The Eyes
The Wider the Gap, the Fatter the Toll.
You are paid for the distance you close, not the work you do.
A middleman's pay is set by one thing: how far apart the two sides are. If a customer could easily find and trust the supplier themselves, the gap is narrow and your toll is thin. If the two sides are far apart - different languages, different worlds, fear, risk, confusion, distance - the gap is wide, and the person who bridges it can charge a fortune.
This is why the easy, obvious markets pay nothing and the messy, frightening, complicated ones pay everything. Don't run from the gap. The gap is the whole job. The wider and scarier it is, the more the bridge is worth.
Your fee is the size of the gap you close. Hunt wide gaps, not easy ones.
This is one of 48 laws from MIDDLEMAN - The 48 Laws of the Money in the Middle. Read it in full to climb the whole building, floor by floor.