{"id":32155,"date":"2023-10-20T14:27:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/get-started-on-a-new-business-with-this-one-day-action-plan-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:27:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:27:13","slug":"get-started-on-a-new-business-with-this-one-day-action-plan-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/get-started-on-a-new-business-with-this-one-day-action-plan-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Get started on a new business with this one day action plan &#8211; StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"445\" height=\"352\" itemprop=\"image\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/l_start-engine-445.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"l_start-engine-445\"\/><\/div>\n<p>This is an action plan to get a new business started.&nbsp;As long as it  stays is in your mind and not in the world, your business will stay a  dream. You will never know if it could have been real.&nbsp;So let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Starting a new business is&nbsp;huge and the fear of this can be a common  block to getting started. I hope that this post provides some practical  steps you can perform and smash through.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Breaking it down into stages makes this process less painful. Your  only commitment is to get through this stage. As time goes by, the  stages get more complex and take longer to complete, but this first  stage can be done fast. We\u2019ll give ourselves one day for this stage.&nbsp;Our  goal is validate the core idea. We want to check that you are not the  only person that that loves this opportunity. Will other people love it  too and pay you for it?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While a business is just an idea in your head it is in the riskiest  state it will ever be in.&nbsp;Nothing is proven and every detail could be a  reason it will fail. In this single day, we will remove some of those  risks. Every small proof of value will help you (and others) take bigger  and bigger steps towards making the business real.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Things not to do when you have an idea<\/h3>\n<p><b><br \/><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep it a secret.<\/li>\n<li>Write a patent application<\/li>\n<li>Trademark your logo<\/li>\n<li>Do a three-year financial projection<\/li>\n<li>Do market sizing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These are all a waste of time until you have tried your idea against a real customer.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need external capital yet, you don\u2019t need a cofounder. You  don\u2019t even need to quit your job. But you must start. Today.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Pick a day<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Put a day in your calendar and call it \u201cstart business\u201d. Make sure  you have no distractions and no excuses. When the day comes, commit to  getting everything in this post done. Tell you friends that you are  going to do it and that you may be calling on them for feedback. It\u2019s  like giving up smoking: A bit of peer pressure will go a long way.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When the day begins, here\u2019s what you\u2019re going to do:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Understand: Create a one page business plan using a lean canvas<\/li>\n<li>Experiment: Ship something and put it in front of at least one customer<\/li>\n<li>Dream:&nbsp;Know where you are heading with a news story from the future<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These tasks set the tone for how you will continue.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Startups become  successful by learning faster than their competition. We are learning  how to make something that customers will value. We do this by:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Building something<\/li>\n<li>Measuring what people do with it<\/li>\n<li>Learning from what we see<\/li>\n<li>Repeat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We are going to do all of these things in just one day.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ready? Let the day begin.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Understand:&nbsp;Create a one page business plan using a lean canvas<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We use a lean canvas to describe our business plan. Everything is on a single page. <a href=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Use our online version here<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/0B89WI5VSjIfGWHBYaFhQZkVJc3M\/edit?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">print off this one<\/a> and scribble. Quickly complete a first draft. Complete every cell. A  business that can\u2019t complete every cell has a weakness. Don\u2019t over  think. Execute!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Problem: what is the problem your business will solve? e.g. tourism can be generic and boring<\/li>\n<li>Customer: who has this problem the most? e.g. students in a gap year<\/li>\n<li>Unique Value Proposition: how will you describe the business so that  it stands out to customers? e.g. unique travel plans just for you so  that you can see the world through new eyes and support a developing  market<\/li>\n<li>Solution: clear explanation of product functionality e.g.  personality survey &gt; local commissioned to build itinerary &gt;  &nbsp;mobile application with daily suggestions custom for you<\/li>\n<li>Channels: where will you reach the customers? e.g. Facebook  campaigns targeting people at university with viral travel personality  quiz<\/li>\n<li>Revenue: what do you want to charge each sale? e.g. $50 per itinerary<\/li>\n<li>Costs: What will each sale cost you? e.g. $30 to local itinerary builder<\/li>\n<li>Metrics: what will you measure to show a sustainable business emerging? e.g. Conversion % from quiz to sale<\/li>\n<li>Unfair Advantage: what can you manufacture today that will give you  an unfair advantage against competition? e.g. partnership with  freelancer.com to reach the local itinerary builders at scale.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Review. Does it make sense? Does the relationship between what you have written in each cell make sense?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now go and share the business plan with somebody. Anybody you like.  Walk them through your lean canvas in order. Ask them if they  understand it and if it feels valuable. Note, this is a fairly weak  validation, but saying it out loud helps make sense of it in your own  mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is your first version of the product. You have your hypothesis.  Feel free to make a few lean canvases until you find something your are  happy with but don\u2019t over think it. There is practically nothing that  you <em>know <\/em>(i.e. you need to prove for it to be known) about this business  so you just need this good enough to go to the next task.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now, we start validating.