Recently, I have started sewing bags and am determined to create products for selling. That made me consider what to create. Let’s talk about it.
What should we create as a product?
Sometimes, we want to decide what to create and sell when we try to build our own business. Even if we decide on the industry and field, we don’t know specifically what to make.
Although we want to create something that will sell well, we don’t know what it is from the beginning. Even if we try to get inspired by professionals’ products, there are many fascinating ideas. Having many options is the same as having none of them resonate with us.
I have had such a problem these days.
After I finished sewing my latest bag several days ago, I considered what kind of bag to create for selling. However, I had no idea. I didn’t know what bags people were seeking. In addition, I have also made the bags I wanted. There was no idea inside me. On top of that, although I referenced various bag designs on the internet, they all appeared attractive. It meant I had no special interest in any of them.
In other words, I was unable to gain people’s desires, my ideas, and inspiration.
That is why we want to know how to determine what to create when we lack inspiration.
One solution is relying on rationality. That might help you try lightly. Today, I will explain why.
Two kinds of triggers
Two kinds of triggers stimulate our interests, as follows:
- Inspiration: ideas that come from concrete things. However, it can be difficult to choose one when every option looks attractive.
- Logical reasoning: ideas that arise from abstract thinking and inference. However, it is difficult to choose one when we lack enough evidence of which areas are effective.
If you cannot get ideas from inspiration, try the latter—infer rationally.
Why specific ideas confuse us
Rationally speaking, if every inspiration looks attractive, you will be satisfied whichever one you choose, as long as it is in your area of interest.
However, we hesitate to choose freely and randomly. This is because there is no reasoning. Our logical sense tells us that there is room to compare and consider if there are many options. We want to pick the best one, although there are no differences among them. That contradiction confuses us.
It is like buying a bag of potato chips and wondering which chip to eat first. Every chip tastes almost the same. However, when we look only inside the bag and start to compare the chips, we hesitate.
That shows us we need boundaries of interest. For example, if we prefer cheese and BBQ flavor to other ones, we understand that there is no need to compare chips within the same cheese-flavored bag. We can pick up a reasonable chip in the bag.
My case
In other words, when everything appears attractive, there is no need to think specifically. Logical reasoning from a broader perspective frees us from specifying ideas.
In my case, although I saw various specific bag designs, they all appeared excellent. I didn’t know where to start. That made me lose my motivation.
At that time, one experience gave me a broader perspective. I looked for designs of remodeled hats on the internet instead of those of bags. That day, my parents told me my hat was unique—slightly odd—and implied I should change it for something else. I remembered that and turned my interest temporarily to the hat.
That showed me the boundaries of my interest. I realized I didn’t feel like making hats for the time being. They will not develop my management of resources. Compared to them, I noticed that bags would improve my life more efficiently.
That led me to take a strategic approach to making bags. Instead of seeking specific ideas, I divided the bag field into three segments: large-size, medium-size, and small-size bags. Since I didn’t know which area would sell well, I decided on a strategy to cover and produce them all evenly for a while.
That freed me from the conflict of deciding which bag to make. I can make any of them in order. Since I found some good material for a large bag, I decided to make a bigger one first.
It was like the example of potato chips. Once I figured out my favorite flavor, I stopped comparing the taste of chips with the same flavor.
Conclusion
That is why rationality allows us to determine what to create when we lack inspiration.
If every inspiration looks attractive, you will be satisfied whichever one you choose, as long as it is in your area of interest.
Logical reasoning from a broader perspective frees us from specifying ideas.
That might help you try lightly.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
