Authentic Market Discovery
Module 1, “Begin with your energy and ideas”, free to watch for 72 hours.
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About 51 minutes, in 15 short segments. You’ll have 72 hours from the moment you first open it. If you buy the course, this module comes with it, along with all the others, and you keep them for life.
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Inside this module
- ✓Welcome to the course!
- ✓Overview of this course.
- ✓Creativity tips for brainstorming ✨
- ✓(Optional) Take out your Energy Signature notes.
- ✓✍🏽 Start with your why...
- ✓When your things don't sell... why not?
- ✓✍🏽 Brainstorm Audience.
- ✓What people pay for...
- ✓✍🏽 Brainstorm Topics.
- ✓✍🏽 Brainstorm Formats.
- ✓✍🏽 Start scheduling conversations with nichemates...
What people said
“Thanks to this webinar, I see a gentler, more respectful way of talking to my potential clients and I feel more comfortable doing it.”
“George Kao gave an excellent webinar. It was well worth my time. I didn't want it to end. He gave us very tangible, useful tips I can implement now.”
“I used to get mad that people didn't seem to get what I have to offer. This gives me a clear structure to help me do my part of the work in respectfully meeting them where they are.”
“I couldn't believe that I never asked people the most important question during a market discovery call- what do you already pay for? I no longer feel like I need to reinvent the wheel. I just need to add some finishing touches to make the work my own.”
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Module 1’s Lessons:
- Welcome to the course! + Our community values4 min
- Overview of this course3 min
- Creativity tips for brainstorming ✨2 min
- (Optional) Take out your Energy Signature notestext
- ✍🏽 Start with your why...5 min
- When your things don't sell... why not?8 min
- ✍🏽 Brainstorm Audience6 min
- What people pay for...6 min
- ✍🏽 Brainstorm Topics2 min
- ✍🏽 Brainstorm Formats1 min
- ✍🏽 Start scheduling conversations with nichemates...8 min
- "I don't know that many nichemates... what to do?"4 min
- Reaching out to people you haven't been in touch with for years...3 min
- (Optional) "Given what you know about me, what services should I offer?"text
Welcome to the course! + Our community values
Video · 4 min
Key points from the video
- Calls this among the most important courses he has ever taught, adding the self-aware aside that he says that about every course, but insists this time it's true.
- Origin of the name: he used to call it "market research"; market discovery of his own audience revealed they disliked "research" and preferred "discovery" — the course's own method named itself.
- Riffs on always prefixing "authentic" to everything (jokes about "authentic tacos" now that he's moved to Mexico).
- Frames Market Discovery as how a business works out its calling — the intersection of what the business/founder can provide (energy signature, passions) and what the market is hungry for right now.
- Names the alternative: "market discovery by default" — launching things and painfully learning by which ones sell, which he calls a slower, harsher way of learning the same lesson this course teaches deliberately.
- Frames his courses as co-learning communities: he expects to learn from student comments too, not just teach.
The full lesson text (click to show)
A warm welcome here!
I encourage us to see this course as a community... not comments from random people, but rather, focused comments about specific topics, from your kindred spirits 😊
The most important part of a community is its culture. Each of us (who participate here) influence the culture with every interaction we have here.
A few values to keep in mind:
- Comment once, reply twice. For each comment you make, look for 2 other comments in the Student Discussion doc (especially ones with few replies) and add a reply – with your encouragement and suggestions (if appropriate). This helps to balance the comment/reply ratio, and gives you practice in seeking and giving support here.
- Notice and name each others' energy signatures. Each person's presence is unique, and each person has their strengths. It can be difficult for us to notice our own, and easier to notice others'. Whenever you notice someone's comment that refers to something personal to them, try to name something that you appreciate. We all have a fear of being fully seen. Let’s help each other feel accepted and received.
- Co-Learning Community. Nobody here (not even the "teacher") knows everything about market research/discovery... it's a rich process that can be customized greatly to each person's way of doing things, so let's create a co-learning environment here.
- Share generously. Be supportive of others here. If you discover something that works, or hear about a great tip that helps with market discovery, please do share it with us. Comment next to the appropriate lesson in the Student Discussion doc if possible, or if not sure where, just add a general comment. Sharing will make this course better for all of us!
- Keep all sharings confidential. Let's keep this a safe space for sharing by promising to keep all comments (particularly the personal ones) confidential.
Share in the Student Discussion doc if these values are helpful, and any suggestions you have.
The values we embody here is what makes this course experience amazing for each other 😊
Overview of this course
Video · 3 min
Module 1: Brainstorming topics, format, audience
Module 2: "Easily Referrable Issues" (ERI) and Posting Your Outreach
Module 3: Market Discovery Conversations -- how to have them skillfully?
