Save Yourself Years Of Frustration; It Worked For Me!

[DifficultTruth]

Awesome post. This reminds me of what goes on at my job. I'm a bartender at a fine dining restaurant, but a while ago I overheard the owner on the phone with a local tech support company.

The printer was down in his office. I told him I had Tech background and asked if I could take a look at it. Easy fix. He asked if I knew how to make computers fast.

Yes.

Yes I do.

Now a funny thing happened. I was 100% fine with doing all this. When other employees found out, their first response was,
"He should have paid you extra."
What why? It took me a grand total of 40 minutes to fix. I'm still technically paid, since I'm on the clock.
"He was going to pay someone anyway."
Yes. But I spared him that expense.

Since then I've become the go-to guy for all tech problems.

Long story short. I handle their:
Web marketing
Website
POS System. (A new skill)
Menu design

All being paid extra now, and never asked for any of it outright.

This is why I stop people who say "If you are good any something, never do it for free." or "a business needs to make money, never do anything for free".

Sure you pay with a little time. But its marketing that pays off.

One more good thing that happened is now he tells me any and every technical problem. I have several SaaS ideas from this. One is an online food ordering system. Solves a big problem the big companies don't.

Anyway, that's my "help" story. Looking forward to hearing more.

+REP.

Had a very similar experience at my first job when I was 16, a small seafood carry out place. I worked there for a few years and ended up taking on all their IT, web design, marketing etc and they always paid me extra for it. By age 19 I had worked my way up to manager and I have no doubt my attitude of trying to always come up with creative solutions played into that, there was plenty of people that were older, had more experience and worked there longer than I that were passed up for promotions. They even got rid of some of the people that were in positions "above" me to make room for me. Even after I had quit because I got a "real" job in IT they still keep in contact with me, always invite me to parties, give me Christmas presents and the owners treat me like a son. Great people who made a lot of money in little carry out seafood place.

The best part is they have been extremely encouraging in me starting my own IT company which I am doing right now, and they are going to give me free advertising to their 1,000s of customers when they open up this season, and they offered to do it without me ever asking.

How do you be a problem solver without being used?

Re-read this whole thread and you will see why your mindset is flawed. If you start solving problems you are going to start learning things, creating connections and adding value, which is the recipe for success. You are improving yourself and your situation simply by helping others, in a way you are using someone else's problem to help yourself.

 

[TomTrepreneur]

This thread is fantastic thanks a lot. I do have a question though. If we do not yet have our own business, and we are also unemployed, in what way do we go looking for problems to solve?

In a nutshell, my life currently comprises of me studying for most of the day, going to the gym in the evening and meeting friends on the weekends for drinks... and yes I know why I'm not rich yet haha but since I am not operating in any particular industry and basically still stuck in an opportunity seeker mindset, is it literally as direct as asking random people "do you have any problems you need help with"? And I mean, "ANYTHING"? Like literally helping someone take out the trash? I know that's not much brain work, but is this the kind of attitude you're talking about, just to get into the mode of helping people in at least a small way?

I have fantasized about doing things like this, such as even calling to peoples houses and asking "is there any stuff they would like done but never got round to it", but it just seems like would be way too weird and risky. Another way might even be cold calling business owners and ask what they are having trouble with. What's your opinion on that?

But really, is it a case of asking loads of people what they are trying to achieve, and then doing anything, even giving my opinion on what they could or should do, giving encouragement (for example someone looking for a job, being too lazy to work out at the gym, on and on... I mean, does it need to be a focused skillset, focused industry etc... or can we just start with the plain desire to help people?

I myself have been looking for a way to get started for quite a while, and researching to find a niche on the internet is the thing I've planning on doing to get started, but since you mention no need for research, I'm trying to determine, do you mean completely irregardless of whether we have our niche, product or service or not? Because I do think this would be a great way to find a niche, if only we could connect with enough people who would give us the opportunity to try to solve their problems.

 

[MustImprove]

Hi if I was to find a solution to a problem how would I test the waters.

Hi, and welcome 1523.

This is an important and smart question, and lucky for you there are hundreds of examples around the forum for testing an idea. Which option you choose depends on your business, but certainly you keep costs and risk to an absolute minimum at the beginning.


