Business ideas don't have to come from seeking out a problem to solve
Certain ideas just need to be well executed consistently to be successful. A few examples.
General interest content & newsletters like The Skimm, RocaNews, and The Hustle. You could argue they're solving the problem of people needing concise news updates. But I think they were successful more because they were well-written and engaging for a long period of time.
Kid's toys, like the Nugget Pillows or basically any trendy new toy that comes onto the market. There is definitely no shortage of kids toys. These succeed more because they're solid products paired with quality marketing.
Home goods products. These are usually just nice looking or nice-smelling things that people like to have around their homes and are willing to pay for.
Popular social media accounts like Friday Beers or any meme account. These accounts aren't solving a niche problem, they're just providing entertainment.
Sure, you can come up with a general problem that each of these solves. A meme account is a solution for boredom, or children's toys are a solution for kids needing to be entertained. But when the creators of these things generated the idea initially, were they really focusing hard on the question of: what niche-market problem can I solve? Or did they just come up with a good, simple product and execute it well?
Maybe being some form of entertainment or content is the common link with all these examples? Not totally sure. But overall, I think there are lots of exceptions and limitations to the common advice about generating business ideas. I'm sure there are some considerations I'm not thinking of.
If so, roast me.
(Originally posted this on my twitter account that I recently started: https://twitter.com/WoodworkStartup)