Thomas Edison’s Key To Creating a Successful Business

I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others…
I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent.”
Thomas Edison

He’s one of the most prolific inventors the world has ever seen.

He gave us the light bulb, phonograph, kinetoscope (motion picture projector), stock ticker, and fluoroscope – just to name a few of his 1000+ inventions.

But the quote above is perhaps the greatest display of Edison’s true genius.

Many entrepreneurs get this backward. We think about what we like, what we’re good at, and what kind of product, service, company we want to invent. It’s only after spending a lot of sweat and equity in developing the concept that we discover the market isn’t there to support it.

Start with the prospect.

How can you make their lives better?
How can you help them achieve their goals?
How can you help them avoid a pain?
How can you serve a market in a way that no one else is serving it?

Want to significantly improve the odds of your success? Start with the prospect and keep them at the forefront of your mind as you develop, refine and market your business idea.

It takes research.
It takes hard work.
It takes thinking about others first (which is contrary to our nature).

But if you want to launch a winning business, take the advice of one of the greatest minds of our time – find out what the world needs, then give it to them!

What You Can Learn About Business From a Baby

Remember the “When I Grow Up” Monster.com commercial from a few years back? It featured kids talking about how they want to do things like “work their way up to middle management,” “be a ‘yes’ man,” and “file all day” when they grow up.

It’s a great commercial, though I think the kids in it are too old to be dispensing any sort of career advice. Just listen to them. At 11 or 12 years old the entrepreneurial spirit has already been beaten out of them and they’re content settling for the Dilbert Cube!

If you really want to get some sound lessons in business, you should be looking to the infant and toddler set. Seriously!

I became a father for the first time and started my first business within a 14 month stretch. These are two enormous undertakings by themselves. Taking them on at about the same time was quite an overwhelming task. One thing that helped me however, is that I found I could learn a lot about business by observing and interacting with my daughter. In fact, I think babies can teach you more about the critical skills needed to start and run a successful business than most business courses at prestigious universities.

Now that I’m home for about 6 weeks playing Mr. Mom to our second child, I’ve got baby on the brain again. It seems like the ideal time to share some of the business lessons my kids have taught me (and continue to teach me) because . . . you really can learn a lot about business from a baby.

Join me later this week (baby permitting) to learn the essential business lessons you can learn from trying to get a fussy baby to stop crying.