You talk about testing the water. Let's go with "testing the water" as a business analogy. Here we go…



Of all the world's delights, you decide that your path of enlightenment and life success is to swim. You apply some positive (and no doubt wildly optimistic) scenario planning.


After about ohhh I dunno, maybe a few minutes of careful planning, you can see your future!


You close your eyes, perform your success affirmations, and conjure your "to be" self in your imagination.


You stand at the side of a unknown body of water....or at least you believe you do. In reality there is mystical and impenetrable layer of fog floating and dancing over the surface of "something". Who knows what?


But because you are utterly convinced of success, your hurl yourself forward with all your youthful abandon, somersaulting into the water. You are literally "all in"! Your mind's eye confirms you were wise and right!


The water is warm, pure, and azure. In minutes you're frolicking with mermaids and dolphins, and get this....you can breathe under water! It's perfect, easy, and you wonder why everyone isn’t jumping in. The fools!


Damn, "you da man". You are ready for action. Let's do this! Let's go!


However.....

In a rare moment of clarity for a naive entrepreneurial soul, you press the pause button and reflect.

Smart fellow that you are, you joined The Fastlane Forum. Even smarter, you asked some questions and received some well-intentioned advice from some more experienced swimmers. You think to yourself…..maybe it’s good to review that advice…..maybe just a for a minute. Yeh yeh…just in case. Just in case.


Sensibly, you get your feet back on the ground…in fact back on the side. You rewind the scenario. You haven’t jumped yet, and the mist is swirling once more.


Those Fastlane swimmers talked soooooo much about building a “minimum viable product”. They talked about using Adwords to test demand for a service. They built one page websites, spent a hundred bucks on Facebook ads, and tracked how many visitors clicked on the CTA button.


Some fastlaners printed dirt cheap flyers for a local service business and spent an afternoon delivering those flyers to their target neighborhoods.


A few particularly dynamic individuals even called hundreds of potential customers (yep, speaking to real people!) to see how many customers would like to meet for a follow-up conversation. Who knew person to person communication could be effective? Wow!


There were many many options, but each approach had things in common:


Relatively low-cost

Rapid execution

Results that could be objectively measured


Back to your scenario….


This time, instead of leaping in you decide to “test the waters”. Of course you are 100% sure that it won’t be necessary, but you do, ticking the box…..you know.


You decide to dip your big toe. OK! What can go wrong?


You gently lower yourself and your foot is enveloped by the mist. Damn, it’s freezing!


None the less you press on, fortified by your earlier self-confidence.


Your toe enters the water…..just for milliseconds. But as the great and good say, “a millisecond is a long time in entrepreneurship and swimming”. Actually, it’s probably just me who said that but never mind…..let’s continue.


Immediately lightning bolts of pain rip up your leg. Your toenail dissolves. Acid dwelling piranhas tear every morsel of flesh from your bone, then a shark chomps the piranhas, simultaneously amputating your toe at the second joint. Your big toe is gone!


Screaming in abject pain you coin some new technical terms that would embarrass a Viking. Violently recoiling you roll back to the safety of the bank. Jeez Louise WTF! That ain’t the plan Stan!


…but you are wise enough to know you were lucky. That could have been worse couldn’t it?....like if you really did go “all in”. You failed fast and you’re still alive. More wary, sure, more cautious, certainly. But you get to try again elsewhere. Happy days!



…and that’s the nature of testing the waters and your idea.


For more testing methods and ideas, do a search on the forum for “validation” “idea validation” “validate” “validate idea”, that sort of thing. I’m sure you will find your way.


When you find the one that’s right for you, put up a progress thread and let the forum help you.


Good luck with whatever you do!

 

[MustImprove]

Didn't matter if it was not 'technically' my area or department. I was always happy to help someone find a solution to their problem.

In the end, I was one of the last contractors to leave (and on my own terms) - not because I was a wiz at coding, or had the most extensive knowledge of my module, but because I was always willing to help other people solve their problems.

This made me smile.

Who would be your first pick (without knowing which problem you will face next week)?

A technical wizard who can solve a really difficult problem in a narrow silo.....

.... or a reasonably technical type who complements their own knowledge with interpersonal skills, working across multiple silos, and who probably knows many technical wizards capable of solving multiple problems in a wide variety of scenarios?

errrr, I'll take Nicko thanks.

 

[MustImprove]

Marked GOLD.

Hey MJ, and thanks for the GOLD!. It's an honour (and even a pleasure!) to give some value back to this place.

