How To Validate Your $1M Idea
LinkedIn Post
Medium Article
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Taking one from Noah Kagan here and the beautiful simplicity of his book “Million Dollar Weekend” 👇
Before you…
🧱 Build the business
👨🏻💻 Write the code
💰 Spend the money
FIRST, validate your idea.
What does that look like?
This means that whatever problem you’re trying to solve or product you have to provide, find people in that circle and ask them to PAY for your solution.
It sounds way too simple. Because it is.
That’s the first step.
Don’t doubt your idea. There’s no need for YOU to worry about that yet.
It’s super easy to hide behind the busy work of designing a logo, building a website, processing through it, etc. Ultimately that’s just avoiding finding out whether your idea is worth anymore time.
It’s the procrastination at its finest. Doing a whole bunch of random tasks that don’t actually matter. None of which will generate a cent of revenue.
BUT it feels good “get those things done” and to hold the idea sacred without facing any rejection.
I know this because I DO THIS. And it makes the road to success lonnnnggggg and frustrating.
Here’s how I’m doing it now:
- When an idea pops in my head I write it down as soon as I can.
- Before I start doing ANYTHING on it (logo, website, video, whatever) I figure out WHAT the problem is that I’m solving.
- Then I figure out WHO I solve the problem for
- Find where those “who’s” exist
- Do I know anyone in that circle? Contact them and run the idea by them.
- Most important step here —> Ask them for money.
- 😬 I know right? That’s the hardest part as well. This doesn’t have to be crazy. What this means is that you start with the BASICS. Your biz doesn’t need to be built, but this should be a service or product that you can verbalize enough to then follow with a PayPal link.
Example:
You want start a social media consulting business. You find the circle you plan to connect with and message a contact.
Me -
Hey Justin!
I saw you posted yesterday about having trouble figuring out what to share on Instagram and your other platforms. I’m starting a consulting business to help with this exact problem. I’ll walk through each platform of yours, get a feel for what your brand is and then put together an analysis for you moving forward on my suggestions. We will also talk during the consultation walk through. It’s a one time fee of $199 for a 1hr call and blueprint. Would this be something you might be interested in?
Justin -
Ya actually!
Me -
Awesome, I’ll shoot you a link to my PayPal and my Calendly.
Suuuuuper awkward at first. But when you can CONFIRM that people want to and WILL pay you for your service, the. You have something.
Hope this helps!