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independence2 unconnected · 2 more authors in those circles
applies to

b2b, needs an existing audience

outcome not stated

confidence

high

evidence

11 claims · 8 articles · 4 receipts

window

2014-08-23 → 2025-01-14

2 builders who never spoke to each other

Turn the request clients keep repeating into software

When several clients independently ask for the same job, you have a specification that somebody has already paid for. Build it once as a product instead of delivering it by hand each time, and check first that no off-the-shelf version exists.

The method

  1. 01

    Mine the client work you already do for product ideas, since daily exposure to one type of customer surfaces their recurring frustrations.

  2. 02

    Treat a request several clients make independently as your product brief, and build it once as software instead of bespoke each time.

  3. 03

    When clients keep hiring you for the same job, rebuild that job as a subscription app instead of delivering it by hand each time.

  4. 04

    Watch for the same custom job being commissioned repeatedly from contractors, since nobody wants to keep paying to rebuild the same thing.

  5. 05

    When several clients ask you for the same thing inside a few weeks, spend an hour checking whether an off-the-shelf version exists, and treat the absence of one as your product brief.

What it returned

  • $1,000

    Several of the author's own clients asked for a store locator he could have billed at $1,000 to $2,000 apiece, and no off-the-shelf option existed

  • Justin's worked example is a Shopify consultant who works with store owners every day and notices what they struggle with.

  • Justin's friend Francois kept getting asked for the same image gallery by his Shopify consulting clients, so he built it as a SaaS.

  • Several of the author's Shopify freelance clients requested a store locator within a few weeks of each other and an hour of searching turned up no decent option

Sources

the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

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More in product

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the second source

Three plays a week, for the phase you are in

No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.

963 corroborated plays to draw from · 3 a week

One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click, and the address is used for this and nothing else.