...and I'll try to add some more by answering today's extra questions.

 

[Dami-B]

This is a nice example of the "solving" mind set, and the heart warming positivity a surprise solution can generate.

Thank you for the kind words.
And Yes! That's why I wanted to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Its just another word for problem solver.

They might even be impressed with your work and with your attitude since you solved a problem, not only for your mum but also for an important part of their community....for free!

Haha..funny story, How I got my first and current client. He runs an e-commerce store and has no idea what he's doing, I was asking about his analytics and traffic sources, and he had no idea what I was talking about. Once i started talking about sales funnels, email marketing, Adwords, Facebook Ads, its was obvious he needed my help, His total marketing plan was to drive 10000 likes on facebook.
After a seasoned chat with him, he almost begged me to take over his internet marketing and if i do really well for him, he could even be a possible investor for when next im launching a business ( cus i opened up to him about my past failed businesses)
He has the money and knowledge about the industry but zero knowledge about internet marketing, but with my expertise and knowledge, i'm more than confident to help him build something truly magical. I see my mates here dragging around with their C.V's in this terrible scorching sun, beggin for jobs and praying for connections, whereas just a simple chat opened me up to a possible business opportunity to serve a niche.
If I hadn't failed at my business for a year, I won't have been driven to find solutions and read MJ's book, to land in this forum, to read thread's like @JasonR and threads like this that have expounded my knowledge and skillset. I'm beyond lucky to be a member of this forum and i'm grateful for that.
And why did that business fail? because at the very core i shifted my mind-set from problem solving to money chasing, now im resetting it all back.
Sorry to derail thread

Mums are generally marvelous things.

Oh yes! She's the best and deserves way more

 

[DaRK9]

By going out of his way to solve his boss' problem @DaRK9 has chosen to be a problem solver that the mil will find.
@DaRK9 You epitomize the "correct" attitude. If you keep this up you will be a millionaire!..... and I'll drink to that!

The mindset took a while I will admit. But I'm getting there.

Thanks for the kind words. If anyone has any drink questions, let me know

 

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[Andy Black]

Thank you for this thread and answers to questions. It completely flipped my viewpoint and I hope it's going to change my life.

I must read your other posts, you are throwing value all around in your threads. Also, I have a question why do you like every post?

Besides that, I just transferred rep, thanks again.

I know the question wasn't directed at me. Personally, I "like" pretty much every reply to a thread I start. I'm thanking people for taking the effort to read and engage in something I created.

Even if I disagree with someone, they've taken time out and their feedback is invaluable. (Trolls aside of course.)

When I send an email I always try to start with:

Hi <name>,

Thanks for ...​

... and think of something to thank them for.

 

[BlackMagician]

This just open my heart. Thanks @MustImprove. I always try to help others but the people I am surrounded always say, don't do it for free. And this really affected my mind set. I started doubting Myself to help others. Sometimes I thought they are just taking advance of.
But reading this just nails everything. Why I get many opportunity to help to ccommunicate, to earn.

Just this week, one of my colleagues friend needed help in making a custom web page mobile responsive. I tried to help him first with half heart. The codes was messy and felt not to help. But he text me that I am the only hope for him because the project needed to be delivered the next day. I decided (step 1 @MustImprove) to help him no mmatter what. Coded till 2am and solved his problem. And believe me when I solved that problem of him I felt that some kind of improvement happened in me. I felt I just unlocked some hidden Skill in me.

Next day he thanks me so much and asked me to tell him how much to pay. I told him it is a small work and I help de you thats all...

He was very happy and in the further conversation he offered a Project to me. A website development. I didn't asked for it.

Thanks everyone else Who have contributed your thoughts in this thread, I read them all. Specially that hell /heaven spoon story. That just blowed my mind(i forgot the person who posted).

Thanks again friends. I have recently joined the forum and improving Myself day by day.

 

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[MustImprove]

19 posts. Damn that was good!
Now you have to top that with #20.

Hey Jon,

I know you've seen a few threads and given much to this forum, so that's extra special. Thanks.

 

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[PureA]

One of my favourite posts ever, good job

 

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[TomTrepreneur]

Hey @TomTrepreneur !

You were first to bat in today’s Fastlane innings of life, so I’m going to dig in to your questions first.

