Unfortunately, that’s actually the wrong way to get started.

We’re taught in life that there is such a thing as “a million dollar idea”.  We’re told that the if we just build the right thing and put it out there, people will immediately recognize the value of it and buy it.  It seems reasonable, but it is just simply wrong.  Let’s put this through a rational filter for a moment…

• When was the last time you saw something that was new/awesome and actually bought it?
• How many times did you buy something like that this week?
• How much did you spend on it?

Now, let’s rework those questions a little bit.

• When was the last time you bought something at all?
• How many times did you buy things this week?
• How much did you spend this week on things?

What’s going on there?  Well, you buy the things that you buy.  Everyone does this and this is how commerce works.  The lesson here is that people buy what they want and need, so you should consider providing this as a product developer.  Over the course of a week or so, you buy all sorts of mundane things that you need or perceive that you need, and the vast majority of all money is made providing these things.  They’re not sexy, but they do sell and people do buy them.  Go to Walmart to see how unsexy the products are there, but how many millions of dollars are sold each month in just one store.

The question you should be asking yourself during the process not “Will people buy this?” but “Are people buying this now?” and if they are and they do not have a good option for it in your particular app store, then you’ve got a solid product.  Perhaps it means just doing something better than the next guy or just doing better market analysis to position your product higher up in the charts for a popular category.

So, to sum up, the question of “Will people buy this?” is automatically answered if people are already shelling out money for it somewhere else.  Knowing what people are buying and how much of it they are buying is the best way to choose a solid product to begin developing.  That’s just how it works, even if it’s a little less sexy than “I have a great idea for an app…”