This article illustrates a common problem people have with starting a business. Idea churn. The way most people go about starting businesses is to drum up ide

This article illustrates a common problem people have with starting a business. Idea churn. The way most people go about starting businesses is to drum up ideas and then go out into the world and attempt to validate them like so: 01. Come up with product/service ideas 02. Seek out a market or present idea(s) to a predetermined market 03. Conduct market research to validate/invalidate idea(s) 04. Scrap idea or build idea 05. Rinse, repeat This method isn't very effective because it emphasizes validating your preconceived ideas, not understanding your market and THEN crafting a compelling product or service to sell them. The market-first approach, on the other hand, eschews the notion of starting out with a product/service idea in the beginning. Instead, it focuses on finding markets to serve, gaining a deeper understanding of what their needs and pain points are, and then crafting a product or service to offer. The Market First Method 01. Choose a market 02. Conduct research to understand market needs/desires 03. Brainstorm ideas to solve market needs/desires 04. Craft a compelling product or service 05. Deploy. Gather feedback. Iterate. I find this methodology to be far more effective because it shifts your focus from coming up with rock star ideas to the far more pleasant and useful activity of engaging with a market and discovering where you can add value. Two things, I might add, that come in quite handy when it comes time to craft your offer and write sales copy.