Stop making apps; solve business problems!

How many times have you heard people say: “I wish someone could have implemented that idea in real life!”. It sounds engaging to go out and solve a bunch of business problems. Most people imagine that they will be placed on a throne alongside Microsoft and Apple. However, these people fail to notice and recognize the underlying reasons for what could go wrong.

It is completely normal to have a desire to implement your app and spread the word about it. However, the code or an app itself means nothing without the applied business logic, which comes first in line. So, that’s where we want to address an issue that many of the entrepreneurs are mistakenly doing: “Stop focusing on software implementation, concentrate on business problems to solve for your customers.”

In this article, we want to highlight and address the business problems that need solving before diving into app development.

Obvious Mistakes

So what kind of mistakes may potentially trigger your downfall and cause you to forget all the pulled effort? The answer is many. Each may depend on the situation that you are currently facing and experiencing. Below we describe just a few ones that are frequently overlooked. According to our clients, if you want to know which ones are the most recognized, go and check out the top startup mistakes you should avoid. In the meantime, here are some other mistakes to consider avoiding.

Lack of market research

You may have a great idea and be confident in it, but market research is a mandatory step to take since there will be no point in creating your product that no one will find value in it. It does include various research stages, such as the need for your product, the competition, suppliers, relevant laws & regulations, information about the target demographic, etc.

You can’t take a wild guess, shoot in the sky, and claim that your product will be bought and adored by millions. The concrete market research, focus group testing, and feasibility studies will challenge your theory and take it into the real world. That’s why if you know or understand that you are completely wrong about your product, change your path immediately.

We do understand that, as much as any entrepreneur has a passion for developing a truly unique product, it takes time and knowledge to master or grasp all business aspects at once. It can be hard to be handling it all by yourself, especially when you are entirely new to this. JetRuby’s product is developed precisely for those seeking a fast and correct approach to implementing their project. As you’ll be involved in multitasking operations, you’ll get to know everything you need for your business to launch successfully. So go ahead and check out the Design and Discovery Phase, which was created specifically for you!

Too Fast Launch

Launching your startup is a significant process. However, establishing a startup before it’s completely ready is not a pleasant thing. Especially when you go around saying, “it’s not perfect, but at least it’s somewhat complete.” And the entrepreneur should be utterly confident that his new system will manage incoming client traffic. More than that, your application should handle all of the core functions that any app should have: payment system, customer communication channels, UI interaction, etc. Otherwise, you’ll have holes in your business, and every potential client will drown your product before it hits a severe marketing stage.

Seeking Early Publicity

Some entrepreneurs may discuss and tell you a central idea of their own, stating that it will be a significant breakthrough. However, they will only have an idea in their minds while asking for publicity for their attention without showing or demonstrating them.

There may be nothing wrong with discussing your app concept. However, a real problem arises when you start advertising, and that means spending money. Maybe you’ll get the awareness and the attention of the publicity, but on the other hand, you’ve spent too much budget, and your business is going under. So, don’t start marketing yourself before your business will be able to launch. Otherwise, you are risking yourself for a relatively fast fall down.

Area of Focus

So, where strictly should you be focusing on your full attention? Where could your next possible idea be hiding? As long as your audience will have business problems to solve, they will desperately look for the right solution. Faster and smarter, that’s the key to finding the solution every consumer needs. These are three things to focus on when developing your idea and are still far from your active development startup phase.

1. Concentrate on creating must-have functions instead of “cool” or “beautiful” products. – As we have already entered the 2021 year, the times change drastically, and consumers are changing their tastes rapidly. Simple products aimed to solve some simple problems that every second app won’t be recognized or wanted. As an entrepreneur, you have to deliver something extraordinary and much more significant than just another product on the shelf.
2. Solve the real problems of people. – Many big companies were aiming for some fundamental issues that their customers were dealing with: Amazon gave us simplified online purchasing, Uber made the cab pick-up easier, and Google made searching faster. Based on these examples, how will your product solve your audience’s problem and make their life easier? Identify crucial business problems that need solving and demanded by the public, implement them effectively, deploy your solution to the market, and create a real business worth millions of dollars.
3. Let your business be your passion – Some startup founders are passionate about solving the pain points they have identified. They get so interested and enthusiastic about it that they overlook some mandatory business processes entirely. You need both the inspiration for your work and the concentration to focus on all significant tasks. Do not let yourself enjoy your path too much, as you might get lost along your way.

Seek business problems to solve

Perhaps you’ve already started to code your first app or at least began to brand your very first startup. However, just stop for a second and think: “Does your product solve the problem better and more engaging rather than market alternatives? Have you done your research first to see if there is even a need for it?” If you’ll answer is mostly no, then you’d be just wasting time and money for nothing.

