Lessons

Three questions, multiplied

What it is

Each skill gets three scores from one to five: are buyers paying for it today, can a stranger check your evidence, and how few people around you do it well. Multiply the three.

Why it matters

Multiplying is the point. Add the scores and a weak line hides behind two strong ones. Multiply, and a single low score collapses the total — which is exactly what the market does to it. The highest number is where you start, not the one you enjoy most.

The method

Score all three, one to five. Multiply. The most useful thing on the finished sheet is not the top line — it is the lowest factor inside the top line, because that one number is what is holding the whole thing down.

Example

Maryam's product photography: buyers 4, evidence 1, scarcity 4. That is 16. Nothing is wrong with the skill. One number is wrong, and it is the one that can be fixed in a fortnight.