Module 4: Integrating the Conversations into actionable insights
Module 5: Market Discovery Polls
Module 6: Integrating the Polls
Key points from the video
- Confirms the module count live, slightly unsure and promising to double-check his notes — an authentic, unscripted moment.
- Module-by-module framing: Module 1 exists so students shape the topics of the interviews they'll run later; Module 2 introduces the "easily referable issue" as something to keep honing even for students who've already done versions of this exercise; Module 3 explicitly reassures nervous students — practice conversations with each other in the course before real-world conversations; Module 4 integrates the conversations and Module 5 turns that into a poll (conversations and polls are the two major steps of Market Discovery); Module 6 turns the polls into actionable insight on what to offer, and so what to sell.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "In the past I was stuck and focused on what "I" liked, what "I" enjoyed and wanting to share/teach that. Now I'm asking-- what do wealthy women over 50 want or need - using my passion & skills, that I am willing to provide to them, get real good at, and be rewarded for it? I can create free content on what I like or enjoy at no cost to all women in my target audience."
George replied: This is gold! Thank you:
"...delivering what I'm here with in context of felt human needs is more loving than simply ignoring the world to do what "I" want."
Creativity tips for brainstorming ✨
Video · 2 min
What helps you to brainstorm ideas?
Add it in the Student Discussion doc.
All ideas/tips are welcome :)
Some ways that work well for me:
- After focused brainstorming for awhile, take a break (from half hour to a few days!) and then go back and add to the notes. Your mind will have been working (in the background) on the question during the break.
- Paste your notes into an Ai chatbot and ask it to come up with additional ideas and questions to help you generate ideas. The service I'm using these days is poe.com (where I can use various bots). Free options that are well-regarded include ChatGPT and Bing.
What ways work well for you, or tips to help brainstorm better? Share with us in the Student Discussion doc.
Key points from the video
- References "the idea machine" concept (attributed to a "James" whose last name he can't recall — tells students to Google "idea machine George Kao" for his old blog post on it).
- Core claim: the more ideas generated and executed on, the more successful people tend to be in their field — brainstorming/creativity capacity is directly tied to business success.
- Explicitly names that people brainstorm differently (visual/mind-mapping/drawing/dancing) and he personally is "not as visual" as some — invites students to find their own mode rather than assume one right way.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "I tend to come up with new ideas when I am talking with others! 😆 Automatic Writing also helps me a lot - it’s pretty magical."
George replied: thank you for linking to that book! Looks fascinating. Will check it out further 🙏🏼
A student shared: "I often get ideas when I first wake up, or even in the middle of the night. I have a quick capture space on my phone and in my desktop notetaking app (Notion), where I quickly capture anything that comes up. I have a system of routinely going through those items and moving them to the relevant places. In addition, you mentioned dance -- I used to do a lot of ecstatic dance, and so many ideas …"
George replied: love the thing about dance and ideas!
Re: waking up middle of might with ideas... that used to happen to me too. But it interrupted my sleep too much. Eventually, I resolved to not write down any ideas during nightly sleep -- only during the day. And now my sleep is better and I only get ideas during the day 😆
A student shared: "I use mindmaps in the way of Dr. Caroline Leaf (Metagocs) and mostly without any color or visuals. Thank you, for the AI tip, . Since it combines many different AI's, how do you use it/how you choose? Do you have a link to where you tell about that?"
George replied: indeed I've tried many of the major AI tools and enjoy exploring what each one offers :)
(Optional) Take out your Energy Signature notes
Those who have worked through my Energy Signature course -- it can be very helpful for this course to revisit your notes.
If you haven't taken that course, don't worry! This course (market discovery) will be adequate to help you clarify that intersection between your passions and the market's wants. Continue to the next lesson :)
Key points
- Brief pointer lesson: those who've taken his Energy Signature course are encouraged to revisit their notes from it here, since that intersection-of-passions material feeds directly into this course's brainstorming.
- Explicit reassurance for those who haven't taken it: not required — this course alone is adequate to clarify the passion/market intersection; no need to backtrack, just continue.
✍🏽 Start with your why...
Video · 5 min
Extra video 1 · 1 min
Key points from the video
- Frames this as "energizing," starting "inside out" from what lights you up before considering the market at all.
- Explicit permission: sharing what you come up with is optional, and doing the exercise privately if you feel shy is fine.
- Names the mechanism of the exercise directly: brainstorming against a short timer gets the mind focused on the question, while you stay free of judgment about the ideas.
The full lesson text (click to show)
We're going to write without judgement 😊 but with freedom and passion...
Take a few gentle, deep breaths. If it helps you, take a moment to visualize your ideal paid work.
Then answer any of the questions below that resonate with you:
- What work would you love to do?