I want to give you a personalised and thought-out answer, and so (if you will excuse me) I took a look through some of your old posts.

You come across as a decent and enthusiastic type. A good foundation! I’m not looking to beat you up or anything, and stalking isn’t my bag, so just take what I say as well intentioned. I want you to get “it”…….and all the joy that goes with “it”.


About 20 months ago in another thread, amongst other stuff TomTrepreneur said:

“How would you go about finding out the information you would need in order to provide value in an area where it is lacking….”​

MustImprove Translation Services Ltd reckons that might mean:

“……in what way do we go looking for problems to solve?”​

About 20 hours ago in this thread, TomTrepreneur said:

“…..in what way do we go looking for problems to solve?”​

About 20 months ago in the other thread, a real smart person with more that 10k in his RepBank called @Get Right said to TomTrepreneur:

“Analysis paralysis.

Get in the game bro.

Love to see action in your next post! Go get it!”​

….and, about 20 months ago in the other thread, some new guy called @MJ DeMarco with oh, I dunno, about 120k in his RepBank said:

“Engage in life. Engage an industry.”​

…and yet….

About 20 hours ago in this thread, TomTrepreneur said:

“In a nutshell, my life currently comprises of me studying for most of the day, going to the gym in the evening and meeting friends on the weekends for drinks... “​

Now that indicates to me that you haven’t really decided to be an entrepreneur yet, but you have decided that you like the potential payoff. Hmmmmm…….


….and that’s like trying to hit the winning home run, clinch the title, swig the champers, do the interviews, jump in the Lambo, raz back to your swanky mansion, and slap your supermodel wife on her tush as she pours the Margaux and flips your Wagyu steak……


……whilst you are on the back row of the stands with your soggy popcorn.


So yeh, like I said, first you got to decide man!

That’s step 1.


The key thing about this entrepreneurship lark is that you need to build a small snowball and start it rolling. In fact, scratch that, you probably need to build hundreds.

The point is that not all snowballs will hold together and gather momentum, but eventually you get better at building the core of the snowball, and better at rolling them. Then you have a chance of building one that starts to roll on its own, adding to its own layers as it trundles.


So, let’s assume that this time you REALLY decide to be an entrepreneur. Then what?


Let me address your questions directly:

“….is it literally as direct as asking random people "do you have any problems you need help with"?​

No, if you do that, folks will think you’re a scout with a hormone issue. Best not.

“Like literally helping someone take out the trash? I know that's not much brain work, but is this the kind of attitude you're talking about, just to get into the mode of helping people in at least a small way?”​

Now you are getting warmer, and since you mention the trash, let’s get all hypothetical.

Imagine, go on play along…..

…….You are on your way to work, and you see a previously un-noticed elderly neighbour struggling to lift their rubbish bag. Do you……

A) Trot on. “Hey, life’s tough for everyone dude, en I got ma mojo on to pay 6 dollars for a Starbucks pumpkin special!”


B) Stop and help.​

Turns out Mrs Jones wants to give you two dollars. Obviously you politely refuse (now ain’t that the perfect word!).


Turns out Mrs Jones has several elderly neighbours, and you know that old Jack has a bad back, and Mrs Jones used to help him, but now Mrs Jones can’t even do her own really.


Turns out your town has an aging population problem.


Turns out the official regulations forbid your official city refuse disposal experts from officially setting foot on private property.


Turns out that Mrs Jones is willing to introduce the pleasant and kind young man to her old dear’s tea party group so you can ask all the questions you want over a nice Earl Grey.


Turns out 10 of the 20 think 40 dollars a month to have an emptied, cleaned and washed bin at a time of their choosing, is a fair deal.


Well done! That’s a 400 dollar monthly recurring revenue from one street.


Hey, setting foot on the field of play wasn’t so bad was it?


Turns out that’s a snowball.​

As MJ and Jean-Luc say…..”Engage”!

Look you just must get out there and interact with people….naturally.

That can be in a slowlane job….there must a problem to solve there, otherwise the job wouldn’t exist.

Can you solve the original problem better?

Can you help the business owner save money?​

It can be at the gym (good for you)….what could be improved for the members?

Just casually chat to the manager

After small talk, say that you are passionate about improving businesses, especially good ones like his

Offer to do a member survey for the manager (for free)

Find the biggest problem

Find a viable solution.

