What's the first thing you do when working on a new idea?
Aaron O'Leary
102 replies
You have a new idea and it's on your mind, you want to get started, but where? What do you do first?
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![Chandan Das](https://ph-avatars.imgix.net/3323237/16a78109-4f46-4679-a25c-75b9ba6e38c1.jpeg?auto=compress&codec=mozjpeg&cs=strip&auto=format&w=36&h=36&fit=crop)
Chandan Das@chandan_shopify
Make a list with time frame and goal
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For me, it's always the domain hence why I have about 20 unused domains 🥲
@aaronoleary Jokes aside, I feel like finding a cool/matching domain name isn't as easy as one would imagine haha
@aaronoleary Same hahah I go crazy and immediately search for the TLD
@aaronoleary This is legit the same thing I do.
@aaronoleary i usually go for free .web.app domain so first focus becomes building the product and landing page to not waste much time on landing page i use Frontendor
Something. Anything.
If you do not start work (real steps to win) within 3 days - idea will RIP.
It means do not think too much - just start do something ASAP and then you'll just feel what to do next and plan will be born by itself.
See if anyone else is doing it and how. Even if they are doing it, I end up doing it anyways because I think I can make it better.
Domain and social media accounts.
Is this good
I write everything down first. Nothing structured, just raw thoughts. Then I read through those notes and think about it all for a while, to see if I like the idea. See if it's something I want to pursue vs whatever else I have going on. Sometimes just writing it down is enough.
I think for me its to validate the idea. Understand what work has been done in this field if at all. {literature review} , SWOT analysis with a focus on impact and scale. Then it’s about finding things that work independently that will help me materialise this new idea such as tools and teams.
@chai_mohan Absolutely. I suggest you check out the Delta 4 theory by Kunal Shah (Founder of Freecharge and CRED) https://www.kunalshahtalks.com/p...
Validate the idea !
I personally look for inspiration. I do web design, and for me inspiration is the most important thing. I think you should start with that too. Find something that inspires you. It doesn't have to be one thing or one picture. It can be anything. Personally, I spent a lot of time making flyers for nightclubs and looking at what they were like on various free services. I even tried to find something suitable from free flyer templates download https://www.elegantflyer.com/cat... . Early in my career, I couldn't come up with anything of my own. And that's absolutely fine. I want to tell you not to worry about it. Just try to do it again, but in your own way. You have to be aware of what you are doing.
Never think about an idea first. As i designer i think about an space to work on. It's create an broad way to looked at it.
small example:- India have disorganised industry in pets sector.
Person A:- I want to build FMCG product for pets, which may be an good idea.Idk
Person B:- Okay so why i'm having different experiences in this industry.
> Why there is only 40,000 doctors for animals in india ? ( only pet dogs population
21m )
> Why paw parents are not trained to take care of their pets? Can i shift their
behaviour ?
> why laws are not so organised ?
>there are many ..........
I research on that then make goals and plans for it.
@jaskiran_kaur i too research market on the competitors how they are doing things and how i can add more value i like setting goals but recently been reading atomic habits book so will be focusing more on the systems
Looking for something similar in Google.
I upgrade my idea based on competitor.
And finally - Design -> Code -> Product Hunt :)
I open an IDE for writing some code
@jmbastida that's me ✋ , is it struggle for you too to leaving projects in middle or quite in the end just because something else got more interesting 😄?
Estimate required effort to implement it. => if more than 2 days of work postpone assessment to the end of the month (I end each month by making my backlog for the next one).
Estimate the potential return (market size if business idea, or impact on branding potential for content ideas)
If the potential return/effort worth it I review the existing competition.
If I still see potential:
- If it is less than 2 days of work, implement it on some weekend
- Otherwise plan it my monthly backlog.
Speak to your prospects first to validate the idea before even buying a domain.
Always start on paper.
Write down the idea on my Trello dashboard because I know I'll forget it 2min after otherwise 😅
Create a Notion 2.0 workspace and start creating development boards, future plans and roadmaps.
Thats what I did for Taskord