I’ve used this method to help countless business owners launch their idea.
What would make this a success?
Who else is doing it?
A little research never hurts.
Step by step so we don’t get lost.
You don’t get into business to solve your problem. You start a business to solve someone else’s. Think of it as taking someone’s pain away. Is it a want to do, or a need to do for them? Can these people be identified and reached as a group?
Market research is required. You can’t just “feel like this is a good idea.” Prove your hypothesis by actually finding existing examples or people who agree they would purchase your product/service to make them happy or better their lives.
Actually sit down and create/design your offering or minimum viable product (MVP). Make it available.
Can your offering be productionalized? How will it be purchased? Can it scale? Can you do it yourself or will it require adding staff? Number of units for break-even?
Go back and show your (real) offering to those folks you originally interviewed. Will they still buy it? Or do you need to make changes?
It’s time to finish off “version 1.0” and move everything else into version 1.1 for now. Ready for launch.
Marketing for real this time. Organic traffic for sure and maybe paid traffic too – aimed at your “perfect customer demographic” that you’ve identified in the previous steps. Track sales data.
Use data to see what’s working and what isn’t and scale as resources and revenue allows. Marketing never stops. Plan for version 1.1 launch.