One of the ways is to go out of your niche. Out of the high tech stuff, and see what "ordinary" people with uncool professions need. Other option is to transfer ideas from one niche to another - it may look odd and weird at first but then lots of ideas will pop up.
I even do get some of my ideas from TV. From the news. From seeing a problem or someone's business model that can be transferred elsewhere.
I did this and I can see how "getting out of your niche" works but be careful that you know who your customers will be. I went into working with the real estate industry, particularly realtors. I now find myself really wanting to get into high tech because my personality clashes with a lot of my customers. For one, they are incredibly un-tech savy and 80% of them use some outdated windows computer with Internet Explorer 6 or something prehistoric.
I had to spend 30 minutes the other day explaining to someone how to download a picture and where it gets saved on her computer.
They also like to have meetings and conference calls on things that can be resolved with a 2 sentence email. There are also some things I'd like to be able to do like build relationships with my customers through social media and although many of them do use it, it's just not the same as interacting with a younger or more tech savy demographic.
So in the end, for my next business, I'm going to look towards finding a market where my customers are better suited with my personality and skills. I think it will not only be more enjoyable for me but also allow me to fully utilize what I am good at.
On the other hand, if you invest some effort to get more comfortable working with people like these, you could have access to a market that may have fewer competitors, since many tech-oriented people might have the same obstacles you did. And real estate agents may have real money to spend on a product that would make it easier for them to earn their commissions -- you could get a lot more money on a single sale than you could from selling iPhone apps to random people for $4.99 a piece.
Less competitors... Yes, quite possibly. Do real estate agents have real money to spend on product to make their life easier? Sure. Of course they do, but so do other people. Your point about $4.99 iphone apps, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything...
I also never said I wasn't comfortable working with people like this it's just that I wouldn't if I had a choice and knew what I know now. I do not agree with a lot of their work principles and I appreciate different things than they do.
For me, I'm still young and have the time to experiment in different industries it's not about jumping into the first market that has the least competitors, its about finding something I enjoy doing and am passionate about. I notice that is when I tend to do my best work.
I think finding a job or industry is like dating. You have a relationship with your customers and if they are 2 or 3 times your age and share no common interests, it can make for a not so great relationship.
Thanks for your help. Well how do you get out of that niche? Using the below comment as example, seems like it can be a bit risky not having domain expertise entering something new, right? I guess it can help to have a partner who know's the niche, just wondering how you can avoid choosing the real estate industry to find out the grass isn't that green.
I even do get some of my ideas from TV. From the news. From seeing a problem or someone's business model that can be transferred elsewhere.