Deliver a prototype (for free)

Ask him if he wants you to increase his member’s satisfaction significantly​

These are just examples based only on what you said, but those “off the cuff” examples can lead to serious Fastlane results.

“ I myself have been looking for a way to get started for quite a while, and researching to find a niche on the internet is the thing I've planning on doing to get started, but since you mention no need for research, I'm trying to determine, do you mean completely irregardless of whether we have our niche, product or service or not?”​

When I said “no research” I was illustrating the point that once you have solved a problem for a person, they tend to trust you to solve their next problem. So I didn’t need to research to win this particular business. My previous action negated the need for research in this case.


Research can be important. When you have a snowball rolling, do research to make the snowball roll faster or better….but you don’t necessarily need it to get started.


My advice

You strike me as a good chap who has spent a long time procrastinating, looking/researching all over trying to find the perfect place to focus your effort. Stop. The perfect place does not exist.

Your previous 2 years of super-duper in-depth but ultimately fruitless research should tell you that.


Start building some small snowballs by having natural conversations with people about their lives in whichever organisation/location you have in your daily life.

Observe, ask questions, and listen.

Ponder.

Think how you can improve their life.

Make a gentle suggestion to them as to how you can help them make the improvement.

Listen again.

Do a quick/small proof of concept for free.

Worst case scenario: one person with one problem (now hopefully solved) thinks you’re a decent and spiffing fellow. Your reputation grows.

Best case scenario, you discover a scalable business opportunity​

I advise to start solving problems that are all around you, whatever your current industry, status, or hobbies. These are your potentially big snowballs.

Don’t look for massively scalable problems at first. Just start creating value in the world for someone.

As you do more, you will get better, and you will start to see which snowballs are rolling better than others. Then you can focus on those.


You have spent 2 years researching. Imagine that instead of researching you solved just one small problem a week for someone….taking trash out, gym surveys, or whatever.


By now you would have rolled 100+ snowballs, thereby massively increasing your chance of finding a real problem in the real world that you can solve and scale.

I think you are probably a pretty smart guy. Honestly, which use of your time makes more sense to you if you look at it objectively?...assuming you want to be a fastlaner!

Research doesn’t smash the ball out of the stadium. Focused energy with the right solution just might.

You can be a player, but you must decide to be player.

You might need to start on a little league field being watched by the community litter pickers, but that little league field is the first step to the majors.


You need to believe that the apparently small/hidden problems can lead to something much much bigger.

They can.

Ditch the soggy popcorn, pull on your problem solving plimsolls, “get in the game bro”, and start rolling some snow….then you have a massively greater chance of getting that Wagyu.

I truly wish you the best of success!

Thanks Mustimprove for putting in the time to help and providing such a detailed response.

I certainly have no problem with you looking through my posts, that just shows you love to help.

OK lol I am guilty here now alright, but I have an excuse. I got a bit distracted throughout the last year and a half by an MLM and an internet marketing opportunity, but now I'm back to reality.

Ok yes that elderly neighbour and bins example definitely clears things up. I think the problem I have is that I'm thinking too hard about finding super technical/advanced kinds of soolutions.

Getting a job is also on my to-do list, something I was debating lately (just heard before that would be bad move for an entreprenuer), but I think it would be the best way to push me into a place where I get to excercise my abilities again. I've done almost nothing difficult for anyone in years (other than DJing - but that doesn't require too much).

And yes yes I've been procrastinating a long time, and about the research, the truth is I have not done very much at all, mostly just me studying different books and courses. It's only lately I came back to the research idea.




Thanks again for this great thread and response, I think now anyway, the first thing that I'll focus on is getting myself a job, and of course I'll have my problem solving hat on all the time regardless of where I am. I think if I can go out and reduce the amount of questions I have for my own benefit, and only think about how I can help other people (trusting that my future will work out) that would be a great start. Because honestly with the way I try to figure so much stuff out before I get started, I could almost call it "strategic analysis paralysis"

I'll do the best I can anyway, thanks.

