Bill Myers

The last time you busted your knuckles doing some thankless grunt labor, you probably said, "Why doesn't someone invent something to make this job easier?"

Those words are often the inspiration for new products. Especially for those of us in the product development business.

In my case, almost every successful product I developed was a result of wanting to find an easier way to accomplish a difficult task.

When I was looking for an easier way to create CD ROM products, I created ViewBoss (an automated CD ROM authoring tool). And when I needed a way to track orders, shipments, and newsletter subscriptions, I created Order Desk Pro software. Same is true with MemberGate, eShowcase, ezOrderForm, ezContact and most of the other products I developed - I created them to make a difficult job easier.

All of these 'make it easier' solutions evolved into commercially successful products that customers purchased to make their own difficult jobs easier.

So, the next time you hear yourself or someone else utter the "Why doesn't someone invent something to make this job easier?" question, take note of it. The answer to the question could be the inspiration for your next project.

See an example of a tool I developed this week in response to my own ""Why doesn't someone invent something . . ." question at http://www.bmyers.com/members/632.cfm (you can use it free).