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Finding A (Fastlane) Need Is This E A S Y

Idea threads

Edgar King

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So you've read the Millionaire Fastlane , Unscripted , Great Rat Race, even stalked MJ in his backyard to uncover the secret needs formula, but where... is.... that.... KRABBY PATTY FORMULA...I mean...NEED?!

You've deep dived through hundreds of forum threads about finding problems and needs in the market.

You've found different techniques to do it too, like the inside out technique where you basically interview the top players in the market to uncover a need but where you have zero domain knowledge, searching twitter for hate phrases about problems you aren't even passionate about, asking your friends and family for problems they have but no dice, and they stare at you like you're that bad math question.

But where is the need? I think I can help.

I can't guarantee this method will work and I just thought it simple enough to share. But I do hope this is the one technique you've been looking for. Here it is.

Pain

Scan your life for thoughts, events, activities, or unpleasant moments that occur(ed) often, that you or someone else encountered, and that your mind shys away from because it was hard, annoying, took too long to achieve, hurts to think about, think it could be done better or frustrates you (Because you've been stuck on the same step for so long, it was blocking you from success).

Basically, scan your life/memories for painful experiences. Events that make your heart beat anxiously.

What do I mean here?

Any activity that has….
(Very) low probability of success
Could have (a lot) better results
Hurts (a lot) to do
Takes (too) long to achieve

Is a potential Fastlane problem just waiting to be solved.

If it frustrates or annoys you, there’s a good chance it frustrates someone else too after all! And what's more, you're passionate about the problem because you've experienced it!

And, would you pay for the solution to this? Yes? If so there’s a good chance someone else would too!

Just remembering things I've done a few months ago, one was a youtube channel. The painful memory I stumble across is one where I publish my video and it doesn't gain traction or more views. And that sucks! And it still sucks to think about! Now I'm really just annoyed haha.

The results Could have been (a lot) better.

Would I pay for someone to resolve this problem? To get my youtube channel to be on the rise doing what I love?

Most defnitely! And it's niche too.

How do you know the problem is niche? Well, if the average Joe was held at gunpoint and had to do the activity or die, they might die. They most likely be highly inefficient doing it and you bet there's going to be a lot of questions in doing it.

Fishing? Give a rod and a bait, but I know almost nothing about catching fish. How do I get a boat? How do I set out to sea? <Insert a lot more questions>

Copywriting? What's tha- *Shot in the face*

Give me a book, a course, a guide, or do it for me and I'm ready to throw my money at you to solve these problems.

Another one I'm reminded of is the time I was supposed to help someone with a long page sales letter. But it hurt!! I didn't know what I was doing and it hurt so bad, that I fell sick!

Who do I research? How do I research? How will I write it? How do I make sure the copy is actually good? For a beginner in the field...

It hurt (a lot) to do.

If someone could help me learn to write long page sales copy at that time I'd love them! And I'd definitely pay good money for it!

Note the words in the brackets. They show that these are serious pains to us. You want your business to be the solution to a stab wound, not a paper cut.

In fact, you can do this right now by writing out 10 unpleasant events you've faced in your life right now and start with that.

Now after finding a need, go prove that others have this problem, are willing to pay for the solution, and go solve it!

Best of luck!
Edgar

P.S.
Who knows, "how to find needs" for a business could be your next business idea if doing this takes WAYY too long to do or is just downright annoying for you ;)
 
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Last edited:

Justin L

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Great idea, maybe I could both find what annoys me and ask people what events frustrate them. I'm sure it could generate many ideas. Thanks Edgar!
 

Ismail941

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Awesome. Thanks for the revision - I gotta brush up on Demarco's books again!
 
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Edgar King

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So you've read the Millionaire Fastlane , Unscripted , Great Rat Race, even stalked MJ in his backyard to uncover the secret needs formula, but where... is.... that.... KRABBY PATTY FORMULA...I mean...NEED?!

You've deep dived through hundreds of forum threads about finding problems and needs in the market.

You've found different techniques to do it too, like the inside out technique where you basically interview the top players in the market to uncover a need but where you have zero domain knowledge, searching twitter for hate phrases about problems you aren't even passionate about, asking your friends and family for problems they have but no dice, and they stare at you like you're that bad math question.

But where is the need? I think I can help.

I can't guarantee this method will work and I just thought it simple enough to share. But I do hope this is the one technique you've been looking for. Here it is.

Pain

Scan your life for thoughts, events, activities, or unpleasant moments that occur(ed) often, that you or someone else encountered, and that your mind shys away from because it was hard, annoying, took too long to achieve, hurts to think about, think it could be done better or frustrates you (Because you've been stuck on the same step for so long, it was blocking you from success).

Basically, scan your life/memories for painful experiences. Events that make your heart beat anxiously.

What do I mean here?

Any activity that has….
(Very) low probability of success
Could have (a lot) better results
Hurts (a lot) to do
Takes (too) long to achieve

Is a potential Fastlane problem just waiting to be solved.