- What interests and passions do you have? What do you love studying and working on and talking about?
- What have you studied for years that you would enjoy using as a skill?
- What unique skills or talents do you possess?
- How would you love to help others? What is a struggle you see others going through that calls to your heart to do something about it?
- What service is so important that it should be more widely available?
Or use any other related question. Basically, what potentially-paid activities would energize you?
Ready? Set a 5-minute timer and GO ✍🏽
If ever you're stuck, first check out the Q&A section in this course to see if there's something there that can unblock you.
How did the exercise above go?
You're welcome to share your answers in the Student Discussion doc if you'd like!
(Or share any other question that was helpful for you to brainstorm.)
After you comment, remember to to look at 2 other comments in the Student Discussion doc and offer them a supportive reply 🙏🏼
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "I realized how scared I am to step into working in some of the areas I’m most interested in. I spend so much time thinking about these things and love learning about them, and when it comes to teaching I feel so inadequate and confused and scared of the heat that it might inspire if/when I mis-step with someone who is aligned. Someone who knows this material too and I just get it wrong with them. …"
George replied: I appreciate you sharing this! I wrote a blog post recently that you might find supportive -- here
George added: so true! Talk to as many people as you can from a grounded place of wanting to help, and you'll see what you can help with -- more than you might imagine :)
A student shared: "This exercise was very hard for me. I felt lot of resistance, because I'm good at a lot of things and find it hard to choose just one. And I do want to narrow it down, because I can't do it all. But something in me gets really angry when I try to narrow it down. So I let it be for a couple of days and then read the questions again and casually took them with me on a walk outside. Had breakfast …"
George replied: thank you for sincerely doing the exercise! I appreciate hearing about your process, and look forward to your updates as you continue into the other exercises 🙏🏼
A student shared: "Doing this exercise was helpful in grounding me in my calling. Broadly, I want to change society by changing parenting norms -- that's the dream of my business's legacy. To achieve that I want to help people prepare for parenthood -- make an informed and intentional choice to become a parent or not; learn what they need to know about themselves and child development to be ready to create a …"
George replied: I love this. Especially that you're addressing people before they become parents. I've noticed that many parents (especially of young children) are too exhausted and stretched to invest in their own growth and only want to invest in their children. To reach them before they have children... this is a smart decision!
When your things don't sell... why not?
Video · 8 min
Extra video 1 · 3 min
Key points from the video
- The Joyful Productivity case study (his own core teaching story): came up with the idea ~2008–2009, started talking about and selling it every month (sometimes weekly) starting 2009. Results by year: 2009 — one client (who wasn't even hiring him for that, and signed up for whatever he offered); 2010 — crickets; 2011 — still close to nothing; 2012–2014 — could not make even part-time income; 2016 — something finally shifted; 2018 — launched a monthly paid membership (~$50/month) that sold out with 70 members (~$3,000–4,000/month, part-time income). Total: 9 years from idea to sustainable income, 7 years of shouting from the mountaintop before it caught on.
- The Mountaintop vs. River analogy, expanded: the founder has trekked up the mountain (gained expertise/insight) while the audience is still at the river (where it's easier, more resourced, more fun). The higher you climb, the fewer people at the river can hear you — so you must come back down to speak the river's language, not shout your mountaintop vocabulary louder.
- Explicit lesson: shouting from the mountaintop does work, it just might take 7 to 9 years; doing market discovery instead can compress that to 7 to 9 weeks.
- Additional video — why 1-1 conversations are a trust-building shortcut: caring, curious 1-1 conversations build the kind of trust that would otherwise take months or years of people consuming your content, depending on how long and how intimate the conversation is; you become the person they think of for that topic, and listening to what people buy also saves years of flailing around with offers that don't work.
The full lesson text (click to show)
Why do you think that is?
Before you continue to read, comment first in the Student Discussion doc on what your hunch tells you...
If your stuff isn't selling well, here's why it might be...
You might be thinking a lot in isolation when it comes to what to offer. Analogy of mountaintop vs people at the river.
To get clients, you must sell what others want (not just what you want). To understand what they want (to buy), you must do market discovery... that's what this course is about!
Find out what your people are hungry for... for which they aren't finding satisfying options. Find the gaps in offerings that your people are eagerly looking for.
Finding "product-market fit" is life or death for a business. For us who are coaches/healers/mentors, this translates into "You-topic-format-audience fit". You = your energy signature Topic = what your services are about Format = offer format, e.g. 1-1 services, group programs, or something else? Audience = of all the people you can reach, who's most interested to work with you?
This is what the Authentic Market Discovery process unconvers.
We help you discover what your ideal clients must buy, not just would be "nice to have."
