The value proposition — the collection of things a business offers to the target market to solve a problem or satisfy a specific need — is how an entrepreneur attracts customers away from the other choices they have among all of their competitors.

Most value propositions for new businesses come from some fundamental trend in the economy, in demographics, in technology or in society and culture.  These trends lead to changes within industries.

For example, the widespread use of the Internet forever changed industries such as music and newspapers.  Inflation in the economy both led to soaring healthcare costs and more recently begun to affect the food industry.  Inflation has clearly shaken up both of these industries

A fundamental role of being an entrepreneur is to find solutions for the problems and needs customers have that result from the change that follows disruptive trends like these.

Once the entrepreneur identifies the new business opportunity, the next step is to identify the specific offerings that provide enough value to customers to get their attention and motivate them to purchase from the new business.

It could be something about the product itself, such as its price and value, features, performance, durability or design.  It could also be something about how the product or service is delivered to the customer, such as its method of delivery (in their homes, on-line, in an exciting new retail location, etc.) or the specific services offered to go along with the product.  Or, it might be something about the personnel of the company, including their expertise, responsiveness, or reliability.

It is almost always best to identify and focus on one or two things that will make your business stand out to customers.  Focus on the most important need or problem the customers are facing.  Offer that feature to the customers with excellence in mind, making sure all employees understand its importance.  And make that key feature the heart of all of your promotion and other communication with the customer.

The best way to develop the key features that are at the heart of your value proposition is to listen to your customers, as while you may think you know what the customer wants, most of the time you will not have it quite right.  You will probably have to adjust your product or service to fit with what the customer actually wants or needs.

You may have started with something that is too complex and confusing to the customer.  What you thought would be one of many features of your product may need to become the only thing you focus on.

Sometimes the entrepreneur starts too narrow, and what was thought of as the product or service is only one of its key features – you may need to broaden what it is you offer.

Or you may discover that what you offer is a great value, but you have not been selling it to the right target market.

Once your customers affirm that you are offering the right value proposition, it needs to become the focus of everything you and your employees do every day.

Sometimes the simplest business models make the best opportunities.

We recently held our competition for the Baker Donelson Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year award here at Belmont University.  The winner not only has bragging rights, but also receives a significant cash award to help with the growth of their business.

This year’s competition was particularly strong.  But in the end, the winning business was not a new app for your smartphone, a new web platform, or a breakthrough technology to change the music industry.  The student entrepreneur who was named the Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year collects medical waste from doctors’ offices and funeral homes.

It took Jerell Harris, founder and at this time sole employee of QuickMed, a long time to get to the point of starting his medical waste management business.

Harris is not my typical student who comes to college fresh out of high school.  By the time he enrolled he had worked for several years, was married, and had a family of four children.

“I operated a small business for more than seven years,” said Harris, “but failed to take the company to the next level of growth. It was very frustrating.”

Eventually he decided to take significant step of entering college to pursue a major in entrepreneurship.

As he began to learn about entrepreneurship, Harris explored several business models.

The most recent one was a biometric attendance-monitoring concept aimed at reducing fraud within the state supported childcare industry.

The further he explored this idea, the more he realized that the technological complexity of the systems to operate the business, the cost of getting it started, and the general political climate it operated within made it too risky to launch.

After abandoning that idea, he decided to try and find a simpler business model to pursue.

Based on conversations with a friend, he recognized an opportunity in a well-established industry — medical waste management.  As he developed the business model for this idea, he discovered that it was relatively inexpensive and easy to launch.

But even a simple business model requires proper and careful execution.

“My entrepreneurship education has helped me tremendously,” said Harris. “I now understand how to make necessary pivotal steps that will help me reach my growth targets.  Above all, I have learned how to manage my company as it goes through various life cycles.”

Even though this medical waste management is a well-established market, Harris was able to find a value proposition that has helped him steadily gain market share.

“I have listened to the complaints in the market and developed QuickMed’s services based on those criticisms,” explains Harris.

Harris has ambitious goals for his new venture.  He intends to extend QuickMed’s waste collection services across the state of Tennessee by 2014.

When searching for a new business idea, avoid the common temptation to try and find a complex, trendy, or glamorous product.  Some of the best opportunities come from the most simple, everyday needs in the marketplace.