There’s a scene in Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon’s character solves an impossibly complex maths problem on a blackboard, casually, like it’s nothing. For years, I thought that’s what entrepreneurship was meant to look like — genius-level ideas, Silicon Valley breakthroughs, apps that change the world.
But here’s what I’ve learned: most profitable businesses don’t start with big ideas. They start with useful ones.
If you’ve ever thought, I don’t have a million-dollar idea, you’re missing the point. You don’t need one.
What you need is to spot a real problem, apply your existing skills to solve it, and build something simple around that. That’s how I went from recovery to revenue, working just four hours a day.
Here’s the formula that worked for me – and how you can apply it to whatever you know.
Step 1: Don’t Overthink Your Expertise
When people think about monetising their skills, they often overlook the things that come naturally to them.
I used to run a digital agency. I’ve spent 20 years writing and shaping messages for brands. That might not sound flashy, but it’s valuable. In a world full of noise, people pay good money for someone who can help them stand out.
So I took the thing I was already good at — writing — and focused it on a specific, urgent problem: helping businesses explain how they’re using AI to improve digital advertising.
That was the sweet spot.
What’s the thing you do better than most people? It might feel boring or obvious to you — but to someone else, it’s the shortcut they’ve been searching for.
Step 2: Solve a Painful, Expensive Problem
People don’t pay for nice-to-haves. They pay to fix headaches.
When I launched Digital Drift, I didn’t try to be everything to everyone. I targeted a specific audience: marketing and advertising professionals who were under pressure to figure out AI but didn’t have the time or headspace to do it.
I helped them: