searching you might see some immaterial tweets and even the occasional left-field result that seems completely irrelevant, but among these results you will find tweets such as the following where people are articulating a real problem they are facing:
The above Tweets that this process found can quickly be researched, brainstormed upon, and turned into effective businesses. One thing to keep in mind when using this method is that these are individuals facing the problem and don’t necessarily reflect a large potential customer base. It is always important to research the idea further and perform validation before diving head-first into an idea.
Let’s approach another problem space, the need for communities. Communities present an awesome monetization opportunity if nurtured correctly (see here) and there are tons of gaps out on the internet where people are searching for communities. See the below Tweets found with the search:
“is there a community” OR “is there a group for” -filter:retweetsBuilding your queries
When building out the queries to search your problem space, use multiple variations of the same phrase to search. For example, all of the following variations could be used to find problems seeking solutions for revolving around Chrome:
"is there" "in chrome"
"i wish" "in chrome"
"way to" "in chrome"
"i hate" "chrome"
"if only" "chrome"And the following queries provide some interesting results that could appeal to an artist looking for work:
"can somebody design"
"can somebody draw"
"is there" "artist"
"commission" "artist"
"how to" "draw"
"can somebody paint"Try multiple variations of the same question with different combinations of phrases and tone to find additional results.
In conclusion
The above method of panning for gold on Twitter is an effective procedural way to find problems that people have, which can then lead to ideas for solutions, which then lead to businesses, which then lead to revenue. Remember the following:
- List your skills
- Identify your problem space
- Define your scope (focus)
- Build your queries
- Try different variations
With the above method, I guarantee you will definitely find some great sparks of inspiration. If you do, reach out to me on Twitter, and if you are struggling with this method, feel free to reach out as well!
