Ideas: First And Foremost

Ideas! You must have heard the saying “ideas rule the world.”Without innovation, the world will still be in its primitive state. Without ideas, there won’t be progress and consequently fulfillment. The human history is painted with various innovations emanating from different parts of the world. Over years, humans have opened new frontiers, started great companies, created unimaginable gadgets and solved impossible problems. All these to our ability to birth new ideas or improve existing ones.

Starting a business requires you must first have a business idea. Coming up with an idea may not be that farfetched. We humans always need things, our needs are unlimited. Once you can meet the needs of someone and you get paid for it, you are in business. Businesses are created to meet demands of human needs. And as long as there is demand, supply will always find its way; businesses will always be created. According to Abraham Maslov’s hierarchy of needs, there are five basic layers of human needs; physiological, safety, social, esteem and self actualization needs. We will use this classification as a guideline to discuss areas of human needs you can explore as an entrepreneur.

Physiological needs: These are basic physical needs for human survival. They include food, clothing and shelter. These needs are basic and required by humans every day. A good business addressing these needs will always have demand for its products. Think of a good restaurant, food packaging company, a clothier, your landlords, etc. They are always in business. However, you should also understand that because there is high demand for physiological needs, there are also a lot of suppliers. This means that there will be a lot of competition to deal with. People will always have alternatives, especially in the area of prices.

Safety needs: The need to feel safe is always there for us humans. Security as a need manifests in different dimensions which includes, personal security, financial security, economic safety, job security and even future assurance. Financial institutions, employers of labour address some of these needs. You put your money in the bank primarily because of security. Labour is cheap and even abused in Nigeria because supply of labour is higher than demand. People tend to cling to a job that offer more security. We always want to feel safe. Countries even go to war because national security. A business idea in this category will entail proper understanding of how your business idea can provide safety for your potential market. Your idea must detail how your potential buyers will derive a level of security which is different from what every other business is providing. Your business idea may not necessarily be new, but must be an improvement of existing ones.

Social needs: We all want to be loved. We all want to belong. We as social beings always seek companies of others in form of friendship, family, work group, clubs and social societies. So there’s always the need to feel accepted by whatsoever social group we found ourselves. A recent phenomenon of social networks- facebook, twitter, dating sites, etc.- is a perfect example of businesses providing social needs. An idea in this category will provide avenue to socialize. It will provide an opportunity for people to meet other people and fulfil their needs to communicate and relate well with others.

Esteem needs: We all want some respect from others. The need for self worth and self esteem is very predominant in humans. We need status, beauty, recognition, fame, prestige, self-confidence, independence, and freedom. At this stage of need, businesses exploit vanity, profligacy and excessiveness of humanity. Take cars for example, the primary function of a car is to get you from point A to B. But we all know that cars are not just made for that any longer, they are made to meet people demand for prestige, style and vanity. Luxury items and products fit perfectly into this category of need. Taking advantage of peoples vanity and extravagance requires coming up with an idea that will exploit the psychology of people who always need the approval of other people. Most people do not realize that self esteem and self worth is not based on what others think and say about them but what they think of themselves. So they buy items to enhance their beauty, improve their self confidence, be more popular and so on. Your business idea, ethically, is not to profit from some people’s ignorance but to present options to people who can actually afford luxury lifestyle and those who aspire to be.

Self-actualization needs: We all want to be something or somebody in life. As part of our nature, we aspire to be more than we already are. We have dreams, aspirations and visions. At this stage, the other four needs are not what we focus on, we want to be all we can be. We want to be successful. Product and services in this category will attract people who want to realize their potentials. People must see how what you are selling to them will boost their chances of becoming what they want to become. A good illustration would be weight reduction drugs. For people who want to lose some weight, the drug must be very effective and helpful in reducing weight. The expectation of people who will buy products and services in this category is that the products will either make them realize their dreams or move them closer.

Exploring the needs of the society you live in will be an immense advantage to you as an entrepreneur. Your ability to decipher the needs and profit from it will distinguish you from the pack. What this piece has tried to do is to open your eyes to how you can come about a good business idea using Abraham Maslov’s hierarchy of needs. So start identifying business ideas under each layer of needs. Choose one you believe you can well execute. Using the hierarchy of needs as a guide will make you understand why people buy what they buy and the psychology behind their decisions to suppress a particular need for another. You will also know who to market your products to. This basic understanding is the foundation of becoming a successful business owner. It is the bedrock of laying a good foundation for your wonderful business.