I'll draw your dog for $350.

A few weeks ago, Jennifer and I were strolling through New York City on a sweltering hot day. When we spotted a store sign boasting “best air conditioning in NYC,” we walked straight into Fishs Eddy for some relief.

As we cooled off and browsed home goods, I came upon a mini-shop in a far corner of the store. And that’s when I met ​a guy named Ben who sketches pets for $350 a pop​.

Ben was set up with his art supplies, wearing a white t-shirt covered in paint, and surrounded by his artwork, mostly dogs and cats. I called Jennifer over (she's obsessed with dogs, we have three), and we started a conversation with Ben about his business.

It turns out that Ben was in a trade show in the city doing some drawings in a sketch book that got printed onto wooden blocks. One small antique shop in Osaka, Japan, took a special interest in what he was doing, flew him over to Osaka, Japan, and asked him to draw New York City icons on the spot for their customers during an art fair.

As time went on, people started asking Ben to draw their cats and dogs. A few people turned into more people, and his career as a pet portrait artist began right there. Now he has residency in a quirky kitchen goods store in Union Square, creating custom portraits that take him roughly 20-30 minutes each.

Ben didn’t have an elaborate launch strategy, do any growth hacking, or have an investor pitch deck.

He’s just a guy who likes to sketch and paint, started doing work, and stumbled into a niche people would pay for. That's the story of how so many businesses start.

The objection olympics

When I share stories like Ben's, people start listing reasons why it won't work.

"That's not scalable!"

Who cares? You know what's a great problem to have? Too many customers. You know what's a terrible problem? Zero customers. Most businesses fail because they never find product-market fit, not because they can't handle demand.

"AI will make this obsolete!"

Are you sure? You think dog parents want to upload a photo to some app and get a computer-generated image? They want to meet the artist. They want to watch their pet come to life on paper. They want the story, the experience, and the human connection. I should know. I’m that person.

"He's stuck relying on foot traffic!"

So what? If the foot traffic dries up, he can pivot to selling more online. He could set up an Instagram account, post some sketches, run ads, and take commission work through his DMs. The internet is packed with pet owners who treat their animals better than most people treat their kids. Ben has options galore should foot traffic decrease.

What objections say about us

Here's what these objections really reveal: We've been brainwashed into thinking that every business needs to be venture-backed, infinitely scalable, and defensible against every possible future threat.

And because of that, we’ve forgotten that most successful businesses are just people solving problems for other people who happily pay for solutions.

Ben doesn't need to build the Uber of pet portraits. He needs to sketch pets and collect $350. Repeat until he has the life he wants.

The reason that I created my business is that I see so many people sitting on their own version of pet portraits right now.

Maybe you’re great at organizing spaces, so your friends always ask for help with their closets. Maybe you can fix WordPress sites in your sleep. Maybe you write emails that actually get responses.

Whatever it is, you probably dismiss it because it feels so easy for you. Or too simple. Or not "scalable enough."

But Ben's sketching probably felt easy to him, too. Until someone handed him $350 for 30 minutes of doing what he enjoyed anyway. How empowering.

Your move

Instead of waiting for the perfect business idea to strike, try this:

Look at what you already do well. The stuff that feels natural, that people comment on, that you'd probably do for free (but shouldn't).

Find one person who needs it. Not a target market. Not some ideal customer avatar. Just one real human being with that specific problem you know how to solve.

Solve it and then charge them money. No website needed. No business cards. Just help them and send them an invoice.

Then find another person with the same problem. And another.

That's basically it. That's how real businesses start. Ta-da. You’re an entrepreneur.

The bottom line

You don't need anyone's permission to start charging for your skills. You don't need to worry about what happens when AI takes over or how you'll scale to seven figures, or what to do when foot traffic gets lighter. None of that stuff is required to get started.

You need to find one person who will pay you to solve their problem. Then find another.

Ben figured this out with a notepad and some sketches. He just got started, followed what people asked for, and kept going.

While everyone else is debating market size and competitive moats, he's drawing dogs and depositing checks.

Is his business perfect? Of course not. Will he eventually have to think more deeply about his business, competition, AI, foot traffic, etc? I would imagine so.

But right now, there are people who will happily pay him to draw their pets. And he wouldn’t be collecting payments if he were still in planning mode.

So stop planning and start doing something. Anything.

The path reveals itself once you start walking it.

And that's all for this week.

See you next Saturday.