Most opportunities do not arrive like opportunities.
They show up as friction. As a weird constraint. As a customer complaint that sounds petty. As a boring task that nobody wants. As a rule that everyone follows because, well, everyone follows it.
And that is kind of the point.
A lot of us are trained to look for opportunity in the obvious places. A growing market. A new platform. A trend. A funding wave. But the more interesting stuff often sits in the assumptions we stop noticing. The unspoken rules that quietly shape what we build, what we sell, what we tolerate, what we think we deserve.
The moment you challenge one of those rules, things get… spacious. Like a room you forgot had another door.
This is what I mean by breaking the mold. Not being rebellious for the aesthetic. Not contrarian for attention. Just being willing to say: wait, why is this true?
And then sitting there long enough to find out.
The invisible cage: assumptions you did not consent to
An assumption is basically a shortcut your brain takes to save time.
Which is helpful. Until it becomes a cage.
Some assumptions are personal.
• I am not good at sales.
• I need more credentials first.
• I cannot charge that much.
• I have to be consistent before I can be creative.
Some are cultural.
• Success looks like scale.
• A “real” job means stability and benefits.
• Working hard equals working long.
• Leaders are loud and confident.
And some are industry specific, which is where opportunity loves to hide. • Restaurants need big menus.
• Software needs more features to compete.
• Agencies have to bill by the hour.
• Education has to be slow and expensive to be “legitimate.”
• Healthcare has to be paperwork heavy because “compliance.”
What makes assumptions powerful is that they are rarely stated out loud. They are just… in the water. So you swim in them. You build in them. You plan your life around them.
And then someone comes along and does the same thing but simpler, faster, kinder, cheaper, more premium, more human. And you are like, how are they allowed to do that?
They are not “allowed.” They just did not ask for permission from an assumption. Challenging assumptions is not negative. It is a creative act. There is a weird stigma around questioning the default. People sometimes hear it as criticism.
But most of the time it is actually care.
If you care about a craft, you start noticing where it hurts. If you care about customers, you see what they are forced to accept. If you care about your own life, you notice where you are shrinking to fit a shape you never chose.
Challenging assumptions is basically saying:
• This could be better.
• This could be simpler.
• This could be more honest.
• This could be designed for real humans, not for paperwork, politics, or legacy habits. And that is where opportunity is born.
Not from having a brand new idea. Those are rare. Usually it is from rearranging what already exists. Removing the nonsense. Changing the order. Flipping the pricing. Switching the audience. Cutting the steps in half. Making it feel less humiliating. More empowering. More direct.
Sometimes the most profitable idea is just making the obvious thing less annoying. The “default script” that keeps businesses bland
Here is a pattern I have noticed. When people are stuck, they often reach for what I call the default script.
• Copy competitors.
• Add more features.
• Lower prices.
• Post more content.
• Expand to more platforms.
• Offer more services.
• Make the brand “more professional.”
It is not that those moves are always wrong. It is that they are rarely strategic. They are reflexive. They assume the game is fixed, and the only way to win is to play harder.
But what if the game itself is the problem?
Some of the best businesses do not win by grinding the same loop. They win by changing the loop.
They question something like:
• Why do we sell this as a subscription?
• Why do we require a call?
• Why do we hide pricing?
• Why do we act like the customer is a beginner when they are not?
• Why do we ship complexity and call it “power”?
When you challenge one assumption, you often unlock a chain reaction. Suddenly product, marketing, operations, and brand all get simpler. Not easy. But clearer.
A quick way to spot assumptions: look for “of course”
If you want a simple trick, listen for the phrase “of course.”
• Of course we need a meeting.
• Of course the proposal takes a week.
• Of course customers will not pay upfront.
• Of course we have to grow on social media.
• Of course we need a manager for that.
• Of course we cannot say no.
That “of course” is usually a soft assumption pretending to be a law of physics.
And laws are where opportunity hides. Because if it is not actually a law, you can build differently.
Three kinds of assumptions worth breaking (because they pay)
Not every assumption is worth fighting. Some are there for good reasons. Gravity, taxes, human attention spans.
But there are a few categories that are consistently worth examining. They tend to create
leverage.
These are about steps, workflows, and approvals.
Like how buying software sometimes still involves demos, procurement, security reviews, and a handshake call. For a $29 tool. It is absurd. And yet normal.
Opportunity here often looks like:
• shortening the path to value
• removing friction
• packaging expertise into a clearer system
• making the first win happen faster
A lot of modern products win because they deliver an early result before the customer has time to doubt themselves.
That is not manipulation. It is good design.
This one is huge. And honestly, it is often wrong.
People pay for:
• saved time
• reduced risk
• clarity
• status
• convenience
• confidence
• not having to think
If you assume customers are price sensitive, you build for bargain hunters. You attract them, then complain about them.
If you challenge the assumption and test premium positioning, you might discover a smaller group of customers who are easier to serve, more respectful, and more profitable.
Sometimes the opportunity is not “make it cheaper.” It is “make it worth more.”
This is the sneaky one. The one that sounds like integrity but is often fear. • We are not the kind of company that does video.
• I am not the type of person who networks.
• We do not do marketing like that.
• I am not a founder, I am a freelancer.
• I am not creative.
Sometimes identity is real. Sometimes it is just a story that keeps you safe.
Challenging identity assumptions can unlock growth fast, because it changes what you even consider possible. It changes your aim. Your offers. Your standards.
And once you change your standards, your behavior changes without as much effort. It is like your brain stops arguing with you all day.
What it looks like in real life (not theory)
Let’s ground this, because otherwise it gets motivational in a way I do not like.
Here are a few common examples of assumption breaking that creates actual opportunity. Not hypothetical unicorn stuff.
