PICK IT

Your first offer should come from something you already know and that people already ask you about. The Overlap is your proven skills on one side, your pulls on the other, and your offer sitting where they meet.

Why you start with what you know

Most guys pick their first business the way they picked the last five: whatever the video said was making money. Dropshipping, affiliate, AI agencies. Then they spend months learning the thing before they can sell anything, and the Chapter 1 loop takes over.

You have 30 minutes a day, so you start with something you could help someone with this week, with no course required.

You also only need to be a few steps ahead of the person you're helping. If you've done something for years that they're stuck on today, you're worth paying.

"When I sat down to make my offer I looked at what I was good at: writing (not the best, but good enough to convey my message), being efficient (getting stuff done in short time windows), business knowledge (years of watching and reading), and Threads (I loved it so much I could talk about it to a stranger for an hour). What came out of my overlap is what is known today as The Lunch Break Business: Threads Playbook." — Cody

The Overlap, step by step

1. List your proven skills. Anything you've done for 2+ years. Your job, your trade, what you got trained on, side work, a hobby you've put real hours into.
2. List your pulls. What you're drawn to, and what people already come to you for. The questions friends text you. The thing you'd talk about for an hour.
3. Find where they overlap. Look for a skill that touches a pull. That's where offers live.
4. Stress-test it. Check that you'll stick with it and that someone will pay for it.
5. Name the transformation. People pay to get from where they are to where they want to be. Your offer is that trip, using what you know.

What an overlap looks like

These are boring on purpose. Each one solves a problem someone has right now, and that's what makes the first $500.

How to stress-test an overlap

Run each overlap through these four questions. Keep the ones that get four yeses.

1. Would I keep doing this for a while if nobody paid me yet? If not, you'll quit before the money shows up.
2. Is someone already paying for something like this? Search for it. If other people sell guides, services or courses on it, that's good news. It means the money is there. Zero competition usually means zero buyers.
3. Can I name three real people who'd want it? A coworker, a cousin, a guy in a Facebook group. If you can't name three, you're guessing.
4. Could I get someone a result with it this week? If you'd need to learn it first, put it on the shelf for later.

Name the transformation

People pay for the result. Fill in this sentence for your best overlap:

"I help ______ go from ______ to ______ using what I know about ______."

If you can't fill in the middle two blanks with something a real person would say out loud, keep working on it. That sentence becomes the backbone of everything you sell in the next three chapters.

Common traps

• Picking what sounds profitable over what you know. You'll spend your 30 minutes learning instead of selling.
• Going too broad. "Fitness" is a magazine. "Getting back in shape on night shift" is an offer.
• Teaching how to make money online before you've made any. Sell what you've actually done.
• Waiting for the perfect idea. Your first offer won't be your best offer. It only has to sell a few times. You'll get better ones once you've finished this one.

Your task: Find your Overlap

Step 1. List your proven skills. Aim for 10.

Step 2. List your pulls. Aim for 10.

Step 3. Find three overlaps.

Step 4. Stress-test them.

Step 5. Write the transformation for your winner.

"I help ______ go from ______ to ______ using what I know about ______."

You're my business coach. You're walking me through The Overlap from Chapter 3 of Cody Tye's guide "Your First $500 Online." The goal: find ONE first offer that sits where my proven skills (things I've done for 2+ years) overlap with my pulls (what I'm drawn to and what people already ask me for help with), make sure people will pay for it, and write one clear transformation sentence for it.

About me:
- My job and how long I've done it: [example: warehouse lead, 5 years]
- Other jobs, trades or training I've had: [example: forklift certified, did landscaping for 3 years]
- Hobbies or side stuff I've put real hours into: [example: work on trucks, coach my son's baseball team]
- Things people ask me for help with: [example: fixing their resume, what truck to buy]

How to run this:
1. Ask me ONE question at a time. Wait for my answer before you ask the next one.
2. Help me build my SKILLS list (goal: 10). Ask about my jobs, what I've been trained on, what I'm the go-to guy for at work, and what I've taught other people. When I undersell something (like "I just drive a forklift"), break it down into the real skills inside it.
3. Help me build my PULLS list (goal: 10). Ask what friends and family text me about, what I'd talk about for an hour, and what I do for free because I enjoy it.
4. Show me both lists. Then suggest 3 to 5 overlaps where a skill meets a pull, each written as a possible first offer. Ask me which ones feel right.
5. Stress-test my top 3, one at a time, with these four questions:
   - Would I keep doing this for a while if nobody paid me yet?
   - Is someone already paying for something like this?
   - Can I name 3 real people who'd want it?
   - Could I get someone a result with it this week, without learning anything new first?
6. Help me pick the winner and write: "I help ___ go from ___ to ___ using what I know about ___."
7. Give me my feedback:
   - My skills list and pulls list
   - My top 3 overlaps with their stress-test results
   - The one I should go with and why
   - Any trap you see me falling into
   - My final transformation sentence, written out clean so I can screenshot it

Rules:
- Keep every message short. I'm reading on my phone on a break.
- Be direct and honest. Don't flatter me.
- Don't move to the next step until the current one is done.
- Only suggest offers based on what I already know.

Start now with your first question.