Megan Cage · The $1K Idea Finder
Your signup is complete. Use the diagnostic below with a notebook. Set aside about 15 minutes; choose one idea to research rather than a business you must commit to forever.
Download The $1K Idea Finder — PDF
Save the PDF to your device, print it, or use it with a notebook. You can also read the complete diagnostic below.
1. Notice your useful experience
Write two or three examples for each question: What do people ask you to explain, organize, review, or make easier? At work, what do you handle with more confidence than someone newer to it? What have you figured out that would have helped you two years ago? What process, checklist, script, or framework do you already use?
Circle three answers grounded in something you have actually done. Use your own examples and keep employer or client information confidential.
2. Name a buyer problem
For each answer, write your relevant experience, a specific person, the problem she faces, and a useful result. Illustrative example: your experience is writing concise project updates; the buyer is a first-time team lead who spends an hour on updates that still confuse stakeholders; the useful result is a clear weekly update using a repeatable structure.
3. Compare three possibilities
Score each idea 0, 1, or 2 on these questions. Zero means unknown or no evidence; one means an indirect signal; two means a concrete example you can describe.
Have I solved this problem or helped someone with it?
Can I name a specific person and situation where it occurs?
Have I heard or read that person describe the problem?
Can I explain the useful result in one clear sentence?
Could I create a small resource with my available skills and time?
Add the scores out of ten. Start with the highest-scoring research candidate. In a tie, choose the buyer you can reach most easily. A high score does not prove demand or willingness to pay.
4. Write your first idea
I could help [specific person] with [specific problem] so she can [useful result]. Write down the experience that gives you a starting point and the assumption you most need to check.
5. Gather your next evidence
Find three independent examples of this person describing the problem. Record the source and date, what she has tried, where she seeks help, and whether she mentions buying a solution. Three examples begin your research; they do not establish demand.
An idea is a beginning. Give it a method.
The Idea-to-Income Blueprint guides your next decisions: compare opportunities with the MEGAN Test, investigate demand, define an offer, choose a format, set a price, and plan a launch.
A note on the name: $1K is an exploratory revenue goal, not an earnings promise. Twenty-five sales at $40 would equal $1,000 gross revenue before fees, taxes, refunds, and expenses. This diagnostic does not establish whether you can make those sales.
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