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Comment by markkanof | Hacker News Reader

I don't want to downplay your point, because it's certainly not trivial identify a problem where people are willing to pay for the solution to that problem.

However, if you know anyone in an industry other than software development, this can be a great source of ideas. Just ask a few questions about what their day to day job responsibilities entail. Then sit back and let them talk. I find that most people pretty quickly start talking about the pain points. Some of those pain points are likely to be something that people would pay to solve. Plus you give your friend/family member/acquaintance a chance to vent which they probably appreciate as well.

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As a non-programmer who has some frustration of trying to automate his work schedule the last several years, I think many users don't understand WHAT could be automated, or consolidated, or integrated, etc.

Like many things in starting a business, what "sounds" simple is in fact pretty difficult.

Learning to ask the right questions is also difficult in just figuring out the needs of your "acquaintances/friends."

If you can find just one small annoyance factor, and ask a secondary question just a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, then a little bit deeper, you may hit a wall of "I don't know," and that could be a potential solution.

Like regular conversation, questions tend to tree from one another.

This suggestion always drives me batty, because it sounds like a good idea, but either my acquaintances are just spectacularly unhelpful or it requires some great skill that is always omitted from the suggestion.

The missing piece is your own analysis. They cannot tell you how to solve their problem, you must do that. They can only tell you where their problems lie. Combining your greater understanding of the wider internet domain and your ability to ask pertinent questions, with what you and your team might be able to accomplish, possible solutions will sometimes reveal themselves.

They can't even identify the essential problem in many cases, because they don't know how technology can help. They can only describe the symptoms, and you have to diagnose the problem, like a doctor.

If they allow it, you could go with them to their workplace and have them explain what they're doing as they do it. This will give you a much better idea of what their workday actually entails and make up for your friends' inability to describe their activities.

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