Sep 29 • General discussion
☀️ From Nowhere: How to Spark Your First Online Business Idea
TLDR: problems = treasure
Hey, hello, hi,
I want to outline some steps that you can take to help spark an idea that will make you money.
You don’t need skills, experience, or even the “perfect” idea to begin. What you need is time, curiosity, and a pinch of self-belief. ☀️
Some ventures will work, others won’t—and that’s a good thing. Every attempt teaches you new skills, grows your network, and brings you closer to the business that does succeed. Failure isn’t wasted effort—it’s an advantage for another opportunity. It’s better to try and fail than to fail to try.
Step 1: Put Problems First
The best businesses don’t start with products. They start with pain.
- Products that succeed solve real problems.
- People part with money to save time, feel better, or make life easier.
- Great marketing simply reminds people of the pain you’re removing.
Ask yourself:
- What problem frustrates me daily?
- What process could be faster or easier?
- What do people around me constantly complain about?
Examples from my journey: At 17, I built WakeOrDonate—an alarm clock app that donated to charity when you hit snooze. Pain: struggling to get out of bed. Later, while surfing in Indonesia, I had nowhere safe to leave my wallet. That led to Submerge, my waterproof wallet business. People didn’t buy the wallet; they purchased the ability to not stress about their valuables on the beach. Build a product or service that resolves pain.
People will pay you for removing their pain/frustrations!
Step 2: Search for Treasure
No idea yet? No problem. Steal inspiration from the world around you.
- Follow trends: Explore Reddit, Quora, X. Look for threads where people wish a product existed.
- Read reviews: Negative reviews are gold. They tell you exactly what’s broken in existing solutions.
- Follow the crowd: What’s already popular? Can you make it faster, cheaper, better?
Innovation isn’t always about creating something new. Sometimes it’s about fixing what already frustrates people.
Step 3: Refine Your Idea
Too many founders jump into building without testing assumptions. Don’t.
- Validate the problem: Is it painful enough? Do enough people care?
- Talk to real humans: Interview friends, family, strangers. Run surveys. Post on forums.
- Listen for emotion: If someone says, “That drives me crazy,” you’ve found a winner.
Step 4: Define Your Audience
Once you’ve confirmed the pain, define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
- Who exactly are you serving?
- What do they care about most?
- What message will make them stop, listen, and buy?
A strong value proposition flows naturally once you know your customer. It answers:
- Why is this unique?
- What pain does it solve?
- Why choose this over the competition?
Step 5: Make a Difference
Profits are important. But the best businesses do more than make money—they make an impact.
When you create something that solves pain, saves time, or improves lives, you’re not just running a business. You’re building freedom for yourself and delivering value to others.
Most people spend their time making a living. Entrepreneurs create a life.
About Me
I’m 30 years old and I’ve built 10 online businesses across apps, hardware, services, and products—all from my laptop, while travelling to over 100 countries.
- One company (Spacebands) has a 7-figure valuation
- Another (Submerge) is about to be sold
- Before that, I ran apps (WakeOrDonate, GymOrDonate), an agency (Search & Social), a hardware resale business, a betting arbitrage service, and even a short-lived vegan snack brand.
Some worked. Some didn’t. All of them taught me lessons that gave me freedom: summers on the beach, winters in the mountains, and the ability to design my own life.
Now I’ve packaged everything I’ve learned into a practical, step-by-step course that shows you how to start your own online business—no matter where you’re starting from.
👉 Want to learn how to build successful online businesses to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle? Take a look at the Start-up Somewhere program.
I’ve worked online in 100+ countries over the past 12 years, whilst creating profitable apps, agencies, physical products, digital products and service businesses. You can do the same within 30 days.
Go somewhere.
☀️ Ronan
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☀️ From Nowhere: How to Spark Your First Online Business Idea
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Launch location-independent businesses 🌅 I've built apps, products & services while visiting 100+ countries ✈️ Turn ideas into income ✨
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