Screening businesses for solvable problems

[spirit]

I now understand two things:

1. Web design is a tool to solve painful problems for businesses
2. The way you learn about problems is by asking questions and listening directly to the business owner (or whoever is in charge)

However, is there a way I could screen businesses for solvable problems? By screen, I mean pick businesses with obvious problems that could be fixed with a web site. This would save a ton of trouble, rather than randomly contacting businesses and seeking communication with their owners.



I've had some beginner's paralysis because my freelancing mindset was very confused. So, I did some reading, and now I'm feeling more confident.

 

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[Miketing]

It sounds like you're starting to learn more about how to discover problems, and how to solve them. Great.

However, is there a way I could screen businesses for solvable problems? By screen, I mean pick businesses with obvious problems that could be fixed with a web site.

So the next question in your line of thinking would be "what problems could be fixed with a website?" What might indicate that they need a website?

 

[spirit]

It sounds like you're starting to learn more about how to discover problems, and how to solve them. Great.



So the next question in your line of thinking would be "what problems could be fixed with a website?" What might indicate that they need a website?

Yes, is there a way I could figure these questions out before I go down the path of trying to ask the business owner questions? This way, I could shoot for businesses I know I can help, without wasting time.

 

[Miketing]

Yes, is there a way I could figure these questions out before I go down the path of trying to ask the business owner questions? This way, I could shoot for businesses I know I can help, without wasting time.

Well have you tried figuring out some possible answers yourself? I'm sure you could come up with a few ideas. Or even use google.

You're going to have to use your initiative a little if you want to be successful as a freelancer or entrepreneur.

 

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[Metz]

Not me discovering and slapping a Watch on this thread.

 

[spirit]

Maybe I'm just blind or forgetting something, but I've been looking up answers, and I can't find any.

I guess it breaks down to 2 things:

1. How do you determine that a business needs a web site, without having to contact every business owner for questions?

2. How do you spot solvable, major problems that you can solve with a website? This way you can see if it's worth investing your time in a business.

If someone could let me know, or even link to an article or video, that would be awesome.

 

[Miketing]

1. How do you determine that a business needs a web site, without having to contact every business owner for questions?

Well pretty much any business could benefit from having a good website, right?

If they already have a good website, then they obviously don't need one. That leaves every business who either doesn't have a website, or has one but it's not great.

So to screen the businesses to reach out to, you would simply check if they have a website, or if their current one looks shit.

Ideally you would pick a particular niche to focus on.

2. How do you spot solvable, major problems that you can solve with a website? This way you can see if it's worth investing your time in a business.

First of all, what problems might a website help them to solve?

Well the biggest one would be not getting enough sales/leads.

You could then tailor your outreach message to resonate with people who might have this kind of problem.

Otherwise, you could target people who have indicated that they might want more sales/leads. For example, those who are asking for help on quora/reddit/fb groups.

Otherwise, you can look for places where they might be spending money to get sales/leads without yet having a website.

Anyway, those are just some quick ideas. Web design isn't my thing. You'd be better off learning from those who do sell web design. A quick search of the forum returns these threads:

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