Get out of your
business slump
Your audience is already telling you what to build, in comments, DMs, emails and Facebook posts. This workbook shows you how to spot it, name it clearly, and turn it into something simple you can make.
Jobs to Be Done
People don't buy products. They hire them to make progress on something in their life. A "job" isn't the product category, it's the progress someone is trying to make, and the feeling they're trying to get to. Once you can name that job clearly, in the words your audience actually uses, the product almost designs itself.
That's why this workbook doesn't start with a survey. Surveys ask people to explain themselves in hindsight, and people are bad at that. What works better is watching for the moments they're already explaining themselves without being asked: a comment, a DM, a reply, a vent post in a group. Those are the raw material for everything that follows.
Underneath every one of those moments, four forces are usually at work: a push away from how things are now, a pull toward something better, an anxiety that stalls the decision, and a habit that keeps them stuck with the old way. You'll map all four later in this workbook. Understanding them is what turns a good guess into a product people were already looking for.
A client of mine coaches teachers, and for a long time she thought her audience wanted quick behavior management fixes: faster classroom control, better systems for handling disruptions. That's what she kept building.
But when she actually sat down and read what teachers were saying in her comments and DMs, a different picture showed up. They weren't asking for behavior hacks. They were asking for calmer days. They wanted to stop dreading the drive into work every morning. They wanted to like teaching again.
So she renamed her webinar and rewrote her landing page in that exact language, calmer days, restoring the joy of teaching, instead of "classroom management." Same content underneath. Attendance tripled.
Nothing here saves on its own. If you close or refresh the tab, everything you typed is gone, so this isn't meant to be filled in a little at a time over three weeks. Print the companion field notes page, carry that around for the real snooping phase, then come back here once to enter your best clues in one sitting.
1. Read the framework above so the reasoning clicks.
2. Print the companion field notes page and carry it for 2 to 3 weeks, jotting clues by hand.
3. Come back here, map the four forces, and log your best clues in one sitting.
4. Build your sentence, match it to a product, and check the niche examples.
5. Check off your to-dos, then download your case file before you close the tab!
Three things hiding inside every comment
Whenever someone comments, DMs you, or vents in a group, they're usually asking for one of these three things. Tap a card to see it in the wild!
The four forces behind every switch
Whenever someone finally buys or tries something new, two forces are pushing them forward and two are holding them back. Map what you're noticing for each one, in your audience's own words where you can.
Collect your clues
For the next 2 to 3 weeks, your only job is to be nosy: Instagram comments and Story replies, email replies, Facebook group posts. Log what you find below. No building allowed yet!
Build your sentence
Once you've got 10 to 15 clues, look for the phrase that keeps showing up in different outfits. Then fill in the blanks below!
Match it to a product
Once the ask is clear, the format usually falls out on its own. Pick the complaint that sounds closest to yours.
Four niches, same process
- The clues
- "How do I even start a room, I get overwhelmed just looking at it" plus a group post with 60 replies: "am I the only one who buys stuff and it never looks like Pinterest?"
- The pattern
- People aren't stuck on taste. They're stuck on starting.
- The sentence
- When I look at my empty or messy room, I wish I could know what to buy first, so that I stop feeling like my house is a Pinterest fail.
- The product
- A "start here" room-by-room shopping checklist, just the first five decisions, in order.
- The clues
- Email replies: "I always have random stuff in my fridge and no idea what to make" plus saves piling up on any "use what you have" reel.
- The pattern
- Not a recipe problem. It's a "what do I do with THIS stuff" problem.
- The sentence
- When I open my fridge and see random leftovers, I wish I could get a game plan, so that I stop ordering takeout out of decision fatigue.
- The product
- A "fridge cleanout" formula or flowchart that works with whatever's on hand.
- The clues
- Group vent posts: "I've tried everything and my dog still loses it at the door" plus DMs asking "is this normal or is my dog just broken."
- The pattern
- Not really about the barking. It's about feeling like a failure as an owner.
- The sentence
- When my dog acts out in front of people, I wish I could have a plan that works, so that I stop feeling embarrassed and like I'm doing this wrong.
- The product
- A short "doorbell drama" mini-guide for that one specific moment, not a full obedience course.
- The clues
- A teacher Facebook group post: "does anyone have a no-prep lab for magnetism, I am SO behind" (80+ comments) plus IG DMs asking "how do you get 7th graders to write an actual hypothesis instead of one word."
- The pattern
- Not a content-knowledge problem. It's a zero-prep-time-left problem, right before the bell rings.
- The sentence
- When I have no time left to prep before a lab, I wish I could just grab something that already works, so that I stop losing my prep period rewriting worksheets from scratch.
- The product
- A "grab and go" lab pack for one topic: print, hand out, done. Not a full-unit curriculum.
Your actual to-do list
Check things off as you go!
- Read the framework and understand the four forces
- Print the companion field notes page
- Spend 2-3 weeks collecting clues from IG, email, and FB groups
- Map the push, pull, anxiety, and habit
- Circle the complaint that shows up again and again
- Write your "When / I wish I could / so that" sentence
- Match it to the smallest, simplest thing you could make
- Steal their exact words for your sales page
I've spent years building businesses, growing audiences, creating and selling digital products, and helping brands figure out what people actually want to buy. And despite repeatedly announcing that I would like a simpler life, I apparently cannot stop having ideas. I love making things. I love marketing. I love learning something new and immediately wondering what I could do with it. I love helping people. I love making money.
So I'm not interested in telling ambitious women to slow down, dream smaller, or stop wanting more. I'm interested in a different question: how simple can we make the business and still make really good money? That's what we're figuring out here!