If it frustrates or annoys you, there’s a good chance it frustrates someone else too after all! And what's more, you're passionate about the problem because you've experienced it!

And, would you pay for the solution to this? Yes? If so there’s a good chance someone else would too!

Just remembering things I've done a few months ago, one was a youtube channel. The painful memory I stumble across is one where I publish my video and it doesn't gain traction or more views. And that sucks! And it still sucks to think about! Now I'm really just annoyed haha.

The results Could have been (a lot) better.

Would I pay for someone to resolve this problem? To get my youtube channel to be on the rise doing what I love?

Most defnitely! And it's niche too.

How do you know the problem is niche? Well, if the average Joe was held at gunpoint and had to do the activity or die, they might die. They most likely be highly inefficient doing it and you bet there's going to be a lot of questions in doing it.

Fishing? Give a rod and a bait, but I know almost nothing about catching fish. How do I get a boat? How do I set out to sea? <Insert a lot more questions>

Copywriting? What's tha- *Shot in the face*

Give me a book, a course, a guide, or do it for me and I'm ready to throw my money at you to solve these problems.

Another one I'm reminded of is the time I was supposed to help someone with a long page sales letter. But it hurt!! I didn't know what I was doing and it hurt so bad, that I fell sick!

Who do I research? How do I research? How will I write it? How do I make sure the copy is actually good? For a beginner in the field...

It hurt (a lot) to do.

If someone could help me learn to write long page sales copy at that time I'd love them! And I'd definitely pay good money for it!

Note the words in the brackets. They show that these are serious pains to us. You want your business to be the solution to a stab wound, not a paper cut.

In fact, you can do this right now by writing out 10 unpleasant events you've faced in your life right now and start with that.

Now after finding a need, go prove that others have this problem, are willing to pay for the solution, and go solve it!

Best of luck!
Edgar

P.S.
Who knows, "how to find needs" for a business could be your next business idea if doing this takes WAYY too long to do or is just downright annoying for you ;)
Found a video that has an interesting angle to this as well-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhweov9X-LM
 

Edgar King

Silver Contributor
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May 29, 2021
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Found a video that has an interesting angle to this as well-
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhweov9X-LM
In retrospect, this is now how I would define a (fundable) problem-

Problem: A Painful (frustrating, annoying or time consuming) memory or expectation you and/or other people have in their day to day (possibly caused by a paid supplier). The more frustrating, annoying or time consuming a problem, the more people are going to want a solution.

E.g. Uber vs taxis (paid supplier).


xx----⛵️(Anyone (>2))----(Money paid for want (past/present)--❗️(Pain in product/service use (Expectations ≠ Reality))-- (Product/service to achieve want). And pick something you're interested in/passionate about.

You or your your friends can keep track of the day-to-day things that annoy or frustrate them. Then go through their and your lists and look for problems you might be able to solve.


✨ Problem/value skew/relative value: Painful ((very) frustrating, annoying, time consuming thing where Expectations (Results, Effort/Sacrifice, time) ≠ Reality(Results, Effort/Sacrifice, time)) memories/expectations (in you/others day to day) (possibly from USE of a paid supplier or group of paid suppliers (Product/service)). The more F,A,T = the more people are going to want a solution. They will use synonymous groan language (language of complaints) that equates to a very frustrating, annoying, time consuming issue (2nd degree complaint language). You will know immediately whether it is a real problem by their language. You want your business to be the solution to a stab wound not a paper cut. You'l need to go out and look for these problems online or offline. ✨To generate ideas: What can I offer that someone would happily pay for? (Ask this while looking at the series/pattern of problems they encounter). What do I have or can get that would make them happy to pay for? Then solve problems in the market. Also, it should be something where you not only understand the value, but feel it as well.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISIjlRExdpE
 
Last edited:

TheJon

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Nice way to put it! I'll be giving this a try. I have a couple ideas that I'm trying to narrow down and begin work on but I have this nagging thought that none of them are any good lol
 
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Edgar King

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Nice way to put it! I'll be giving this a try. I have a couple ideas that I'm trying to narrow down and begin work on but I have this nagging thought that none of them are any good lol
Did the idea come to your mind when you were engaging in something frustrating, annoying, or time consuming?

Was this frustration, annoyance, or time waste caused by a paid supplier (You gave money to them to get this product/service)?

Is there more than one person with this problem?

If so, I'd say it's got a good shot! You may never know with certainty, but you've got to make swings to make a home run :)

One local example in fact was in window cleaning which I partly engage in. Most of my former clients hired me to clean their windows on the sole fact that their window cleaners (paid suppliers) stopped showing up; they weren't reliable. I can imagine how that went, they may have sent message after message to confirm they would come, but never came, that must have been frustrating. So they paid me to help them when I came over, that's the problem I think I was solving for them at the time.
 
Last edited:

TheJon

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Did the idea come to your mind when you were engaging in something frustrating, annoying, or time consuming?

Was this frustration, annoyance, or time waste caused by a paid supplier (You gave money to them to get this product/service)?