Bottom line -- You must choose the right thing to offer, if you want people to buy from you...
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "My hunch: client's don't have a clear idea of what I do or how to find me. So, I was right. I'm at the top of the mountain. I've also been taught to shout at specific people from the top of the mountain but the feedback I got was, "You're just yelling at people." That sucked. But then comes what I think is referring to: it's all about who you know. And I have to say, I often don't …"
George replied: Thank you for extending the analogy to literally shouting at people from the mountaintop -- useful for all of us to remember! Let's do our best to get close to the people and learn more about their wants and how they think about it.
A student shared: "I'm not sure where to ask this question, but chose here as being an okay place. In this course and in Tad's membership, I feel like the assumed starting place for folks is that they have at least 3 years experience in their business, they have some social media presence, and they have at least a few dozen previous clients. This gives a basis from which to do the marketing work. I am in a …"
George replied: I'm so glad you asked this! And thank you for describing the challenge so well.
I'm really curious where in this course you felt that it was meant for those who are farther along in business. Many of my audience members are in the relative beginning stages of business, as you are, so I do have you folks in mind when I teach and create content as well. In fact, people who know both Tad's and my work say that my work tends to be for beginners, and Tad's work tends to be for those further along.
So I think you're in the right place, but please do let me know, in any of the lessons, when you feel out of your depth, and I'd be happy to reply with any helpful perspectives that I can.
Also you might be interested in reading about my 5 levels of business growth: https://www.georgekao.com/blog/5levels
✍🏽 Brainstorm Audience
Video · 6 min
Key points from the video
- The audience-brainstorm question is explicitly twofold: (1) who is your ideal client (demographics, even if guessed for now), and (2) who can you literally reach right now — a completely separate, practical question.
- Jokes that a coach could say they serve anyone from 14 to 441 years old, which is technically true, but a narrower age range suits you better — pushes students to name a real ideal age range even knowing it may change over the years.
- Concrete channel checklist for who you can reach: CRM, mailing list, old spreadsheets, DMs across every platform (WhatsApp/FB Messenger/IG DMs/texts), LinkedIn connections, Facebook friends, IG followers, YouTube commenters, Substack/Medium subscribers, membership directories.
- Anecdote from a live participant: she listed her 10 favorite clients and 10 less-good-fit clients side by side; comparing the two lists surfaced a genuinely enlightening pattern about what made some clients a better fit — offered as a model of how prioritizing the list produces insight, not just triage.
- Names the list as a long-term asset that will serve you for years, meant to be added to and organized better over time rather than done once.
The full lesson text (click to show)
We begin our market discovery with the people we're already able to reach.
Start a list of names from your network, i.e. the people you have access to.
Keep it simple and just write a long list of names.
This list will be handy for several reasons:
- Potential people for you to have market discovery conversations with...
- ...or to refer you to a few friends of theirs who would be open to such conversations with you
- ...and overall to help you remember what supporters you already have, to help you with ideas and connections.
(If you're into spreadsheets you can start one for such a list, or pull up one you already have.)
Set a 5-minute timer and go!
- First, do you already have a list of people? Pull that up first, then add to it…
- Clients (if any)
- Past clients (if any)
- Potential clients (if any) – those who have inquired with you… look at your contact forms, email folders, spreadsheets
- Colleagues, past and present
- Classmates, past and present, e.g. other students of this course who are friendly with you
- Places to find names...
- Your CRM (client relationship management database) -- if any
- Your mailing list
- Any spreadsheets of names you have started over the years
- Your direct messaging chats are with whom? Whatsapp, FB Messenger, IG Dm's, Text messages, etc.
- Instagram followers
- YouTube commenters
- Substack/Medium subscribers
- Directories of memberships and active groups you're part of
- Where else? Let us know in the Student Discussion doc.
If ever you're stuck, first check out the Q&A section in this course to see if there's something there that can unblock you.
Next: put a star next to 10 names (or cut/paste them to the top of your list) who are people you love talking with.
For those 10 names, put a star (or cut/paste to the top) next to 3 of them who are most likely similar to your idea client type of person (whoever you know that to be... if not sure, just make a guess for now!)
Any insight come from doing this exercise? :)
Feel free to comment in the Student Discussion doc...
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "Listing the 10 people I love talking to gave me the warm and fuzzies ;) It gives me hope that this outreach can be a pleasurable experience!"
George replied: that's great to hear! Thank you for this encouraging comment 🙏🏼
A student shared: "This step is a stretch for me. Up until now I really kept my network quite small and intimate. Years ago I made the decision to leave all of social media except Linkedin. Most of the people on there I haven´t talked to in years. Most people I know seem to be not a good fit for the deep transformational I imagine myself doing. so one of my first steps would be getting to know the people I really …"
George replied: you might be surprised about the people that you already know -- I would encourage you to approach (some of) them anyway with your outreach post (see next module). They might know people to refer to you.