The code itself or your concept means nothing if you don’t know any business problems to solve or any unique idea to provide. Since this is a real base ground for your business to grow from. To understand how you can find and solve one, follow these four steps we prepared for you!

Combine the public necessity and your capabilities

You might have already seen or heard how many startups burn out due to not having concrete business goals or a framework to operate with. So think carefully when you are trying to juggle lots of ideas in your head simultaneously. It might be lethal for your business.

Before assembling any business team, just take some time and think deeply about three major questions that every successful entrepreneur asked himself:

1. What does the marketplace or the people need?
2. Where does my passion lie?
3. What am I able to deliver with my capabilities?

Think carefully and write down everything that you can think of since your business project is divided into two parts: your passion and your business plan. And you will need the motivation for both.

Ideally, for your startup to break the glass of uncertainties and make it through, it needs to fulfill both of these criteria. If you don’t enjoy the work you are doing, but you want to process your idea’s public needs, you’ll be starting over your business more times than you’ll ever wish. Otherwise, if you are working hard, but your product has no value, you won’t generate any sales whatsoever.

As an example, here are a few trending fields: clean energy, robotics, cybersecurity, transportation, and AI. Probably hundreds, if not thousands, of startups, are trying to succeed in these emerging fields. Although only a few ones will be able to pull it through.

Define your problem

Congratulations! You are one step closer to constructing a business model of your own. Currently, you have a complete list of “what you can do” and “what does the public want.” Time to form a plan of all business problems to solve and trim all the unnecessary ones.

You may order them in priority towards the audience that you are going to be doing it for. It’s fine to start with something small and take the time to develop it into something big. Otherwise, if you are going for a big and unique one, have confidence that your capabilities and skills can implement it correctly.

Locate the problem that you genuinely want to solve. Make sure you will be capable of solving it and choosing the one with many development opportunities.

Know your competitors

So, you’ve got the business problems that need solving, and you are ready to be doing just that. However, don’t think that you are the only one who has done it or tried to solve it. Believe us there are thousands.

But don’t get upset! Research the companies that failed and learn from their mistakes. Was it the lack of proper budget management during the critical moments? Were their expectations far from reality? Or was it the absence of the business model they completely forgot to do? Use this information to avoid similar situations and take your business to the next level.

However, let’s say that there are already companies that have succeeded. What should you do? Examine the offers and services that they have. Maybe even ask someone to buy it for you, to see the companies advantages and disadvantages. Analyze them and look where you can find a place to add value compared to other competitors.

Make your story

So, you’ve finally come to the point where you feel that you already need to build your company, right? Well, not so fast! You are already close enough, but first, explain the identified business problems you want to solve and your resolution.

This is important because you’ll be telling this to your customers, investors, team members, and your partner, after all. Show what lies at your company’s heart, which makes you feel the fire in your heart, and work all the way through to reach success! Find out how your story can never get old or boring. It is your passion, so express it so that the people could feel it.

At this point, you’ll have a problem statement, unique business aspects, and the burning motivation. Follow them and make your dream come true!

Where we can add value

You have seen how you can prevent any issues during your initial startup implementations with the method provided above. However, let’s say that you did all of that, and you still have some fears and doubts over your business, or you think that your idea will burn out pretty quickly. What will you do?

You’ll probably try to seek the solution and reach out to the maximum number of people. But in the end, you’ll either forget it and create another one, or somehow you’ll forget about your doubts and move on with it. Only to find out that numerous problems will appear somewhere in the middle of your core product development cycle or marketing advertisement campaign. Not to mention that you’ll be wasting your time and effort in space.

“So how can I be sure that my idea is viable and it does solve the customer’s problem, even though I have searched everywhere, got nothing, and still didn’t find the ones whom I can trust?” In that case, JetRuby can significantly help you cut the unnecessary amount of time, roughly estimate and deliver a projection of our idea’s product vision.

To prove our words, we present to you the Design and Discovery phase. A must-have step in any startup given work that requires thorough and careful preparations. Our program will solve most of your misunderstandings and cast the doubts away while providing you with the answers and results that you probably hadn’t even had in mind. Check it out right now and discover how we can assist your project!

Conclusion

At last, the entirety of your business is based upon the concept of your idea and your business goals. However, this is only a part of it. The other is to solve an actual and common problem that every potential customer faces every day. Since the code or prototype alone means nothing, as you won’t even know how you can sell it.

That’s why right now, we are offering a free consultation on product development strategy, where we will assess your product idea and roughly estimate how exactly it will be able to launch. Otherwise, if you already have acquired some parts of your startup, but you have doubts about the possible results of your business or don’t completely understand how you can sell your product, then Design and Discovery Phase is a perfect suit for you. Exactly where we will lay your business foundation and avoid the most expensive mistake by concrete planning and through discussions. More on that you can find in this link.

Stay safe, and watch out for the new flash article from our HQ. See you next time!