My Playbook: The Path in Establishing a Business in Under One Month!
January 2021
— Remember: You can lay out the foundation of your business without building anything. —
— Level 1
Ideation Portion (x days/week)
A. Identify the problem
Identify a problem that you and others face (x week)
How big of a problem is this?
Hone into the essence of that problem & describe it in one sentence.
B. Business Viable Test - (is this even worth talking about?)
Initial research
Identify the market size (basic)
Identify growth potentiol (using, e.g., Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Facebook ads)
Identify target audience
Assessment: Does this problem capture a potential $1,000,000 worth of customers?
* If yes, then continue below. If not, then fuck off.
C. Research Existing Solutions + Identify Their Flaws
Research current solutions to the above problem (x week)
Competitors list (Create a Google Spreadsheet)
Who are they?
What are their solutions to the above problem?
Why is their solution not effective?
Create a list of pros/cons for each one
How successful are they?
Attempt to dissect competitor’s profits
*Resource: Market Research Format
D. My Proposed Solutions (Yes, in Plural) + The Intangible Test
Brainstorm new solutions to the above problem (x week)
Write down the solution in one sentence
Why hasn’t this solution been implemented before?
How complicated is this solution to implement?
Perform a rudimentary quantification of my proposed solution (e.g., materials, logistics, etc.)
Discover if this problem resonates with ten people within the target audience (1 hour?)
The questions should be asked in-person and include:
How do you currently solve the “x” problem?
How much do you or would you be willing to pay to solve the “x” problem?
How often would you want to solve this problem?
Would you use/buy our service if we can solve the “x” problem?
How often would you use our service?
What do you think the biggest barrier is in using our service right now?
Final Ideation Portion (X days)
A. Customer Value Assessment
Identify how much it costs, on average, for a customer to buy an existing X. This is the base cost. (Ex. iPhone Case = $15)
See how much it costs to maintain an X each year (i.e., recurring costs). (Ex. iPhone Case = $5)
Look up the life span of X (ex. five years). This is the number of times they’ll have to pay those recurring costs (maintenance).
The total cost of ownership: [$15 + ($5*5)] = $40
TAM Test
TAM (Total Available Market) = (Number of available customers) x (Value of each customer) = TAM
1,000,000 available customers * $5 = $5,000,000
*The # of the available customer should be a small % of what Facebook indicates (e.g., from the Business Viable Test)
**This is only through Facebook traffic (does not encapsulate other avenues)
***Should be a bit less than the reoccurring cost, e.g., $5.
If TAM > $1,000,000, then you may pass GO and proceed with this business.
— Level 2
Basic Planting Seed Stage (X days)
A. Prioritized Logistics
Set up basic infrastructure
Name the company/brand (the name can always change)
Initial purchases (~$12)
Buy a domain (Ideally, Google Domains) - ($0.99?)
Buy a G-Suite account (email) - ($6?)
Logo (either design one or purchase a cheap one on Fiverr) ($5?)
Create five folders in Google Drive: Business Dev, Financial, Legal, Recruitment, Marketing
— Level 3
The Baby Test Validation (this should be a quickie)
“You don’t want to spend weeks or months building out websites and social profiles for a product that you haven’t even validated yet.”
Test whether people will actually spend money on your product.
Define the goal for the validation (e.g., To determine if 100 people are willing to pay $x for the Y product).
This goal should be pragmatic and fast (2 hours? One day?- you decide!)
*Approach 1: Measuring traction
Set up a cheap landing page (Unbounce, WordPress, Shopify + Hosting [Firebase])
- Create a few ads on Google/Facebook and evaluate conversion rate from ad-clicks + email collection
*Approach 2: Survey Blast
Create a survey with the appropriate questions to properly validate your product
Use existing email lists
Send out a survey to 100 people
*Approach 3: Friends & Target Audience Pre-order Product
Set up a cheap sales page (Unbounce, WordPress, Shopify for ~$30)
Get X friends/people you know who want your pseudo-product, then get them to pay/pre-order
If they agree, then great! —> Validation is met!
If they disagree, figure out why they don’t want your product.
Validation Assessment: Did I achieve efficient validation?
* If yes, then continue below. If not, then change your approach and repeat.
Congratulations!👏
— Level 4
Stalking + Recruitment Portion- VA, Identifying Potential Advisers, and Product logistics (X week)
A. Get an Assistant
Two options:
Interns from university
Pay for an outsourced VA
Tasks to assign VA: Design/program a website, research, marketing, branding, emails, media list, etc.
B. Industry Leader Research
Identify potential mentors from different fields (your creativity fits in here- Who will be able to help make this the next big thing)?
Record three ideal advisers for this industry
Record three ideal advisers for X Marketing
Record three ideal celebrity collabs (give them equity)
Go through the seven levels why for each of the three advisers.
Objective: Get an adviser on board early on to advise with market, product, logistics, sourcing, and marketing.
You don’t need to “recruit” them now. Instead, plant the seeds.
Mapping Out The Logistics Game Plan (x weeks) - Relevant for a product
Designing and manufacturing a product, then getting it into the hands of consumers is a complex process.
Step 1: Map out what I need.
What materials do I need?
Record everything.
*Ideal for a mentor to assist with the recommendations
Step 2: Reach out to a designer.
I need product drawings.
Specifications laid out.
Step 3: Confirm what needs to be outsourced and where.
Take a close look at your entire range of products and components. Not everything is suited for manufacturing in China or other low-cost regions across the globe.
Step 4: Build a supplier’s list.
Create an excel sheet.
Search Alibaba, Global Sources, Made in China, sourcify, ask current US companies.
Reach out to 50+ suppliers (from a different email).
Filter based on reviews
Weed out resellers
Get Quotes from them
Task: Create a shortlist.
Step 5: Basic quantification of my solution (e.g., materials, logistics, etc.)
How much do I need to front?
What is the minimum order of inventory?
Number:
(Are the margins high?!)
— Level 5
Two Diverging Paths to Source $
I have everything ready–the leads, logistics, and validation–but now I need to figure out whether I need to crowdsource the next level or go solo? Both can work.
A. Solo
Bootstrap
B. Crowdsourcing (Kickstarter)
Refer to the Hacking Kickstarter portion
Model after MVMT
— Level 6
Additional Things to Complete
A. Legally incorporate
To be further updated...