Original subtitles

In this lesson, I'm going to teach you how to use a problem first approach to coming

up with an idea for your e-commerce brand.

This is the exact framework I've used to come up with four very different ideas for

my multimillion dollar e-commerce brands.

This process will help you not only come up with a product to sell, but

also help you create more clarity around your brand vision, something

you'll return to again and again.

So first up, if you already have a product on the market, this lesson

will be equally as important for you because it's going to get you thinking

about your brand an entirely new way.

So definitely pay attention here.

So right now you're probably thinking, Greta, what do you even mean by a

problem first approach to ideation.

So what I mean here in its simplest state is that your product should

be the solution to a problem, and this is the very first thing to know

before starting an e-commerce brand.

You're not just creating a product, you're solving a problem.

Something that I've said time and time again is that the world

doesn't need more products.

What it does need is better solutions to existing problems.

So rather than asking yourself, what product can I sell instead ask

yourself, what problem can I solve?

By flipping this thinking on its head from finding a product to finding a

problem is important for several reasons.

First up, if we're thinking differently to others, we're more likely to

come up with something different and better than what's already out there.

So this method gives you the opportunity to find a better

solution to the problem than other standard products on the market.

Also, if your product is solving an existing problem that your

target market or customer already experiences, you know, it's going to

add value and be of value to them.

And using a problem first approach will also make it easier down the

track to create more products that make sense for your brand, because

you'll always have that starting point or brand vision to work from.

In fact, coming up with a solution before you know the product you're

solving can actually be seriously detrimental to innovation.

Once you have a solution in mind, it's really hard to shift from that,

even if you know in your gut that it might not be the best possible one.

It's a little like answering a question before you know

what the question even was.

It even if you take a good guess, it's always going to

be a little bit off the mark.

Identifying the problem that you want to solve before making your product will make

sure that you never lose sight of what your brand is trying to achieve or end up

with a product that does miss the mark.

Finding your problem and coming up with multiple solutions means that

you're better equipped to find the best possible product for your brand to sell.

So what we wanna do here is find a problem that you already know exists, or

better yet you've experienced yourself.

This is what I often refer to as scratching your own itch.

That means you felt the pain point yourself, so you're better able to

empathize with your target audience.

Ideally, the problem that you're looking to solve will be in a niche

or area that you're truly passionate about as this is going to be something

that you want to be able to do day in, day out for the foreseeable future.

So let's use an example that I've spoken about on Founder's YouTube channel before.

Something I'm truly interested in is protecting our shared

environment for future generations.

My interest in this might stem from the fact that my mum

is a little bit of a hippie.

She's taken to doing things like lining her bin with old newspaper instead of

plastic bags, and she religiously takes her own reusable bags to the supermarket,

including the ones that you put your fruit and veggies in to be weighed.

So a huge environmental issue is our unprecedented production of

waste, both landfill and recyclable.

So the problem I'd like my brain to solve is decreasing waste

from everyday disposable items.

A good way to come up with your solution here is by turning your problem

into a question, and your solution will be the answer to that question.

So the question could be, how do I decrease waste from

everyday disposable items?

And one answer would be to make those items reusable.

And this is something that I do a lot when coming up with solutions.

I come up with a problem and ask myself what the polar opposite

of that problem would be.

Like I said, here, the opposite of disposable is reusable.

This is another strategy that you can use.

So we have our problem, the waste from disposable everyday items and

our solution making them reusable.

Now we wanna have a bit of a brainstorm around what some of these

disposable everyday items could be that we could make reusable.

And this is gonna help us come up with some potential product ideas.

So now let's start thinking of some items that you use daily, a disposable

that you could make reusable.

So the first things that come to mind just off the top of my

head, are razors, toothbrushes, takeaway coffee cups or straws.

So now you want to begin to have a think and do some research around each

of these potential product ideas in terms of what you think has the biggest

market potential and which aren't being done as well as others by other brands.

So let's fast forward and go for the item of those which has the least market

saturation, which is disposable straws.

Then we wanna focus in and start to do some additional research

around our problem and solution.

So we wanna look at some facts and figures that you can focus on to highlight

the problem of disposable straws.

So apparently an estimated 500 million straws are used each day in the US alone.

This is a powerful number and will help your potential

customer instantly understand the importance of making a change.

Then you want to highlight the fact that plastic straws cannot be recycled

and that they sit in our landfill for years or pollute our waterways.

So you're starting to create a compelling reason for your prospective

customer to switch to a reusable straw by getting them to understand

and even empathize with the problem.

So as you can see, your stat is really important in adding context

and highlighting the problem at hand.

Next lesson will go through exactly how to really begin linking a problem and

solution together with context to be able to come up with a product idea.

So to recap and as an action item for this lesson, you wanna think

about the areas that you're truly passionate about or interested in.

Then you wanna think about what the problems that these areas

are and how you can solve them.

And remember, it's always best if the problem or pain point you solving is

something you've experienced yourself or have some kind of expertise in.

If you felt the pain point yourself, you're not only going to be more motivated

to solve it, but you are actually going to be more equipped to solve it as well.

If you ask yourself your problem as a question, your solution can be the

answer or another approach is thinking of the polar opposite of your problem.

For example, disposable and reusable dehydration and hydration, or in the case

of skinny met Tea Toxins and D Detox.

If you're stuck in ideas, you can look at websites like Trend

Hunter or Kickstarter, for example.

On Trend Hunter, you can search according to a category you're interested in.

You can be like, okay, I'm interested in health and wellness.

Then you can go into the health category and maybe look at some of the top

trends for that month in the health and wellness space, or you can see

if anything really catches your eye.

For me, obviously a detox tease was written down.

I would've found that really interesting and I would've tried to

think about some of the ways that I could solve that problem differently

to what was already being presented.

Another good place to do some research once you have

a general idea, is Pinterest.

You can type in things like the benefits of hydration or dehydration

or detox tea recipes, and look at some of the DIY tips and trends there.

So as an action item, I'd like you to come up with five broad problems

that you're looking to solve.

You'll see why I've asked you to come up with five ideas very soon, but a hint

is that not every product is necessarily going to be viable for e-commerce.

So go ahead, do that now, and I'll see you in the next lesson.