 

[aimon]

Hey guys, This is my first post after finding the forum but I know a successful software entrepreneur who once told me something similar. Solving small problems was the thing which got him into bigger 100k contracts. At one point his client just needed his daughters videos on DVD and my friend hand delivered them to the clients office. The point was he became the technical go to guy for his clients even if he wasn't an expert in that area.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

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[TextbookAnswers]

This post deserves five stars. Right now I am "sulking" in my room thinking about the money I need by Friday. Made 60 cold calls today to no avail. Okay. Tomorrow is Tuesday and I will try plan B. All I will do is offer to solve problems. I have skills and I can help someone. Just have to help the right person. Outstanding and timely post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jon.a]

Hey Jon,

I know you've seen a few threads and given much to this forum, so that's extra special. Thanks.

I haven't given nearly as much as you just did. Well done.

 

[Andy Black]

I just ran across an amazing example of this, which occurs at approximately 1:03 in the interview in the following video.

Miguel Hernandez was just a guy who had moved from Spain to Canada, living in a lean, 750-square-foot apartment in British Columbia. He went from being a jack of all trades to the fastlane in one move. (Maybe he took your advice to heart, @MustImprove?)

In Miguel's own words...

"I did a video for Hipmunk.com, a flight search company, that is actually a Y combinator company, and the marketing principal is Alexis Ohanian (the guy who founded Reddit). I sent that through their support site, said, "I created this little video as a spec video, because I really love your site, your product, and let me know if you like it." And it turns out that Alexis really liked it, to the point that he said, "You know what, MIguel, as a thank you, I'm going to introduce you to everybody that I know that could possibly need a video like this." So I did videos for other companies..."

At around 9:08, the video describes why Miguel's video was successful. He solved a problem.

People had made other videos for Hipmunk. But they were falling flat. They weren't showing people why the site mattered. They weren't making it clear why they should use the site. Miguel's video took a different approach. It solved the problem that all the other videos had failed to solve.

Practically overnight, Miguel had so many requests coming in from high-profile companies that he had to hire other animators to create the videos in order to keep up.

@MustImprove isn't lying that this method can be a shortcut to save years of frustration.

You mean he helped someone for free, they loved it, referred him on, and he ended up building a business out of it?

Who’d have thought?

 

[HackVenture]

@MustImprove I really dig your writing style and humour lol.

Reminds me of a story.

I had a business-neighbour back in the day who's bad with computers in general and I always helped him out with stuff like his emails, company videos and IT stuff in general. Wasn't much work, just helping out as he was a very kind man.

Couple years later I started my web design/IT agency.

Guess who became my client?

To the tune of 5 figures no less.

I guess the key was that I was just trying to help solve his problems. Nobody could foresee that he could become a "client" some day, and that's what's beautiful about it.

 

[Bekit]

I want you to get into the habit of solving problems for people.

That’s “all”.
It doesn’t need to take too much of your time.
It doesn’t need to cost you a lot of money.
It just takes a conscious decision and some effort.
Just start, and start simply.

Your first goal is to find someone that has a problem…almost anyone with almost any problem, and smash that problem to smithereens…..out of the park son!

However small it seems, just make that person’s life better…..for free, and without obligation of any kind.

I just ran across an amazing example of this, which occurs at approximately 1:03 in the interview in the following video.

Miguel Hernandez was just a guy who had moved from Spain to Canada, living in a lean, 750-square-foot apartment in British Columbia. He went from being a jack of all trades to the fastlane in one move. (Maybe he took your advice to heart, @MustImprove?)

In Miguel's own words...

"I did a video for Hipmunk.com, a flight search company, that is actually a Y combinator company, and the marketing principal is Alexis Ohanian (the guy who founded Reddit). I sent that through their support site, said, "I created this little video as a spec video, because I really love your site, your product, and let me know if you like it." And it turns out that Alexis really liked it, to the point that he said, "You know what, MIguel, as a thank you, I'm going to introduce you to everybody that I know that could possibly need a video like this." So I did videos for other companies..."

At around 9:08, the video describes why Miguel's video was successful. He solved a problem.

People had made other videos for Hipmunk. But they were falling flat. They weren't showing people why the site mattered. They weren't making it clear why they should use the site. Miguel's video took a different approach. It solved the problem that all the other videos had failed to solve.

Practically overnight, Miguel had so many requests coming in from high-profile companies that he had to hire other animators to create the videos in order to keep up.

@MustImprove isn't lying that this method can be a shortcut to save years of frustration.

 

[JaxAttacks]

Fantastic, well-written, entertaining and VALUABLE post. Thank you! Rep+
The challenge is the same one I just started from doing an Eben Pagan course, he says to just find someone with a problem and solve it from them to start learning to create value. You said it in a much more entertaining and memorable way, thanks again.