Hourly billing is the default. It is also a quiet trap.
It assumes:
• your value equals time spent
• the client gets to measure you by your speed
• you should be rewarded for being slower, not better
• your income is capped by your calendar
When someone challenges that and moves to value based pricing or productized services, the whole relationship changes.
Clients stop buying time. They buy outcomes. The freelancer stops defending every hour and
starts improving delivery. They can build templates, systems, and repeatable assets without feeling like they are “cheating.”
Opportunity created: higher margins, clearer scope, less resentment on both sides.
The default script right now is “be everywhere.”
It assumes:
• more platforms equals more growth
• the algorithm is your boss
• consistency matters more than quality
• you should tailor your voice to what performs
When someone challenges that and chooses one or two channels they can actually sustain, they often build a deeper brand. Slower at first, then weirdly durable.
Opportunity created: a recognizable point of view, less burnout, better audience trust, higher conversion.
A lot of B2B companies assume you need a call to close. Sometimes you do. Often you do not.
If you sell something straightforward and you still require a call, you are forcing motivated buyers into a hoop. Some will jump. Many will leave quietly.
When businesses publish pricing, show examples, share process, answer objections upfront, and let people buy without a call, it changes everything.
Opportunity created: shorter sales cycles, more inbound, fewer tire kickers, and a brand that feels confident instead of cagey.
The cost of challenging assumptions (yes, there is one)
If breaking assumptions was free, everyone would do it. The reason most people do not is because it comes with uncomfortable costs.
• You might look wrong before you look right.
• You will look different, and different triggers criticism.
• You may lose customers who liked the old, familiar version.
• You have to make decisions without as much social proof.
• You will have to explain yourself more at first.
Also, when you break an assumption, you remove an excuse.
If you stop saying “that’s just how it’s done,” then you have to choose how it should be done. That is responsibility. That is work.
But it is also power.
A simple framework to challenge assumptions without going off the rails
You do not need a personality transplant. You do not need to blow up your whole business. You can do this methodically.
Here is a framework I like because it is practical and low drama.
Write them down. Don’t judge them yet.
• Customers need onboarding calls.
• Content must be posted daily.
• We need social proof before we can raise prices.
• People won’t read long emails.
• This industry requires credentials.
• We need a big team to grow.
If you cannot list the rules, you cannot question them. So start there.
This question is underrated.
Sometimes the rule benefits the customer. Great. Keep it.
Sometimes it benefits the vendor, not the customer. Sometimes it benefits middle management. Sometimes it benefits legacy companies with big budgets. Sometimes it benefits nobody and it just persists because changing it would be awkward.
If a rule mostly benefits the seller and hurts the buyer, it is a good candidate for disruption. Customers feel that stuff.
Do not make it a manifesto. Make it an experiment.
• publish pricing on one page, for one offer
• productize one service
• remove one step from onboarding
• ship a simpler version and see if adoption increases
• offer a guarantee where you previously refused
• narrow your niche for 30 days
Small tests protect you from ego. You are not “staking your identity” on being right. You are gathering evidence.
When you challenge assumptions, you will get loud reactions. Some will be fear dressed up as advice.
The signal you want is behavior.
• Are better customers converting?
• Are refunds lower?
• Are projects smoother?
• Is delivery faster?
• Are you less exhausted?
• Are referrals increasing?
Opportunity is usually measurable. Even in creative work, you can measure something. Clarity. Speed. Retention. Satisfaction. Profit per hour. Stress level, honestly.
Why this matters right now (and why it is getting easier)
We are in a moment where old defaults are wobbling.
• AI is shifting what “work” even means in many roles.
• Distribution is fragmented. There is no single main stage anymore. • Customers are skeptical. They have been marketed to nonstop.
• Attention is expensive, trust is priceless.
This is exactly when assumption breaking becomes powerful.
Because when the world is changing, people cling to old rules even harder. They crave certainty. They copy what used to work. They play defense.
And that creates a gap.
The gap is where you can build something that feels like relief.
Not louder. Not more complex. Not more polished.
Just clearer. More direct. More respectful of time. More aligned with how people actually live now.
That is opportunity.
The quiet truth: you do not need permission to redesign the rules
This is the part that is both freeing and annoying.
You can just decide.
You can decide to:
• charge differently
• communicate differently
• build differently
• market differently
• lead differently
• say no more often
• define success differently
It will feel scary at first, because you will not have as many examples to copy. You will not have as many people cheering. You will not have the same dopamine hits from doing what everyone else does.
But you will have something better.
You will have a lane that fits.
And when you find a lane that fits, you move faster without forcing it. You stop grinding your teeth through every decision. Things start to click. Not perfectly. Still messy. But you can feel the difference.
That is what breaking the mold is really about.
Not being edgy.
Being honest.
FAQ
It means identifying the default beliefs behind how you sell, price, build, and operate, then testing whether those beliefs are still true. If they are not, you redesign around a better rule.
Look for assumptions that create recurring friction. Customer complaints, long delays, high refunds, low conversion, burnout, constant discounting, or scope fights are all signs a “rule” might be outdated.
Not really. Contrarianism is often about disagreement. Breaking the mold is about improvement. The goal is not to be different. The goal is to be better for a specific customer in a specific context.
Good. Seriously. A small failure in a controlled test is cheaper than years of obeying a bad rule. Run experiments with limits, measure results, keep what works, drop what does not.
Employees can absolutely do this. In fact, some of the best internal opportunities come from challenging process assumptions, like unnecessary approvals, bloated reporting, or outdated workflows that waste time.
Write down 10 “of course we do it this way” statements about your work. Pick one. Run a small opposite test for 7 days, like removing one step, publishing one piece of transparency, or simplifying one offer. Measure what changes.