Some ideas:
Look at tasks for which Excel is being used, but not really built for
Find a successful product that is desktop based, make a web version of it
Find a successful product that is not well designed (it is successful maybe because it was first) and do it better
Find tasks that are done manually, but can be automated, and automate them
Look at "traditional" biz rather than software biz - these businesses are likely to be less tech savvy and probably use outdated tools and tech.
1) Find a market that (a) is using software (b) make $100K a year and (c) is reachable 2) Reach out to business owners telling them you are doing research and are looking for business problems. 3) Get on the phone with these people and talk about their problems. 4) Once you have found a problem build a quick MVP and share it with them.
My advice would be to not worry about getting advice about customers until you have a solid idea and execution plan. No need to put the cart in front of the horse.
Identify a need in a community, build a product around that need.
Get the customers first. They could be family members in a certain industry, coworkers, friends, etc.
Then ask them what they'd pay for if you built it. If it's scalable and cashflow positive, you have a business. If not, you don't.
Scratch your own itch. What is something you want to do, or be done, differently?
I'm a dev and got tired of boilerplate code and refactoring, among many other things. So I built something that makes me 10X+ more productive. Now looking for users and customers.
You could also find something that is not being done perfectly or it is dominated by one player but has potential for niche expansion. Random example: accounting software for dry cleaners...
Find forums that are industry specific and read about their questions/problems
Work at a business and look for problems within it that aren’t being solved. This can be inefficient processes that could be solved with software or replacing vendors you’re unhappy about with a better solution.
You won’t be able to find a B2B problem from the outside. You need to be inside and observe. If you pay attention you’ll find a ton of business ideas.