 

[RoadTrip]

I second the question TomTrepreneur...

I'm in a 9-5. After work I head back home to my wife and kid. In the spare 1-2 hours I've left after our son has gone to bed I'm working on my fastlane, selling an infoproduct. Recently my first sales have come in. Now I'm working on scaling the business.

However, even though I'm solving a problem it's mainly a one-time sale with no direct customer contact. I know I can add some products in the backend. But, I've read some threads lately from the seasoned guys and the common recommendation is recurring revenue through solving huge problems in old industries.

What I can't get my head around... how to find these problems since I don't have that type of network (yet). I'm definitely willing to go out and talk to people. But I'd rather not go back to the idea extraction... spent too many months and cold phone calls on that without any result.

So in short: how do you start to build a network of (succesful) people who have huge problems to solve? So that I can provide TRUE value and build TRUE relationships... Would be interested in your opinion on this.

And thanks for this terrific thread!

 

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[TextbookAnswers]

Funny you should say that. That is exactly the strategy I am using at the moment, and it works a treat. Why? Because you're bringing them what they want and need. They don't want to hear from Andy the AdWords guy, or directory guy, or marketing consultant. They don't give a sh*t about me and what I want. They just want to solve their biggest problem, which is not enough leads...

Starting to see the pattern?

To be honest - brilliant strategy. Clients want what they want - period. Coming in the door with a basket of fresh leads really could work. It would work for me... I have been a marketing consultant and never thought to come to the client with a lead. Brillant. I am alway coming to them with what I offer with the hope of results. But if I can rework the system to generate leads upfront ( and wait to get a client ) I change the power equation to my side.

 

[Richie_Sage]

There's one little thing that I'd like to say...it's very nasty and it's...ha, just joking around!

Thanks man, this got me motivated, but it ain't something unless you apply it, yeah? I got this spark in my head right now and I've remembered John Altucher. He once recommended us to become an idea machine, by thinking about 10 new any ideas every single day.

To play with them. Mix them. Have a laugh at them.

But here's a little twist... I think what could be better than that is to think about 10 solutions to problems every single day. What about that? Exciting. In any way, thanks again, I had a blast reading your thoughts!

 

[JuliaLV]

How do you be a problem solver without being used?

What sounds better -
-to help people and feel happy about it -> learn and get better -> give even more ->> people see the added value and want to get it and pay for it
-to feel like everyone owes you -> to do nothing so you won't 'get used' (give something without getting anything back) -> to be a good consumer and watch TV

 

[Spstepp]

I appreciate your input, but in my situation, I have to look.

I've been working in retail for a long time, and I've been working for my previous employer for almost ten years. With this employer, I just lost my job two weeks ago, so I've been stuck mostly in the house. I've been reading the very good threads on this forum, researching copywriting, doing some market research, and looking for jobs (and let me tell you, the jobs out there just plain suck).

I can appreciate the situation you find yourself in. Have you considered doing a personal inventory of your skills? Not just work skills but the things you are good at and enjoy doing. Are you handy around the house? Are you organized? Do you enjoy gardening? Do animals love you? After you do this assessment and while looking for a job if you must, look for opportunities to put your skills to work. Look for an opportunity to create a job. Where can you add value?

I obviously know nothing about you or where you live so these suggestions may not apply. In my mind, a person would be much better off creating a job than looking to work for someone else (unless the job is training you for a future business). There are many opportunities to put yourself to work - washing windows (good money), walking dogs, cleaning homes, cleaning businesses, you get the idea - the real world has unfilled needs all around and you can make money at them today, not after building a web site , driving traffic, etc.

 

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[chuckypita]

I taught a Young Entrepreneur Academy course a few years ago to a group of 12 - 18 year olds.

The winner?

A young 13 year old who created wood baby rattles that were toddler teeth friendly.

Finding ways to solve problems is a mindset.

GREAT POST!

 

[MustImprove]

No selling got me more requests for work then ever before and at 5 times the price I'd been fighting to get before... and all because I went from chasing the greens to chasing nothing, but serving others.

.....and everyone is a winner! Well deserved I'd say. Another real example for the new folks.

