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CHAPTER 3 THE MILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS IDEA

The reason is because it is extremely difficult to create a new
market for something that does not yet exist. It takes a long
time and millions of dollars in advertising to convince consumers
to buy something that they never needed before. By the time
the new idea catches on, new competitors would have learned
from the mistakes of the pioneer company and build a better
version to claim all the market share and profits.

The company that introduced the first videocassette (i.e.
Betamax) failed. It was a later version called VHS that
became the successful standard. The company that invented
the search engine (i.e. Altavista) failed to become successful.
It was much later companies like Yahoo and Google that
became the market leaders. The company that introduced the
first personal computer (i.e. Commodore) also had limited
success. It was IBM and Apple (who came around much later)
that made the PC into a commercially successful product.

Create a Revolutionary Product or
Find an Ordinary Product and Deliver it
in a Revolutionary Way?

I have found through my research and observation that people
who build successful companies rarely start trends or introduce
revolutionary products. The probability of success in doing so
is extremely low.

Instead, many of the most successful companies are built
by entrepreneurs who went into existing, ordinary or even
‘boring’ businesses. These include industries like food
(everybody needs to eat), property (everybody needs shelter),
health care, education, apparel and entertainment.

70 SECRETS OF BUILDING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUSINESSES