Stop Looking for a "New" Idea. You Are Sitting on a Goldmine.
Why the fastest way to £2,000 in January is selling the "boring" skills you already use 9-5.
I have a theory about why most people never start a side hustle.
It’s not because they are lazy. It’s because they think they need to become a different person.
They look at the internet and see people making millions with Crypto, or Dropshipping, or coding complex AI apps. They look at their own life, working in HR, or Retail, or Admin, and think: “I don’t have anything to sell.”
They think they need to go away and learn a “High Income Skill” for 6 months before they can start.
This is a lie. And it is costing you money every single day.
In Retail, we have a term called “Dead Stock.” It’s inventory that sits in the warehouse, gathering dust, taking up space, and generating zero cash. A smart retailer liquidates dead stock immediately. They turn it back into cash so they can use it.
You are sitting on a warehouse full of Dead Stock.
You have skills that you use every day, skills that seem boring and easy to you, that other businesses are desperate to pay for.
The “Boring” Economy
Here is the truth about the B2B (Business to Business) world: Nobody pays for “Excitement.” They pay for “Relief.”
A small business owner doesn’t wake up thinking, “I wish I could buy some Crypto.” They wake up thinking, “I wish someone would organise my inbox,” or “I wish someone would fix this spreadsheet,” or “I wish someone would write these emails for me.”
If you are competent at your 9-5 job, you are already in the top 10% of the workforce. You just haven’t packaged it yet.
The 3-Step Audit
In the Q1 Income Operating System, the very first module is the “Niche Validator.” I built it to stop people from guessing.
But you can run a basic version of the audit right now using a pen and paper. Here is how to find your £500 offer.
1. The “Professional” Audit
Write down every task you did at work last week. Not your job title, the actual tasks.
Did you organise a meeting? (Skill: Operations/Scheduling)
Did you fix a formatting error in a document? (Skill: Editing/Formatting)
Did you research a competitor? (Skill: Market Research)
Did you manage a project timeline? (Skill: Project Management)
To you, this is “just work.” To a chaotic business owner, this is a lifesaver.
2. The “Personal” Audit
What do your friends ask you for help with?
“Can you look at my CV?”
“How do you get your holiday photos to look like that?”
“Can you help me budget?”
If people ask you for free, strangers will pay you for a result.
3. The Validation Test
Once you have a list, run your best idea through the 4-Point Checklist (this is built into the Notion System):
Is it specific? (e.g., “I do admin” is bad. “I manage inboxes for Dentists” is good).
Is it painful? (Does the client lose sleep over it?)
Do they have money? (Target businesses, not broke students).
Can I deliver it in Jan? (Don’t promise to build a spaceship).
The AI Shortcut
If you are still staring at a blank page, use the AI.
I included a “Million Dollar Prompt” in the Notion System, but here is the gist of it: Open ChatGPT or Gemini and type:
“I have skills in [Skill A] and [Skill B]. What creates the most value for a small business owner that I can deliver in 4 weeks?”
You will be shocked at the answers. It will give you offer ideas you never considered.
The Math of £2,000
Remember the “Napkin Math” from earlier this week?
To hit our Project January goal of £2,000, you don’t need to be the world’s best consultant. You just need to solve a £500 problem for 4 people.
Offer: “I will turn your messy bank statements into a clean spreadsheet for tax season.”
Price: £500.
Clients: 4.
That is it. You didn’t have to learn Python. You just had to use Excel.
Your Homework for Sunday
Stop trying to be “Smart.” Be useful.
Spend 20 minutes this Sunday auditing your own skills. Look at your Dead Stock.
Next week, we are going to talk about The Roadmap—exactly how to take that skill and find the first client in 30 days.
I’m building the map as we speak.
Subscrbe to join the Waitlist for the Q1 Income OS
— Calvin