As for events/courses, it's a great question. Perhaps you've taken some in the past, and you can reach back out to fellow students or the teacher?
Also, since you're on LinkedIn, what about the possibility of searching on topics of your deep interest (use the search bar at the top of LinkedIn), then clicking "posts", and commenting on some of them? Also, in the search results, click "groups" at the top and see if there are any you'd like to join. Some of the members may be willing to have Market Discovery calls with you...
A student shared: "Am in trouble? So far I only have one person I love talking to."
George replied: I'm glad you mentioned this in the live group session today and got several people stepping forward to be one of your conversation partners!
A student shared: "I'm feeling overwhelmed. There are just too many people to sort through. I can easily find 10+ people I love to talk to, but some are clients, so I'll need to be careful about what to disclose any new directions."
George replied: How about... 3 current clients, 3 past clients, and 4 colleagues? :)
A student shared: "Ugh I have 184 Substack subscribers but I have a block about contacting them. Clearly work I need to do on myself there. I tend to hide or guard the things I find most valuable. I appear very open, but I have a secretive, Enneagram type-5 personality streak where I bury my gold so no one can steal it. What’s the most treasured to me, I almost never share. So these parts of me don’t want to …"
George replied: very insightful to notice that within yourself!
A student shared: "Great idea to go check SM supporters. I generated a list of 19 from LinkedIn the past year who have Liked my posts. Very inspirational."
George replied: Yes! Good idea to check the likers.
A student shared: "That's fine but it really depends on what I'm asking them. I haven't got to the list of questions or thoughts on how to spend that 30 minutes. I get the question of asking them what service or product I should offer might be valuable. However, I also feel like my list of fave people does not include people who know the "full me" e.g. my current interests, areas of study, talents, passions, etc. A …"
George replied: we'll cover the questions to discuss in a call in Module 3! Also, the Market Discovery calls aren't about your background or potential... but rather, about what they're struggling with / thinking a lot about these days. Or, the other types of calls (nichemate calls) are about what they see is selling well in their business.
A student shared: "I’m feeling shy about my list of names bc I’ve reached out in the past for business things and I both feel like I may be bothering them and also I haven’t talked to them in so long!"
George replied: an outreach of genuine hello / how are things with you, can go a long way! And it's fine to mention what you're up to now. If the person likes you, they don't mind you reaching out even after a long time :)
What people pay for...
Video · 6 min
When people buy a product or service, they are paying:
- To solve a pain
- To achieve a goal
- To have an experience
They make a quicker decision to buy -- and they pay more -- if one or more of these are true:
- Low-cost alternatives are unavailable or unknown to them
- People around them are using (and enjoying it)
- They've bought this kind of thing before
- Their need is urgent and intense
- They trust the seller
What else do people pay for?
What makes the decision an easy one for them?
Key points from the video
- Core principle stated plainly: people pay to solve an urgent, painful problem — pain can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, or logistical; the more urgent/deep the pain, the faster and more they'll pay.
- Names that people prioritize spending on pain-relief before aspirational/experiential purchases, though aspirational and experiential offers can sell — they just require more trust-building and more market discovery first.
- The caring-doctor analogy: good marketing is like a doctor lightly tapping to find where it hurts, rather than amplifying people's pain to cause more trauma or implying they'll be miserable if they don't buy — explicitly critiques manipulative marketing.
- The factor of having bought this kind of thing before, explained via the mountain-trekking analogy: it's counterintuitive but true — it's easier to sell mountain trekking to someone who has trekked before than to someone who's never considered it; therefore market discovery conversations should probe what have you already bought, not would you buy my idea — the latter produces polite false positives (people say they'd buy it, then don't) while the former surfaces real buying behavior.
- Explicitly distinguishes Market Discovery from simple polling: asking which of several options people would buy invites polite, non-committal answers; asking about past purchases surfaces what people actually spend money on.
- What people are paying for, underlying every purchase: to solve a pain, to achieve a goal, or to have an experience.
- Five factors that make people decide faster and pay more (a framework in its own right, which includes the having-bought-before factor discussed above): (1) low-cost alternatives are unavailable or unknown to them; (2) people around them are using and enjoying it (social proof); (3) they've bought this kind of thing before; (4) their need is urgent and intense; (5) they trust the seller.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "For me, I pay for services from someone who I want to support. I.e. GK has made so much useful free content, I want to support him. Therefore, I will buy what he sells. Not sure if anyone else feels this way but it's what I feel."
