Want to be a startup entrepreneur? Stop googling “How to be a startup entrepreneur”.

“Be Bold”

“Take Risks”

“Find a Mentor”

“Research”

The internet is awash with worthless articles that list out all the aspects you need to be a successful startup entrepreneur. Seemingly reputable magazines like Fortune, Business Insider, and Entrepreneur continue to recycle these meaningless articles every few months, click-baiting their way to new readership.

But all of these articles amount to nothing more than inspirational cat posters — something that you, as a prospective or existing entrepreneur, should already know, or at the very least should already have as part of your lexicon.

The reality is that these articles tell you nothing about how to turn your vision into a sustainable business, one where you are beholden to investors, financial performance, hiring decisions, and the daily grind of getting your product out into the world and in to the hands of users that will eventually generate revenue and value.

The real problem with these types of articles is that they don’t offer any practical guidance, nor do they address business-critical scenarios that entrepreneurs face on a daily basis. How does “Be Bold” translate to increasing your conversion rate? How does “Take Risks” translate to understanding the implications between a small business loan and an angel investment?

So instead of the usual fluff, here are three practical questions every aspiring and existing entrepreneur needs to address, whether low tech or high tech, and at every stage of the process.

1. What is the real “relevant market” and who is the “relevant user/customer”?

“If You Build It They Will Come” is not a viable business plan unless your name is Kevin Costner. It is hard to remember this fact while you are pouring your blood/sweat/tears/money into a product, but the reality is that you will undoubtedly face competition from existing options. Therefore, it is important to deeply understand what market you are really trying, and who the customer is.

Understanding your relevant market and relevant user/customer will help hone in your messaging and marketing dollars and make your business development more impactful. Your user acquisition will be much more efficient and effective if you are able to better understand the size of your audience, and who/where they are. Your business has a higher probability of success if you are promoting your product to the right people, thereby increasing the chances of landing your first user or customer.

2. How/Why do your potential customers make decisions?

Whether B2B, B2C, SaaS based, hard good, or anything else, your business will exist only if you can get users/customers to convert to your product. To get these people hooked, founders need to understand the how and why of their decision making behavior. Do they decide to go with one competitor or another because of price alone, because of the user experience, because of the cost savings, or some combination thereof?

This is probably the most critical issue, because without a clear understanding of the decision making process, a startup will flounder for months without ramping up users. How and why a potential user/customer makes a decision is arguably more important than understanding who/what/where they are. This is the core of the Product-Market-Customer fit, and those startups that successfully answer this question, either through design, luck, or trial-and-error, are the ones that thrive above all of their competitors.

3. When will my potential users/customer translate to potential financial gains?

Once I know who/what/where my users/customers are, as well as how/why they would choose my product over all others, entrepreneurs should focus on when this happens, and when will these potential users/customers convert to real dollars? More importantly, how can I model this out to most accurately reflect the logical expansion and growth of my startup?

Understanding when money will start rolling in, and the expenses needed to get to that point, is critical for understanding your growth and profitability. When will you reach operational break-even? How much runway do you have? How will the timing of various business scenarios affect your cash flow?

These three questions are the core foundation of building a business around an idea. Founders that deeply understand these three implications will always have a leg up over their competitors. At the same time, when these factors are translated to a practical model/plan they will give you deep insight into strategic decisions that are necessary for converting your vision into a sustainable business.

It’s not that difficult, but it does require some legwork and some brain power. And if in doubt, you can always refer back to your inspirational cat poster.