Validate your business idea with Pat Flynn

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I once met an entrepreneur who spent $30,000 on Facebook ads and sold only one product.

$45 dress.

He was so happy with the sale that he took the customer out to dinner to thank her and was able to do some “market research”. And he lost even more money.

As you can imagine, he is no longer working. Unfortunately, I’ve seen this same scenario repeated over and over again. Someone has an idea and spends a lot of time and money to bring it to market. . .then they flop.

It’s time to make sure you don’t fall victim to the same mistakes and run a successful business instead.

For this week’s episode of launch a business We spoke with podcast author Pat Flynn wall street journal best seller can you fly?How to test your business idea so you don’t waste time and moneyAs an entrepreneurial educator, Pat has helped millions of people ponder and refine their business ideas.

Here are some points taken from our discussion.

Avoid boot failure

You don’t want to jumpstart a business without a serious plan, but you also don’t want to get caught up in analysis paralysis.

If you’re hesitant to start here, just ask two simple questions to gauge your direction and determine how far and how fast you need to jump.

1. What’s holding you back?

Sometimes you don’t know what’s blocking you until you sit down and put it down on paper. In many cases, this exercise will help you properly assess your risk.

For example, you may be thinking, “What if it doesn’t work?” That’s a plausible idea, but we need to consider the practical implications and find ways to mitigate the worst-case scenarios. In this case, rather than fully embracing entrepreneurship, you can start it as a side business at first.

Or you may be thinking, “This costs money.” Another valid idea. Perhaps there’s a cheaper way to test your concept, an opportunity to get investors, or even secure a grant that you don’t have to repay.

The overall goal is to be fully aware of the obstacles so that you can decide how or if you should move forward.

2. What is the next step?

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you look at the big picture. So split it into smaller steps.

What can we do today? What can you do and learn to get closer to your goals? But be careful not to keep accumulating information that you won’t do. As Jim Rohn said, “Knowledge not invested in labor is wasted.”

Instead, practice what Pat calls “just-in-time learning.” Learn as much information as you need for the next step and actually go to that step. If you get 1% better every day for a year, you’ll be 37 times better at the end.

I’m not saying it will take a year to see results, but it does show why small steps can help you achieve big goals.

Benefits of Publishing Ideas

The core of Pat’s message is that you shouldn’t build your business in secret and tweak every detail before launch. You need to get direct feedback from your audience and fine-tune your ideas in public. In short, your business he idea must be based on market information.

Therefore, identifying and interacting with your audience is essential. Pat suggests using the three P’s of Place, People and Products.

place

where are your customers? This could be a physical location, but more likely a social media platform or online community. Once you know where they hang out, do some social listening. Learn as much as you can about your audience by listening to their questions, challenges and needs.

Another benefit of being familiar with these places? When the time comes, you’ll know exactly where to market your services.

people

Who has already spent time earning the trust of the people you want to serve? What can you learn from them and their strategies? Of course you don’t want to copy their every move But success leaves a clue, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Join our mailing list, attend our webinars, and follow us on social media. Become a successful student and apply what you learn with your own twist.

product

Get a good sense of how much space your competitors occupy in your landscape. What does this space already offer? Where are the gaps? What do people like about the product? What about pricing?

This research can take some time, but a clearer understanding of your competitive landscape can save you a lot of time and frustration in the end.

As a bonus, read the customer reviews (both good and bad). This will let you know what your competitors are doing well and where you can improve.

How can you tell if you have a good business idea?

This is a complicated question, but Pat simplified the answer.

If you know what your customers need and how to deliver it, you can come up with a great business idea.

Here’s how to access it:

Listen and interact with your audience and pay attention to where you’re finding traction. Again, this is an advantage of building in public. You may start noticing certain features or issues that get a lot of attention from your audience. It means that you are working on something and need to keep being sharpened.

You can start small and build your ideas and confidence as a business owner. Take one customer and her one result and build from there. Think of your first customer as your Petri dish, your first paper airplane. True, it may fly a little crooked. Pick it up, take a closer look, and decide what to do next time.

Ask for feedback and referrals. You know you have achieved product market fit when customers buy, use, and tell others about your product. You have to communicate and ask tough questions.

So be comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you’re not a little nervous, you probably haven’t pushed yourself hard enough!

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what’s next?

These are some of the key takeaways from our conversation with Pat. Join us for this week’s episode to hear the full conversation and access additional resources. launch a business podcast.

Want to keep learning? Subscribe to our podcast! We bring you a new episode every Tuesday. We will focus on practical, easy-to-understand content that unlocks the mysteries of entrepreneurship.

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