George replied: thank you so much! I do the same with the creators I watch🙏🏼
A student shared: "People buy if low-cost alternatives are unavailable or unknown to them: this has happened to me a couple of times, where people wanted coaching from me, but because going to a psychologist is covered by their insurance, they choose the psychologist instead of me. So -aha- I need to create an offer that has no alternative...."
George replied: great point! In how you describe your coaching, make sure you say how it's different from psychotherapy and when it's better for someone to do coaching with you.
✍🏽 Brainstorm Topics
Video · 2 min
Key points from the video
- Frames the exercise as building on the previous lessons — students should feel better equipped than before to brainstorm real topics/issues.
- Names that the brainstormed list is a living draft: the topics get refined and honed as the course goes on, based on actual human feedback, not more solo thinking.
The full lesson text (click to show)
Bring to mind one area that you might want to build a business around...
Now, get ready to write without judgement 😊
Generate as many ideas as possible of:
- Pains
- Goals
- Experiences
...that your area of business can help people with. Don't worry about "who" your business will be helping, just brainstorm ideas for now.
Set a 5-minute timer and go!
(Next module, I'll give you a spreadsheet template to organize your ideas if you'd like... but for now don't worry about that... and just write!)
Potentially helpful writing prompts...
Try each of these below... one at a time... if you can't quickly come up with an answer, go to the next question!
This is a pain that people I know have, that I might enjoy helping people with: ____________________.
You can also replace "pain" with...
- annoyances
- frustrations
- bafflements
- conundrums
- issues
This is a passionate goal that people I know have, that I can see myself enjoying supporting people with: _________________.
This is a specific experience that people I know love to have, that I would enjoy supporting people on creating or experiencing: _________________.
Family, friends, and colleagues have asked me to help with this: __________________.
Of these, which topics/issues did they (or might they) pay me to help with?
I’ve been paid to help people with this: _________________.
Also, last time I had a job, colleagues sometimes came to ask for my help with this: _____________.
Regarding the industry or work that I've got significant experience in... what about the industry or role bothers me, that I might create a service or product to rectify? _____________________.
An underserved niche that I believe has demand and I have unique ability to cater to is: ________________.
People in my audience often struggle with this skill or knowledge gap: ________________.
A "dream" outcome that my people often desire but struggle to achieve? ________________.
Here are topics I write about on social media that get the most engagement: __________________.
What's an emerging trend that's gaining momentum that I'm really interested in, and could potentially charge for? _____________
What were your favorite questions above?
Or are there any other questions that helped you brainstorm topics/issues?
Any examples of your brainstorming to share?
Share in the Student Discussion doc.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "I feel like I hit a loop. I identified the same problems that I always have, and when I share them with people they say, "that's so needed." but that's as far as the conversation goes. I'm looking forward to knowing how I can get to the next step, whatever that is."
George replied: Let's see how the actual Market Discovery calls help! Because people say "that's so needed" but secretly are saying "but I'd never pay for that kind of thing" and the question is can we get them to tell us what they would pay for -- or are already paying for -- instead? Or what they know their friends are paying for? That's where "the market" actually is...
A student shared: "I feel like I hit a loop. I identified the same problems that I always have, and when I share them with people they say, "that's so needed." but that's as far as the conversation goes. I'm looking forward to knowing how I can get to the next step, whatever that is."
George replied: Yes good point. The more it's a genuine need for them (rather than what you think they need) the more painful it is for them not to have it...
A student shared: "Favorite question: Here are topics I write about on social media that get the most engagement: __________________. What I found out in my social posts that what got the most engagement are about my spiritual practices such as 5-day no food water only fasting, and daily 108 Tibetan prostration. LOL. And the coaching related content I made (and spent a lot time on them) were sort of crickets. …"
George replied: ☒ It's important to know that this is true for everyone (myself included) -- posts about our business/offers are engaged with way less than posts about our personal lives or politics or humor etc etc etc. But we still need to post about those things anyway. Just be sure to compare apples to apples... don't compare business/offer posts with non-business/non-offer posts. Compare the same types of things to each other for accurate observations and peace :)
George added: yes how the offer is framed is important and can be tested via content: make posts that lightly speak to the issue and see if it resonates with your audience.
✍🏽 Brainstorm Formats
Video · 1 min
What formats of products/services do people pay for?
(For example: coaching, group programs, books, webinars, workshops, retreats, etc. etc.)
Get ready to write without judgement...
Set a 5-minute timer and write.
Potentially helpful writing prompts:
Formats of products/services I've bought:
- ....
Bringing to mind someone I know well, who might be a potential client type of person for me, these are the formats of products/services they've bought or been interested in:
- ....
Formats of products/services I've offered before:
- ....
Looking at my nichemates, these are the formats of products/services they offer:
- ....
How might the traditional or classic product/service formats in my niche be updated or reimagined?
