Most people lead rather ordinary lives, built around family, work, church, and hobbies. This is fine for most. The need to pay bills drives many to unsatisfying, boring, and stressful jobs. The fact that so many people work in energy-draining jobs should be a motivating factor in seeking entrepreneurial opportunities. Unfortunately, most people are totally risk averse and cut themselves off from the potential rewards available almost exclusively to entrepreneurs.
The perceived risk taker (the entrepreneur) is not, in reality, the actual risk taker. The true risk taker is the person willing to work a boring job, for an average salary, letting life fly by without even knowing the thrill of being in the fray. This person leaves life without ever having left a mark. Looking back on a journey that did not include excitement, change, and risk, it would seem to reflect a life lived empty and unfulfilled.
Entrepreneurs crave change, excitement, competition, and risk, understanding that these are the obstacles that must be overcome to achieve success. The ability to challenge yourself against the overwhelming mass of competitive opportunities available in the marketplace is a narcotic for serial entrepreneurs. They may not always be successful, but they will always try.
Most new products are developed from the life experience of an entrepreneur. The hundreds of new product ideas he reviews each year are overwhelmingly biased toward hobbies: pets, cosmetics, sporting goods, and children’s products. And overwhelmingly, these offers can be described as having a fun component.
Would it surprise you to learn that the toy industry is 60% smaller than the pet products market? He made me! However, I have seen a dynamic at work in many product categories that I think explains this surprising number. I call it “Passion for fun”. Golfers, hunters (and fishermen), and pet owners are among the most passionate people I interview. They are intensely immersed in all aspects of their passion. Maybe toy makers aren’t making new toys or parents are spending more money on educational products, but I know parents love their kids. They just don’t have a passion for toys.
An avid outdoorsman will buy any and all products that could give him an advantage when hunting or fishing. More shots for an angler, closer and clearer shots for a hunter, more fish caught and more animals killed is the goal of every sportsman. They are passionate about their sport and eager to learn about any product that will increase their success and their fun.
Pet owners are just as passionate about their animals. Sharing a home with an animal is a statement of commitment, sharing and passion in itself. Pet toys, exercisers, premium foods, and even vitamin-enriched bottled waters are big sellers for pet owners as they pamper their animals. The joy that pet owners receive from sharing their lives with a loved pet is very rewarding. Watching a child play with a puppy or kitten is one of a parent’s most treasured memories.
Golfers share the same commitment to expanding their enjoyment of all aspects of the golf experience. Every year I review more golf products than any other category. In all cases, the entrepreneur believes that he has developed a product that will improve golf performance, lower scores and increase the playing experience. These entrepreneurs are always passionate golfers, looking to provide an advantage through the unique features contained in their invention.
Entrepreneurs who are passionate about fun, because of the love they have for their hobby or sport, provide products that represent joy for them. It’s much easier to succeed with a product that screams leisure, happiness, or fun. The ability to create an exciting new product opportunity that brings a fun feature and benefit to an area of passion is a dream come true for these entrepreneurs.
My father had a dead end job. He was intensely unhappy because life had passed him by (her words of his). He told me as a young man, “Do something that is fun, not work.” Work and play mean different things to different people. Some people are happier at work, no matter the type of work: it identifies them. Invariably this type of person is an entrepreneur. They enjoy the work because they own the business.
Most people, however, would prefer to earn a living with a “fun” job. Working as a professional golfer, sportscaster, artist, writer, personal trainer, or coach are just a few jobs that many people would describe as fun and rewarding. Most of the products I review, and those that are successful in the market, offer features and benefits that provide a way to bring more fun to passions and hobbies.
I also review many work-related products. Many of these have enormous potential. The ability to provide a breakthrough in wellness, technology or e-commerce can be very lucrative. As a capitalist I love these projects. However, the real fun and passion that I see when working with hobby-related products is often absent from industrial inventions.
Novel hobby and sports-related products are often easier to conceive of, easier to patent and register, and more easily designed and manufactured than most industrial products. The capital required to launch a pet exercise toy can be a fraction of a mechanical tool or technology. Often, we use the inventor of a fun product as a spokesperson for the item’s brand. The passion for fun that the entrepreneur has put into their product is contagious and translates into increased sales and credibility.
When aspiring entrepreneurs are looking for a product to create and market, we highly recommend looking around the house or garage. What is your true passion? What provides enjoyment, happiness and a feeling of satisfaction? When they’re scrapbooking, assembling model airplanes, playing chess, golf, swimming, or reading, there’s often something they think would enhance the experience. This is the surest way to discover potential opportunities in an area of great interest. You can invent that new product, and it will be rewarding for you and all users as you start your business career.