Creating a profitable software business relies on identifying a pressing need for your customers, making a product available to them that solves the problem, that they can afford to pay for, that they prefer to your competitors, and that you can sell at a price that enables you to make a profit – or keep the business going long enough for you to make a profit eventually.

The first and most important part is… you guessed it… identifying a pressing need for your customers. Without that, no-one is going to pay you.

The best introduction to this approach is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries: http://theleanstartup.com/

Good luck!

Cheers
Matt