- ...
Might be interesting: FB comments about which formats seem to be working among my audience.
Any examples to share? Share in the Student Discussion doc.
Key points from the video
- Brief lesson; invites brainstorming from formats already purchased.
- Gives an example of getting granular about a format you've purchased: a 1-1 coaching program with sessions once every two weeks, an intensive deep-dive at the start, and a workbook sent after the second month — modeling how specific format details can get.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "All live, in-person online 1:1 coaching Deep Magic Group (2 people + me) 2-3 person IFS coaching groups 6 person Four Great IFS Techniques group Large group IFS + puppets class (new) Writing this list, I see I have NOTHING online that’s not live. That’s clearly my next frontier!! So if I do market research about what online class people want that’s not live, then I can focus on creating that as …"
George replied: LOVE how you did this exercise! Thank you. Inspirational ✨
A student shared: "For my ChatGBT prompt I said, Given my work as a holistic practitioner, and here are some details, what are some innovative ways I can deliver services to my clients that will make me stand out in my field? Then I uploaded a great chunk of my data from the Launch Your Group Program (plug for you, ) and it came up 13 ideas. Then I asked it *which of the above would sell the most, …"
George replied: that's great! Just know that it's probably not scientifically accurate re: "statistically speaking" but it's making a guess based on blog posts out there and other general web info it has in its database. In other words, take its guess of what's best-selling as a guess, and don't discount the other ideas, if you believe (based on your understanding of your market) that it could do well too :)
✍🏽 Start scheduling conversations with nichemates...
Video · 8 min
Extra video 1 · 2 min
Key points from the video
- Sets up two categories of colleague conversation: (1) someone farther along than you in the field, and (2) someone at your level or more beginner.
- Relationship-coach worked example (farther-along colleague, an example he makes up on the spot): the more experienced colleague reveals unexpected market signals — e.g., clients were actually coming in wanting help deciding whether to leave a relationship, while an offer about being a better listener flopped because people blamed their partner's listening rather than their own. Hearing this from a colleague could save you years, or at least months, of angst.
- With a same-level or more-beginner colleague, the ask flips: share your own brainstormed topics and invite them to add ideas you hadn't considered.
- Additional video — avoiding the nichemate research rabbit hole: set a hard 5-minute timer before reaching out to glance at what's new with a nichemate (blog, social, LinkedIn) so the outreach can be personalized (mention a new baby, a recent trip) without spiraling into unproductive browsing; keep the bulk of the outreach message templated/reusable, personalizing only the opening line.
- Two direct questions for a farther-along nichemate: ask what's selling for them vs. not selling (revealing about the market right now, and often enlightening for them too since people rarely reflect on this) and what gap they see in the marketplace (requests they've gotten that they had to refer out, or couldn't find a good referral for).
- Practical logistics: keep these calls to about 30 minutes unless you prefer longer; personalize/customize the invitation rather than letting it feel templated, since you're reaching out to people who already know you; if you don't know the person well or want to offer something for their time, consider a gift card or 30 minutes of your own service in exchange.
The full lesson text (click to show)
In the next module we'll talk about scheduling sessions with potential clients, and where to find them -- you have access to more than you might think!
For now, begin scheduling calls with your nichemates -- those offering the same/similar thing you'd like to offer. (If not sure what you want to offer yet, just schedule 2 or 3 calls anyway with friends who are also fellow soulpreneurs...)
You're welcome to comment in the Student Discussion doc inviting others to reach out to you for such a conversation: let us know what work you are doing (or might be interested in) and anything else that might be helpful for us to know.
- If the nichemate you're talking to is farther ahead in business than you: focus the conversation on discovering what’s selling for them vs. not selling, and what does that tell them about the market at this time? This conversation should be enlightening for them too, because people seldom reflect on this. Also ask them: what do they see as a gap in the marketplace, e.g. what requests have they gotten for services or products that they need to refer out? Or perhaps, can't find a good referral source?
- If you're talking to a nichemate that has less experience than you: get feedback on what you brainstormed in previous lessons -- what else would they recommend that you add?
The calls can be just 30 minutes each, unless you prefer longer. Since you're reaching out to people who already know you, make the invitation as personal/customized as possible and not feel templated.
If you don't know the person very well, or feel you need to give them something for their time, you can consider sending them something like an Amazon gift card (easy) or if they're interested you could give them 30 minutes of your service.
Remember -- if ever you're stuck, first check out the Q&A section in this course to see if there's something there that can unblock you.
Comment in the Student Discussion doc to share any insights you gain from these calls 🙏🏼
"I don't know that many nichemates... what to do?"