Is there more than one person with this problem?

If so, I'd say it's got a good shot! You may never know with certainty, but you've got to make swings to make a home run :)

One local example in fact was in window cleaning which I partly engage in. Most of my former clients hired me to clean their windows on the sole fact that their window cleaners (paid suppliers) stopped showing up; they weren't reliable. I can imagine how that went, they may have sent message after message to confirm they would come, but never came, that must have been frustrating. So they paid me to help them when I cam over, that's the problem I think I was solving for them at the time.
haha it sure did. It's something I absolutely hate. It's something almost everyone I know hates lol. I've had some conversations about it and I'm now trying to figure out the real market and what someone might pay for it
 

Edgar King

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haha it sure did. It's something I absolutely hate. It's something almost everyone I know hates lol. I've had some conversations about it and I'm now trying to figure out the real market and what someone might pay for it
Oh, how do you mean? Are you talking about the market size? I'd imagine so long as it's growing and not declining and there's at least millions of prospects out there that's a good bet. And for its price, if it came from a paid supplier, you could check out their websites to see what they charge on average to get a feel for the price. The only way you'll know for sure is to ask the market for payment though, whatever they pay, can be a reflection of the value to them but be assured they'll never pay if the cost is higher than the value, maybe the price ought to be the the price before cancellation :D ?
 
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TheJon

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Oh, how do you mean? Are you talking about the market size? I'd imagine so long as it's growing and not declining and there's at least millions of prospects out there that's a good bet. And for its price, if it came from a paid supplier, you could check out their websites to see what they charge on average to get a feel for the price. The only way you'll know for sure is to ask the market for payment though, whatever they pay, can be a reflection of the value to them but be assured they'll never pay if the cost is higher than the value, maybe the price ought to be the the price before cancellation :D ?
well in my estimation which I only have circumstantial proof for right now, most of the people who would use my base service are in their 50s. That is sort of what worries me because as time goes on that market will change and then shrink as I'm looking to solve for poor phone based customer service. In my estimation the younger generation in their 30s doesn't care much about this because almost all of them can do stuff in apps.

I'm considering working toward a launch or some type, basically a minimum viable product, and let the market tear it up and see what's left lol. Just price it at some normal price for a service like 10 bucks a month and just see if it does anything
 

Edgar King

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well in my estimation which I only have circumstantial proof for right now, most of the people who would use my base service are in their 50s. That is sort of what worries me because as time goes on that market will change and then shrink as I'm looking to solve for poor phone based customer service. In my estimation the younger generation in their 30s doesn't care much about this because almost all of them can do stuff in apps.

I'm considering working toward a launch or some type, basically a minimum viable product, and let the market tear it up and see what's left lol. Just price it at some normal price for a service like 10 bucks a month and just see if it does anything
Well, even if there are 50 year olds that move to 60,70 and 80, won't there be 30 year olds that move to 40, and 50 as well, making the market size relatively the same (all other things held constant)?

I've had to call a couple companies in the past for various things like refunds, changes, and just general issues and I'm part of an even younger generation so there's definitely times when everyone needs to reach out. I think great customer service comes when you feel heard, respected and understood and your problems eliminated. Best of luck with the MVP!
 

Edgar King

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In retrospect, this is now how I would define a (fundable) problem-

Problem: A Painful (frustrating, annoying or time consuming) memory or expectation you and/or other people have in their day to day (possibly caused by a paid supplier). The more frustrating, annoying or time consuming a problem, the more people are going to want a solution.

E.g. Uber vs taxis (paid supplier).


xx----⛵️(Anyone (>2))----(Money paid for want (past/present)--❗️(Pain in product/service use (Expectations ≠ Reality))-- (Product/service to achieve want). And pick something you're interested in/passionate about.

You or your your friends can keep track of the day-to-day things that annoy or frustrate them. Then go through their and your lists and look for problems you might be able to solve.


✨ Problem/value skew/relative value: Painful ((very) frustrating, annoying, time consuming thing where Expectations (Results, Effort/Sacrifice, time) ≠ Reality(Results, Effort/Sacrifice, time)) memories/expectations (in you/others day to day) (possibly from USE of a paid supplier or group of paid suppliers (Product/service)). The more F,A,T = the more people are going to want a solution. They will use synonymous groan language (language of complaints) that equates to a very frustrating, annoying, time consuming issue (2nd degree complaint language). You will know immediately whether it is a real problem by their language. You want your business to be the solution to a stab wound not a paper cut. You'l need to go out and look for these problems online or offline. ✨To generate ideas: What can I offer that someone would happily pay for? (Ask this while looking at the series/pattern of problems they encounter). What do I have or can get that would make them happy to pay for? Then solve problems in the market. Also, it should be something where you not only understand the value, but feel it as well.



View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISIjlRExdpE
Another interesting video I found that goes from problem to validation of a business idea -

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzjbSXC6COE&t=988s
 
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Edgar King

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
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May 29, 2021
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802
Here's a guide on how this all might look in action-

 

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