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I don’t normally talk about this, but here is what you are missing:
Businesses that make (real) money revolve around one of two ideas:
- They sell shovels
- They are middlemen (middlepeople?)
They sell shovels.
This is stolen from the old saying that during the American gold rush the people who made the money were the ones selling shovels. Or facilitating others to go and do what they wanted (in this case, chase a wild dream).
Uber, the example you used, sells shovels. It lets people make money from their car. Real money. Not peanuts. Your idea to sell food to neighbors didn’t have the potential to make much money. You weren’t selling shovels, you were selling work (cooking is hard work).
Now, let’s take your current business (which you list in your profile). You sell shovels because you help companies get what they what in terms of engineering management (lots of money to be made there). Better engineering processes usually trickles down into the finances. In a way, you are selling money.
They are middlemen.
A middleman is someone who simply takes a cut for facilitating something. They import beer from somewhere else and by doing that they jack up the price a little bit and resell it to you. This is a very straightforward mechanic.
Amazon is one of the best middlemen out there right now. It even changed the game by reducing the friction in selling online. Their whole “fulfilled by Amazon” approach is a classic middlemen tactic.
Middlemen sell the idea that they make getting what you want easier.
How to apply this to software
Selling shovels: Build a product that makes people money. Ecommerce is still growing. Do something there.
Be a middleman: Find something to facilitate. Look for inefficiencies. How? Listen to complaints. People love to complain to someone who listens. Make some contacts on social media and listen to people. They will show you the way.
One last thing: don’t be stupid. Big ideas are tied to a big ego. You are not Musk, Jobs, or Gates. Who cares?! Look for small ideas that you can execute well. And then execute, not for passion or ego, but as a grind. Like a regular job. Because that’s what it is. Good luck.1