FBC – 168 – How To Get Rid Of A Massive Problem Quickly & Easily

How To Get Rid Of A Massive Problem Quickly & Easily.

The fastest way to solve a massive, never-ending problem is often to step back and let someone else handle the part that is blocking you. In this episode of the Freedom By Choice podcast, I share a real situation where a development project was stuck at 99% for months because of one broken feature, and the simple approach that finally fixed it.

Today, I am going to tell you what the best way to solve a never ending problem quickly. This method doesn't come naturally to me, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do my friend.
All the details and more in this episode.

It's about something I'm going through right now. And for the next couple of months actually.  I've been working with a developer to create a tool for me. Right. So I have developers creating a lot of things for me that make my life easier. And yeah, as I told you yesterday, when you have a problem and you find the way to fix it, then afterwards you can productize other stuff.

So me, that's what I do. You know, that's why I told you yesterday that very often some of the products that you guys buy are products that someone actually created for themselves because they were sick and tired of having to do manual stuff.

But it’s a learning curve. It's fascinating how you think that communication is easy, right. So that you're typing stuff and just assumed that, you know, it's just going to get it going smoothly. And the project will take like three days. And sometimes it can take months because of communication. So we've been in a situation where the tool is ninety nine percent ready. But there is one feature that's actually essential for us that doesn't work.

And because of that, I can't use the actual software because I really need that code. But I'm not a developer, but my buddy has the same tool and he said, dude, I can fix that in five minutes. He managed to fix it. But, you know, some of the conflict files and stuff were visible or whatever.

How To Get Rid Of A Massive Problem Quickly & Easily

And then we realized that we have to convert a pixel. And then we realized that sometimes there is more than one pixel. But my buddy looked at it in half a day, he was able to reconfigure the whole thing. So it was working. So we went back to the developer to tell him, dude, you need to change the tool to say, don't look for only one pixel, but look for one or more. And it's been months. It's driving me insane and I can't use the tool.

So the dude is in Russia or something. And he you know, you will work on the project at night. So basically when he starts working on the project, I am sleeping. And by the time I wake up to see his response, he's sleeping. Which is it's really annoying.

So the situation I have right now is this. So there's my buddy who knows his way around programming stuff because he's using the same tool. So there's the developer who's working on creating what I need.

There is my campaign manager. So the person is taking care of all my campaigns and stuff involved with the like talking to both of them. And then I have my system admin. So my sys admin is in charge of all my servers in Alaska. So there are four people, right.

And I was like, dude, I mean, let's do a conference call. Like, let's gather everybody in on the same call. And we fix this thing once and for all. Okay. The project's not going anywhere. So we're going to call a conference call. So I usually strongly encourage you guys to look at some of these situations where you have that sort of problem and the editing as well. It made a lot of sense.

Key Insight: Most projects that stall at 99% completion are stuck because of a communication gap, not a technical problem. The code works, the idea works, but the instructions between you and the person building it are not clear enough.

Key Insight: When you are not a developer and a technical project is stuck, the fastest solution is often finding someone new to look at the remaining problem with fresh eyes. Sunk cost on the original approach is less expensive than months of going in circles.

I would have been on call ages ago if I knew, because I haven't been following the whole thing. I mean, for me, it's like hands off right at the design stage. Turns out some people are taking care of it. But, you know, I would have organized a conference call, you know, ages ago. Okay. So it just tends to show, you know, you just assume that everybody has the same reasoning as you.

But if you're like me and you don't like the phone because, you know, I don’t like interruptions and all that stuff, I do perfectly understand. But sometimes getting people on the phone and getting everybody who's involved, everybody who can, you know, help, whatever you're doing, move forward, you get all these people on the call and you try to solve that problem there.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to solve a problem that has been dragging on for months?

Bring in a fresh perspective. When you have been going back and forth on the same issue, a new person can often spot the solution in hours because they are not anchored to the same assumptions. Sometimes the fastest fix is a different set of eyes.

How do you avoid communication problems with developers?

Be extremely specific about what you want the end result to look like. Use screenshots, screen recordings, and step-by-step descriptions rather than assuming the developer will interpret your vision correctly. Clear communication prevents months of back-and-forth.

When should you cut your losses on a project and try a different approach?

If a project has been stuck on the same problem for more than two weeks with no measurable progress, it is time to consider a different approach. The cost of continuing to circle the same issue is almost always higher than the cost of pivoting.

Further reading

• my Substack archive: essays on how I size problems before I let them eat a week of my calendar.
• Freedom by Choice podcast: interviews with operators on the moves that collapse multi month problems into a single afternoon.
• Harvard Business Review on rapid problem solving: research on the frameworks that turn chronic blockers into a finishable list.
• Stripe Atlas on founder operating systems: the practical playbooks for founders who do not have a team to delegate every problem to.