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Experiment:&nbsp;Ship something and put it in front of at least one customer<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The temptation is to delay this stage but it is vital that you don\u2019t.  Most people do. Don\u2019t be one of them. Take the plunge. Build something  that customers can interact with to start validating your assumptions.  Right now we are just going to validate the unique value proposition off  your lean canvas.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my design.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The experiment begins with the simple hypothesis that the value  proposition is something that customers would agree is valuable. I am  going to build an experience online as quickly as I can that will get a  potential customer to engage with the value prop. Note that I am not  asking them an opinion in a survey.<strong> I am trying to motivate them to do something.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I am going to use the &#8216;<a title=\"What high technology startups can learn from the Wizard of Oz\" href=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/what-high-technology-startups-can-learn-from-the-wizard-of-oz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wizard of Oz&#8217; technique<\/a> and off-the-shelf tools to build something that we can watch customers use and learn from.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Remember. Build &gt; Measure &gt; Learn.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <em>The Wizard of Oz<\/em>, we discover that the great and powerful Oz is,  in fact, an old man behind a curtain controlling a puppet. A \u2018humbug\u2019,  as Dorothy would say. But this did not stop the citizens of Oz thinking  he was a wizard with magical powers. The illusion was enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by this, I am going to make a puppet version of your product  idea. Most business ideas can be tested in this way, they just need  lots of manual work behind the scenes to give the illusion of the  amazing product you are imagining. The full business could never work  this way because it wouldn\u2019t scale. But why build all that stuff if no  one wants it?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For this startup, I am going to use three tools so I don\u2019t need to do any coding.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.strikingly.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Strikingly<\/a> for content and  main website. Strikingly makes it very simple to make a gorgeous website  in minutes that works on mobile and big screen. All I need to do is  figure out what I want to say and what the call to action is. I describe  the value proposition and ask the user to take the free travel  personality quiz.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Phil_s_Site_on_Strikingly.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13520\" alt=\"Phil_s_Site_on_Strikingly\" src=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Phil_s_Site_on_Strikingly.png\" height=\"465\" width=\"321\" \/><\/a><br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.typeform.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.typeform.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Typeform<\/a> for my forms. The link  in the page goes to a form I made on Typeform. This site allows me to  create lovely web forms that feel like a full-on web application. I use  it to create my travel personality quiz. When forms are submitted,  Typeform sends an email thanking the user for taking the quiz and inform  them that they will get a suggestion of something to try in the next 24  hours. This I will do manually. The manual email that comes then  upsells them to a full package for $50.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook <\/a>for my marketing. I then  start the ball rolling by posting onto Facebook that I have just taken a  travel personality quiz with a photo of something unique and  extra-ordinary of something I am going to try. This links through to the  Strikingly site so that others can validate the idea.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I can modify my experiment easily and use the analytics baked into  Typeform and Strikingly to see how people are converting through the  experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not every business is the same and yours may not be able to use these  tools as simply as I did.&nbsp;There are a bunch of other tools you can use  for your startup. <a href=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here\u2019s some we collected. <\/a>Mix and match what you need to create the illusion that you want.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Build. Measure. Learn. I have built my experiment and now I leave it  in the field to measure what potential customers do. It is possible to  get sales on the same day you build something like this. Push yourself  to do it. It\u2019s quite a thrill and gets you focussed on building a  BUSINESS on the first day.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t believe your idea can be validated this way, leave me a comment and I will try to help.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The experiment above is inspired by a real business in the Pollenizer incubator right now called GlobeHop. <a href=\"http:\/\/globehop.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Go and check out what they are doing and help them to validate their business.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Dream:&nbsp;Know where you are heading with a news story from the future<\/h3>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While your experiment is out there, let\u2019s make sure it is worth all  the pain and hard work through clarity on the dream. When this business  is really kicking, what will it look like? I like to create a story by  imagining a news story that the world will read in the New York Times in  3 years from now.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I like to do this because it strikes the balance between running  experiments that keep it real and keep the business moving forward in  small steps while also heading towards a vision that can create a big  impact. We\u2019r enot trying to make a small family business here. We\u2019re  trying to build something huge.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If you have a great idea but you are blocked, I hope you will give this a try.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Phil is the CEO of Pollenizer. He works with  startups and corporates all over the world to bring Pollenizer&#8217;s  startup science to their practice. He has co-founded a great many  companies. In former lives, Phil has been the CTO of Kazaa and a theatre  director.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>This article first appeared on <a href=\"http:\/\/pollenizer.com\/1-day-action-plan-for-getting-started-with-a-new-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pollenizer<\/a>.<br \/><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an action plan to get a new business started.&nbsp;As long as it stays is in your mind and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}