Great Ideas vs Profitable Great Ideas

People often confuse a great idea with a profitable one. Wikipedia is a great site; eBay is a profitable great site. Both sites lead their segment, fill a need, and provide value to the customer. The difference is that Internet users will pay money to find a buyer for their product, while most people would not pay a significant amount of money for information that can be attained for free from another location. While, it can be argued that Wikipedia (as part of the Wikipedia foundation) is a non-profit and could make more money with additional advertising, I would say that most of its’ success is because of the non-profit title.

So, am I saying that you should only start a business if it is going to be a hugely profitable one? Absolutely not, just make sure your goals (personal and financial) are aligned with the reality of your business idea. There are certainly more important things in life than money, and there is something to be said for starting a really cool company that makes the world a better place, and allows you to pay your bills (and live comfortably, not luxuriously). But, if you’re goal is to make as much money as possible, be realistic with your new idea. It may be easy to get customers by giving it away, but is your product so vital that customers will pay for it?

Relating to the internet, very few companies can make a lot of money with eyeballs alone. Advertising is only going to make the gatekeepers (ala Google) the big bucks. Advertising dollars can complement your web business, but to build a strong company you need to be able to sell a product or service (hopefully on a reoccurring basis) to potential customers.