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Day 3 (Part 2): Narrowing the Market and Digging Into Real Research

Author

Mike Birtwistle
April 28, 2025

INTRO:

Welcome,

In yesterday’s video, I talked about finding a starving crowd —
and why picking the right market is more important than your offer.

Today, I’m taking it even deeper.

➡️ I started broad with residential exterior contractors.
➡️ But I realized that wasn’t niched down enough.
➡️ So now, I'm targeting solo and small-team residential exterior painters.

And I’m not just guessing — I’m building a real research plan to validate everything before I move forward.

THE BIG IDEA
Stop Guessing, Start Researching

Most businesses fail because they build first and ask questions later.
I'm doing the opposite.

Today, I’m starting structured market research across three key areas:

  1. CRM tools painters already use (and what they love/hate)

  2. Community groups they hang out in

  3. Educational and coaching resources that may be missing or underserved

THE BREAKDOWN
How I’m Gathering Real Market Intelligence

Here’s the exact flow I’m following:

✅ Step 1: Mining Communities (Gummy Search + Reddit)

  • Using Gummy Search to find real-world pain points and frustrations in active contractor forums.

  • Looking for complaints, wishlists, and common sticking points.

✅ Step 2: Mapping CRM Usage

  • Listing popular CRMs like Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, DripJobs, TradeUp.

  • Reading TrustPilot and Google reviews to understand what users actually like and hate.

  • Building a feature pain/wishlist directly from customer words.

✅ Step 3: Scraping Communities (Skool Groups)

  • Using scraping tools to pull free Skool group data and identify potential targets for outreach.

  • Finding groups of contractors without needing to build massive ad spend.

✅ Step 4: Researching Ads Targeting Painters

  • Using Facebook Ads Library, TikTok Creative Center, and Google Ad Transparency Center.

  • Analyzing what messaging competitors are using, where they focus (lead gen, software, coaching), and identifying gaps.

✅ Step 5: Surfacing Local Pain via Google Maps Reviews

  • Reading negative reviews for local painters to find communication, scheduling, and operations complaints.

🔥 WHAT THIS REALLY MEANS

This isn’t hypothetical research.

This is gathering real behavioral signals from real painters —

  • How they act

  • Where they struggle

  • What words they use to describe their pain

  • What frustrations they already want solved

Because the real market isn't what people say in surveys —
It’s what they do when they think no one’s watching.

NEXT STEPS
In tomorrow’s video

I’ll show you the real list I’m building from this research —
plus how I’ll start reaching out to validate my assumptions directly with small business owners.

If you want to see how to actually build a business the right way,
stick around.

It’s only getting better from here.

WATCH & LEARN
▶️ See The Full Breakdown In Today’s Video

HOW YOU CAN BUILD ALONG WITH ME 🛠️

If you’ve been watching this and thinking,
“I want to build something too—just don’t want to do it alone,”
this is your invite to join me inside the actual system I’m using.

I’m giving early access to:

✅ My full CRM platform (prebuilt with automations, funnels, and tools)
✅ A private Slack channel where we can workshop ideas, ask questions, and share wins
✅ Daily live calls where we’ll build, refine, and test in real time
✅ Early access to templates, systems, and all the behind-the-scenes assets I'm using in this series

This isn’t some polished course—it’s an active builder’s lab.
We’re all working on something. Why not do it together?

If that sounds like your kind of thing, tap the link below and I’ll personally get you set up.