 

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[GMJimmy]

Lovely post @MustImprove ... What if you helped out 60 people from now till december. One person for each day, a mindset like that will help you notice the problems around you.

That's a good idea for me too, thanks. With a little practise I'll finally help millions

 

[Owner2Millions]

I know this thread is old. But it definitely should be at the top of the gold forums. I feel like most new people should start off with this thread as one of their must read threads first. Thanks for everyone who contributed.

 

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[SDE]

Maybe a silly question.. but what's like a good way to find these problems? Contact people on Linkedin? Cold calling?

This was already asked in the thread.

I do have a question though. If we do not yet have our own business, and we are also unemployed, in what way do we go looking for problems to solve?

The answer was also given in this same thread.

“Engage in life. Engage an industry.”

Let me address your questions directly:

As MJ and Jean-Luc say…..”Engage”!

Look you just must get out there and interact with people….naturally.

That can be in a slowlane job….there must a problem to solve there, otherwise the job wouldn’t exist.

Can you solve the original problem better?

Can you help the business owner save money?

It can be at the gym (good for you)….what could be improved for the members?

Just casually chat to the manager

After small talk, say that you are passionate about improving businesses, especially good ones like his

Offer to do a member survey for the manager (for free)

Find the biggest problem

Find a viable solution.

Deliver a prototype (for free)

Ask him if he wants you to increase his member’s satisfaction significantly

These are just examples based only on what you said, but those “off the cuff” examples can lead to serious Fastlane results.


“ I myself have been looking for a way to get started for quite a while, and researching to find a niche on the internet is the thing I've planning on doing to get started, but since you mention no need for research, I'm trying to determine, do you mean completely irregardless of whether we have our niche, product or service or not?”

When I said “no research” I was illustrating the point that once you have solved a problem for a person, they tend to trust you to solve their next problem. So I didn’t need to research to win this particular business. My previous action negated the need for research in this case.


Research can be important. When you have a snowball rolling, do research to make the snowball roll faster or better….but you don’t necessarily need it to get started.


My advice

You strike me as a good chap who has spent a long time procrastinating, looking/researching all over trying to find the perfect place to focus your effort. Stop. The perfect place does not exist.

Your previous 2 years of super-duper in-depth but ultimately fruitless research should tell you that.


Start building some small snowballs by having natural conversations with people about their lives in whichever organisation/location you have in your daily life.

Observe, ask questions, and listen.

Ponder.

Think how you can improve their life.

Make a gentle suggestion to them as to how you can help them make the improvement.

Listen again.

Do a quick/small proof of concept for free.

Worst case scenario: one person with one problem (now hopefully solved) thinks you’re a decent and spiffing fellow. Your reputation grows.

Best case scenario, you discover a scalable business opportunity

I advise to start solving problems that are all around you, whatever your current industry, status, or hobbies. These are your potentially big snowballs.

Don’t look for massively scalable problems at first. Just start creating value in the world for someone.

As you do more, you will get better, and you will start to see which snowballs are rolling better than others. Then you can focus on those.


You have spent 2 years researching. Imagine that instead of researching you solved just one small problem a week for someone….taking trash out, gym surveys, or whatever.


By now you would have rolled 100+ snowballs, thereby massively increasing your chance of finding a real problem in the real world that you can solve and scale.

I think you are probably a pretty smart guy. Honestly, which use of your time makes more sense to you if you look at it objectively?...assuming you want to be a fastlaner!

Research doesn’t smash the ball out of the stadium. Focused energy with the right solution just might.

You can be a player, but you must decide to be player.

You might need to start on a little league field being watched by the community litter pickers, but that little league field is the first step to the majors.


You need to believe that the apparently small/hidden problems can lead to something much much bigger.

They can.

Ditch the soggy popcorn, pull on your problem solving plimsolls, “get in the game bro”, and start rolling some snow….then you have a massively greater chance of getting that Wagyu.

“….is it literally as direct as asking random people "do you have any problems you need help with"?

 

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[Joel Heffner]

Well, now I know why I suck.

I've heard this in other ways before, but It's never really sunk in until I read this post.

My problem is that I rarely try to solve the problems myself. I'm cheating myself out of learning this skill. I've always been the type of person to not want to reinvent the wheel, but I take it too far.

I'm very appreciative of your writing style, since I speak sarcasm quite fluently. Thanks for this post, I haven't had a good AHA! moment in awhile.