Video · 4 min
Key points from the video
- Broadens the definition of "nichemate" far beyond direct competitors: for a yoga teacher, this includes nutrition, cooking, wellness, personal training, holistic medicine, mental/emotional health practitioners — anyone whose clients are plausibly open to yoga too.
- Explicitly removes geography as a constraint — online reach means "nichemate" candidates include anyone met online over the years in the adjacent wellness space, including past students from George's own group programs (who are "fair game" and more likely to already understand market research/netcaring, making them easier conversations).
- Surfaces a secondary struggle (flagged for a dedicated follow-up segment): clients/students often don't spontaneously share their problems in casual settings (e.g., in yoga class), making it harder to notice what issues to address.
Reaching out to people you haven't been in touch with for years...
Video · 3 min
Key points from the video
- States his bias plainly: as a marketer, he respects the hustle — reconnecting after years is fine as long as the outreach isn't salesy.
- Frames the test as: would this person be delighted to hear from you regardless of the time gap? If yes, the years don't matter.
- Sample script structure he personally respects when he receives it: acknowledge the time gap warmly + genuine curiosity about their life + a specific, honest reason for reaching out now (e.g., that you're taking a course whose homework is pushing you to reconnect with people) rather than a disguised pitch.
- Ties this outreach back into the Module 2 outreach template and nichemate-outreach approach as reusable structures.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "This has always been a struggle for me. Because I was so shy to reach out to anyone at one point in the beginning of my 'career', I had this idea that I would keep a list of names that I should reach out to and wait for the confidence or inspiration to do so. But then the names on the list got to be so old and in some cases they barely would remember me, and I had to get realistic. There are …"
George replied: grateful for this comment! A lot of people (myself included) can resonate.
I look forward to hearing how it goes as you do reach out with your authentic caring.
A student shared: "This immediately brought to mind a self-proclaimed ideal client I have lost touch with, but don't quite know what went wrong! I often think of reaching out to her but don't quite know how to handle it, in case I owe her an apology for wrong-footedness! Awkward."
George replied: I hope you'll reach out -- in your always kind and thoughtful way -- and let us know how it went 💛
A student shared: "This immediately brought to mind a self-proclaimed ideal client I have lost touch with, but don't quite know what went wrong! I often think of reaching out to her but don't quite know how to handle it, in case I owe her an apology for wrong-footedness! Awkward."
George replied: celebrating your action-taking from the heart 🙌🏾😊
A student shared: "This immediately brought to mind a self-proclaimed ideal client I have lost touch with, but don't quite know what went wrong! I often think of reaching out to her but don't quite know how to handle it, in case I owe her an apology for wrong-footedness! Awkward."
George replied: Ah, sorry to hear about that! And definitely use personal emails or private messaging to send those ... let's not assume people are seeing and ignoring them. When using business email -- especially if the same email address as your newsletters -- it's very likely landing in "promotions" or other relegated folder... I encourage you use personal messaging to reach out to the 5 most supportive colleagues, and if you business-emailed them already, just say you're checking if whether your emails are going to spam or they received it...
(Optional) "Given what you know about me, what services should I offer?"
We're going to do more focused polling of your audience later, but this could be an enlightening exercise to do every year or so:
A simple question you can occasionally ask your friends / family / colleagues -- people who know something about you -- off the top of their head, just from what they already know about you, what do they see you doing well in offering?
If you try this out, comment in the Student Discussion doc and let us know how it went and what you learned!
Key points
- Names this as worth repeating roughly once a year, distinct from the more focused polling done later in the course: ask friends/family/colleagues — people who know you but aren't formally surveyed — what they see you doing well/offering, purely off the top of their head from what they already know about you.
- Positions it as a light, low-effort market-sensing check-in rather than a rigorous discovery step — an easy annual pulse-check on how your reachable people already perceive your strengths.
George's answers to students' questions (click to show)
A student shared: "I sent this question to my mailing list. I figure they are there for a reason, expect to hear from me, and are the best people to answer this question...."
George replied: I would recommend individually emailing 10-20 people... your biggest supporters among your clients, colleagues, friends :)
A student shared: "I love this idea and (as a writer) I want to improve the language of the question so I really know it's clear. What do you mean by "what do they see you doing well in offering?" I think the gist is: what offerings do you think I could make that would sell well? So maybe I'd ask my people (by email): Given what you know about me, my skillset, and my coaching, what offerings do you think I can make …"
George replied: well done! I'd love to know how it goes once you receive responses.
After you watch
If you’d like more after watching: The Authentic Market Discovery course. If you buy the course, this module comes with it, along with all the others, and you keep them for life.
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If you’d like to keep going, the complete Authentic Market Discovery course is available for enrollment: The Authentic Market Discovery course. If you buy the course, this module comes with it, along with all the others, and you keep them for life.