In the entrepreneurial world, there is a lot of focus on your product. As a defining aspect to your business, it makes sense. Your product is what separates you from other businesses. It can make you money or build your brand. It can also fail to do those things. So, there is a lot of emphasis on the feasibility of your product. However, your product is not the only thing that can make you millions. Your market can.
Now, your product is still important. However, it doesn’t matter how good your product is if the market is shrinking or even dying. So, before you pick your product, pick your market.

The Teenage Millionaire

On Season 6 episode 23 of the Making Bank Podcast, Shaahin Cheyene chats about his revolutionary supplement, Herbal Ecstasy. A legal form of ecstasy, Shaahin was able to build a billion-dollar company by the age of fifteen. He achieved this impressive milestone in the early 90s, before the internet and without any endorsements. He disrupted the drug scene in California, and it made him a name.
From there, he worked on what would later become vaping technology, establishing himself as a leader in the space. After that, he worked with Amazon in the early days, and has since earned $350 million as an Amazon Industry Expert, among other things.

While Shaahin has an incredible story of great accomplishment, he isn’t the only one. He also doesn’t think he has to be. For Shaahin, real success comes by doing one thing: disrupting a market

Product vs. Market

There can be a lot of talk about which markets are trending, which are here to stay, and which are fads. Some markets are oversaturated, while others may not have enough interest. Sometimes, people spend so much time on predicting markets that they forget to objectively view them.
You must first ask yourself if the market is right for you. Are you interested in that market or do you just want to make money? We all want to make money—but that can’t always be the only motivator that gets us through tough times. Being an entrepreneur can be laborious, and sometimes we must dig deep. Sometimes we have to fall back on our passion to be able to get up and keep going.

Creative Perseverance

That’s another important factor that Shaahin emphasizes: the ability to keep trying. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean to keep trying the same exact thing, especially if you’re not getting the results you want. Rather, Shaahin means to keep trying different angles, different approaches, or even different products. As an entrepreneur, you always walk to think creatively and critically. However, sometimes you need to really step back and examine what you could be doing differently—something that no one else in your market is doing. That’s the hard part because, well, no one else is doing it. You have no examples to follow, no certain path to take.

According to Shaahin, though, there are examples. Look to other market disruptors.

The Amazon Story

Using the example of Jeff Bezos, Shaahin elaborates on his point. At the beginning of Amazon, Bezos was selling books. Books themselves are not always considered the best product—they aren’t trending, easy, or unfortunately, in high demand. However, Bezos didn’t disrupt the market with books. He disrupted the market with his business model—two-day shipping.

It can be hard to remember now, but prior to Amazon, online shipping could take 7-10 business days. It could take longer. Your items could arrive not only late but damaged. At that time, shopping in stores was more convenient, cheaper, and overall easier than online ordering. Jeff Bezos changed all that.

In order to disrupt a long-standing tradition of in-person shopping, Bezos had to do something so convenient, it would force people to overcome their stigma around online ordering. So, with the two-day shipping model and his pricing, he made it accessible and easy.

However, he didn’t just stop there. He continued to innovate, as Shaahin points out. He then decided he wanted to provide everything you could possibly need. He took the general store and put it on steroids—and he’s only continued to do so. Now, Amazon provides you with your favorite TV programs, a couch to watch them on and the popcorn to eat during the show. And it’s the only company to do so. Anything you could possibly need or want, you can get at one place.

Market Disruptors

Jeff Bezos isn’t the first to disrupt a market but he is one of the most notable. Now, you don’t need to do something so extreme at such a grand scale. It may not even be feasible to you.

You don’t need to change the world to change your world. If you’re in a niche market, that’s even better. Think of ways you can disrupt the market you operate in – no matter how big or how small – and it will reward you.
For example, are there frustrations you have as a small business owner? Are there problems within your niche? If you’re facing a problem, most likely others are too. So, why not be the one to provide the solution? Even better, why not provide an alternative way of doing things?

So, before you focus solely on your product, consider your market. Then consider how your product can change the market.