If I Started A Business in 2026, I'd Do This

Identifying Profitable Business Ideas: A Detailed Summary

Key Concepts:

• Holy Trinity of Business: Person (customer), Problem, Product/Service.
• Diverge-Converge-Emerge: A creative process for idea generation – broad exploration, focused selection, and niche discovery.
• Niche: The intersection of a specific person with a specific problem.
• High-Ticket Space: Businesses aiming to charge $2,000+ per offering.
• Premium Market: Targeting customers willing to pay for high-quality solutions, avoiding mass-market competition.
• Craft Skills: Existing expertise applicable to potential business ventures.
• Bisops: Business operations skills.

I. The Foundation: Value Exchange & The Holy Trinity

The core principle of making money is exchanging value. Unlike entities like central banks, individuals must provide something of value to receive money. This value exchange hinges on solving a problem for another person. The speaker outlines a “holy trinity” essential for any viable business idea: identifying who the customer is (the Person), what problem they face, and how a product or service can solve that problem. This is framed as a combinatorial process – selecting elements from “stacks” of potential people, problems, and products to create a business idea. Profitability depends on the person having sufficient funds and valuing the solution more than the money spent on it.

II. The Diverge-Converge-Emerge Process

The process of finding a business idea is broken down into three phases:

• Diverge: Broadly brainstorming potential ideas, generating a large quantity of possibilities without initial judgment. This is about expansive thinking.
• Converge: Narrowing down the options through a process of elimination, based on criteria like personal interest, ability to help, and potential for revenue.
• Emerge: Through experimentation and discovery, the ideal niche or business idea reveals itself.

This process mirrors general creativity – starting wide, focusing, and then allowing the right solution to surface.

III. Identifying Person & Problem: Prioritizing Customer Needs

A common mistake for aspiring entrepreneurs is starting with the product. The speaker advocates prioritizing the Person and Problem before considering the Product. The combination of Person and Problem defines a niche – a specific group of people with a specific need. The initial step is to brainstorm potential niches, documenting initial ideas without filtering.

A. Utilizing Existing Skills (Craft Skills)

One method for identifying potential niches is to leverage existing skills – “craft skills” developed through personal, professional, or life experiences. Examples provided include:

• Website design
• Teaching/tutoring
• Magic (as an initial, unsuccessful attempt)
• Medical school admissions expertise
• Business operations (Bisops)
• Automations (Zapier, Make, NA10)
• AI skills
• Video editing/camera confidence
• Public speaking

B. Exploring Passions & Skills to Learn

Beyond existing skills, the speaker encourages considering passions and even skills one wants to learn. Examples include:

• World of Warcraft (passion, potentially niche for coaching)
• Harry Potter (passion)
• AI/UX Design (skills to learn)
• Therapy (skill to learn)

IV. The Person, Problem, Promise Framework & Evaluation

To converge on viable ideas, the speaker introduces a framework based on Person, Problem, Promise. For each potential niche:

1. Person: Define the target customer. (e.g., UK accounting firms)
2. Problem: Identify the pain point. (e.g., slow client onboarding)
3. Promise: Articulate the solution. (e.g., automated client onboarding)

Three key questions are then posed, rated on a Red/Yellow/Green scale:

1. Do I like the idea of working with this group of people?
2. Can I actually help these sorts of people with that sort of problem?
3. Will this sort of person be delighted to pay to have this kind of problem solved?

V. The Importance of the High-Ticket & Premium Markets

The speaker strongly recommends targeting the “high-ticket space” – aiming for offerings priced at $2,000 or more. This avoids the challenges of competing on price in the mass market. He emphasizes the existence of a “premium market” – customers willing to pay for high-quality solutions – and the potential for significant revenue by catering to this segment. He illustrates this with an example of medical school admissions coaching, contrasting his initial lower pricing with competitors targeting wealthy international students willing to pay significantly more.

VI. Refining the Niche: Journaling Prompts & Final Selection

To further refine the selection, the speaker suggests several journaling prompts:

• The 2-Year Test: Which niche feels most exciting to work in for 2-3 years?
• The No-Fail Scenario: Which niche would you choose if success were guaranteed?
• The “Most You” Test: Which niche aligns with your values and desired identity?
• The Fear Check: Which niche evokes a positive level of nervousness?

The final step involves identifying a “gold,” “silver,” and “bronze” niche based on gut feeling, documenting the Person, Problem, Promise, and any concerns.

VII. Actionable Steps & Resources

The speaker promotes a free workbook (linked in the video description) that guides viewers through this process. He also mentions his “Lifestyle Business Academy” mentorship program and a collaboration with Baron Fig on a specialized pen. He directs viewers to a related video explaining the broader roadmap for building a successful lifestyle business.

Notable Quotes:

• “All money is basically an exchange of value.”
• “The reason a random person would give you money is because they have a problem that you are able to solve.”
• “If you can't think of 10 business ideas, great, think of 20 instead.” – James Altitra
• “In every market there are people willing to spend lots of money on the thing provided the problem is sufficiently painful.”

This summary provides a detailed breakdown of the video’s content, preserving the original language and technical precision. It aims to be a practical guide for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to identify profitable business ideas.