How to work on that product idea for the first time
Self taught lessons in procrastination.
I don’t usually consider myself a procrastinator. I like getting things done, and I find projects (especially new and shiny ones) to be quite exciting. Yet in the last few weeks, I’ve been spending far too much time writing code, and far too little time investing in developing my product itself.
I must say that this (much needed) kick in the pants comes inspired by Elijah Murray’s 4 weeks to launch project. You can check out his full story here, but the gist of it is that he’s embarking on building a new startup every 4 weeks; an experience I’m sure I can learn from!
I’ve decided to stop twiddling my thumbs, and switch gears from stuffing around with a side project. Instead I’m going to make an actual product that people want, and that will actually help people.
If you’re in a similar position to me, this post may inspire you to roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work (such as marketing — which is ew).
Step 1. Setting goals
I found the ‘4 weeks to launch’ goals and metrics spreadsheet to be quite inspiring. Our long term goals may differ (I’m not hoping to outsource and automate this project any time soon, for example). But our short term goals of actually getting customers and building useful products want align quite well.
I found myself quite nervous when setting these goals, my hesitation being that I don’t yet have a product to sell! But that’s ok. We can sell promises. Not to mention the fact that if I actually do get a customer, I can probably turn around and get a working system in a week or so.
Here’s what I ended up with:
My 1 month goal: 10 sales of $10 = $100! Is it possible? Maybe.
I’m going to start Monday morning. That way, I have a bit more pondering time, and it will also help my spreadsheets line up with my metrics. I’m confident that I will be able to make at least 1 sale, but I’d be lying if I said it’s not a nerve wracking experience for me.
Step 2. Roadblock: Finding Customers
With great confidence, I went to trusty ol’ google, typed in ‘SMS for data collection’, and went on my merry way for 15 solid minutes. I soon came to realise — far short of finding customers — all I had found was competitors. “How strange”, I thought to myself, “normally the answers are just a favourite search engine away”. Surely finding customers is not so difficult.
Ok. I’ve hit another roadblock. And this time, it’s not self imposed. How on earth can I find customers for this service? Not to mention those pesky competitors I’ve just found.
On the plus side, the very presence of competitors helps me confirm the need for this product, so it’s not all that bad.
I’m going to think about this one on my walk home. I may tackle this one with a landing page + blog posts for now. Perhaps inspiration will strike on my way home and I’ll realise I’ve been doing something wrong. Again.
Well I know this was post was only 1.5 steps long, but I’m really keen to hit publish, and think about this whole customers dilemma some more. I’ll be posting an update shortly with any inspiration that strikes in the next day or so.
Have you been working on a side product for just too long? Tell me your thoughts by leaving a comment, showing some love, or emailing me at lewis@vesselstech.com.
