You've found a problem, and people agree it's frustrating. The harder question is whether it hurts enough that they'd pay to make it go away. A problem is worth building a business around when it already costs people time or money. They're also trying to fix it. Three tests help you tell the difference early: the workaround test, the replacement test, and the cost test.
How can you tell if people will pay to solve a problem?
The workaround test checks whether people are already paying for an imperfect fix. It's the most reliable early signal I've found. A workaround gets the job done, but not the best way. People pay for it with money, time, or stress.
Look for signs like these:
- They hire part-time help to do by hand what software should do.
- They stitch three tools together to do the job of one.
- They keep a spreadsheet no one likes.
- They put up with a broken process and complain about it every week.
For example, picture a bakery owner who pays a part-time assistant to retype every online order into her register system. The two systems don't connect, so she pays someone to bridge them. That's a workaround. She's already spending money on the problem, which tells you it's worth solving.
Admin work is a good place to look for workarounds. A 2023 survey asked 251 U.S. business owners how they spend their time. Admin tasks like invoicing and data entry took up 36% of their week on average (Time etc, 2023). With that much time going to admin, many owners are likely patching it together with workarounds.
When you find workarounds, the problem is costing people something. They haven't found a fix they like yet.
When no one has tried a workaround, take that as a caution sign. People get resourceful when something is hurting their business. If they haven't tried to fix it, the problem may not hurt as much as you think.
How do you tell a need-to-have problem from a nice-to-have?
The replacement test sorts problems with one question: if your product disappeared tomorrow, would customers scramble to replace it? It's the cleanest way I know to tell need-to-have from nice-to-have.
Need-to-have products sit on the path to something important, like revenue, operations, compliance, or keeping customers. When they stop working, something important stops with them.
Nice-to-have products sit at the edge. People like them and use them, and the business keeps running without them.
Plenty of nice-to-have businesses are profitable. They tend to be harder to sell, though, and they're often the first line cut when budgets get tight. If you're building one, know that going in and price for it.
How do you know if a customer's pain point is big enough?
The cost test asks the people who have the problem one question: "How much time or money does this cost you today?"
People with a painful problem answer quickly and specifically. They name hours lost each week, a client they almost lost, or a bill they pay every month. If the answer is "hard to say" or "not that much, honestly," you have your answer. The problem isn't hurting enough to drive a purchase.
You'll also hear the difference in how people talk. Someone with a painful problem brings up examples before you ask for them. Customer discovery interviews walk through what to listen for.
A painful problem is one part of knowing whether your business idea is good. The other parts are whether people will pay you, and whether they'll act soon.
Before you build, ask five people who have the problem what it costs them today. For the full process of evaluating an idea, start with Evaluate Your Idea.
Frequently asked questions
Treat it as a sign the idea isn't viable in its current form. Go back to the people who have the problem and keep talking with them. Then revise the idea based on what you learn. The hard part is staying objective. It's easy to fall in love with an idea and keep pushing it after the feedback says otherwise. A failed test tells you what to change.
