How to Start Your First Business in 48 Hours

Summary

このビデオスクリプトでは、Noah Kaganによる書籍「Million Dollar Weekend」を通じて、週末にビジネスを始める方法について学ぶことができます。ビデオでは、ビジネスを始めるための3つのステップ：開始、構築、成長に分かれていますが、特に開始と構築に焦点を当てています。Noahは、ビジネスを始めるにはまず良いアイデアを持つ必要はなく、ビジネスを始める意思決定から始まるべきだと語ります。また、ビジネスを構築する際には、顧客第一のアプローチが重要です。潜在的な顧客が問題を解決するために支払う意思があることを、製品やサービスよりも先に確認する必要があります。このアプローチは、ビジネスを始める前に、顧客のニーズと問題に焦点を当てることによって、ビジネスアイデアを有効に検証し、成功への道を確立するのに役立ちます。

Takeaways

• 🚀 **スタートの重要性**: ビジネスを始めるには、まず「ビジネスを始める」という意思決定が必要です。その後で適切なアイデアを見つけます。
• 🤔 **アイデアよりも行動**: 成功するビジネスパーソンは、まず行動に移してから問題を解決します。分析を行動の前にすることは純粋な推測です。
• 💡 **小さな行動の力**: 「どうやってやるの？」という疑問よりも、「今すぐできる小さな行動は何？」と考えることが重要です。
• 💰 **収益の再投資**: ビジネスで稼いだお金を、株式やファンドなどの投資に使えます。これにより、資本を増やしていくことができます。
• 📈 **トレードイング212の紹介**: 株式やファンドを手数料無料で投資できるトレードイング212というアプリが、ポートフォリオ管理に役立ちます。
• 🎯 **顧客ファーストのアプローチ**: ビジネスを始める前に、まず「誰をサービスするか」を決め、彼らの抱える問題を解決することがビジネスの基本です。
• 👥 **ターゲット顧客の特定**: ビジネスを始める際には、自分の影響圏内の人々、特に金銭的余裕がある人々をターゲットにする方が効果的です。
• 🗣️ **問題の発見と解決**: 人々が抱える問題を発見し、それに対する解決策を見つけることが、ビジネスを成功させるための鍵です。
• 📱 **アイデアの検証**: ビジネスアイデアを出す前に、実際に人々がその問題を抱えていること、そして解決策に対してお金を払う意思があることを確認することが重要です。
• 💌 **プロダクトよりもマーケットの検証**: 製品を作ってから売るのではなく、まず商品を预售し、市場の反応を確認してから製品を開発します。
• 📋 **自分自身の問題をビジネスに**: 自分が抱える問題が、他人にも同様の問題として共有されているかどうかを探ることで、新しいビジネスアイデアを見出すことができます。
• 🗣️ **コミュニケーションの重要性**: 繰り返し顧客とコミュニケーションを取り、彼らからお金を得ることが、ビジネスアイデアが市場で受け入れられるかどうかを判断する鍵です。

Q & A

Noah Kaganの本「Million Dollar Weekend」の主な教えは何ですか？

Noah Kaganの本は、ビジネスを始めるためのプレイバイプレイのロードマップを提供し、ビジネスを始めることを決定し、その後で適切なアイデアを見つけるプロセスを見つけることを勧めています。また、ビジネスを始めるのは「準備ができている」ときではなく、「始める」ときに始めるべきだと述べています。

ビジネスを始める前に何をすべきですか？

ビジネスを始める前に、まずは「ビジネスを始める」ことを決定すべきです。その後、適切なアイデアを見つけるプロセスを見つけます。また、ビジネスを始めるのは「準備ができている」ときではなく、「始めよう」という気持ちで始めることが大切です。

Noah Kaganはどのようにしてビジネスのアイデアを見つけるべきかをアドバイスしていますか？

Noah Kaganは、まず「顧客ファースト」のアプローチで、誰を対象にサービスを提供したいかを決めることから始めることをアドバイスしています。顧客のニーズや問題を理解し、それに対して解決策を提供することでビジネスを構築することが推奨されています。

自分の問題をビジネスアイデアに変えるための4つのプロンプトは何ですか？

Noahは、自分の問題をビジネスアイデアに変えるための4つのプロンプトを提示しています。それは、今朝何かイライラする出来事は何ですか、何週間もToDoリストに残っていることは何ですか、何を定期的に上手くこなせないことは何ですか、そして最近購入しようとしたが存在しないものは何ですか。

ビジネスを始める際に、なぜ最初の販売が重要なのですか？

最初の販売は、ビジネスアイデアが実際に需要され、市場にフィットしていることを証明するためです。また、最初の3人の顧客を獲得することは、ビジネスを成功させる上で非常に重要なステップです。顧客からお金を得ることができれば、ビジネスアイデアが持続可能性があることを示すことができます。

オンラインコースを販売する前に何をすべきですか？

オンラインコースを販売する前に、まずコースを事前に販売すべきです。潜在的な顧客に対してコースの概要を提供し、事前申し込みを受け付けることで、市場の需要を確認し、フィードバックを得ることができます。これにより、実際にコースを作成する前に、需要が確実であることを確認できます。

Noah Kaganのアドバイスに従ってビジネスを始める場合、どのような流れで始めることが推奨されますか？

Noah Kaganのアドバイスに従ってビジネスを始める場合、まずは「スタート」、「ビルド」、「グロー」の3つのステップに分けて考えることが推奨されます。まずビジネスを始める意思決定を行い、顧客のニーズを理解し、問題解決のためのアイデアを考えます。次に、アイデアを検証し、顧客から事前販売やフィードバックを得ることで、ビジネスモデルを構築します。最後に、ビジネスを成長させていく戦略を立て、市場を広げます。

なぜ多くの起業家が顧客との会話に時間を費やす必要があるのですか？

顧客との会話は、ビジネスアイデアが実際に市場にフィットしているかどうかを理解する上で非常に重要です。顧客との会話を通じて、彼らの問題やニーズを深く理解し、製品やサービスを適切に調整することができます。また、顧客から直接フィードバックを得ることで、ビジネスの方向性を調整し、成功の確率を高めることができます。

ビジネスを始める際に、なぜ「今すぐ始める」ことが重要なのですか？

「今すぐ始める」ことが重要なのは、ビジネスを始めるのが遅れるほど、アイデアや計画に疑問や不安が生じやすくなります。また、「今すぐ始める」という姿勢は、アクションに移すことを促し、ビジネスを通じて学びを深めることができます。実際に行動を起こすことで、計画やアイデアを現実のものに変えることができます。

ビジネスを始める際に、なぜ「how（どうする）」ではなく「now（今）」に重点を置くことが推奨されますか？

「how（どうする）」に重点を置く場合、多くの人々は方法に悩まされ、行動に移れなくなります。一方で、「now（今）」に重点を置くことで、まずは小さな行動を起こし始めることを促すことができます。小さな行動を繰り返すことで、徐々にビジネスを進展させることができるため、アイデアを実現する可能性が高まります。

ビジネスを始める際に、なぜ「顧客ファースト」のアプローチが推奨されるのですか？

「顧客ファースト」のアプローチは、ビジネスを始める際に顧客のニーズや問題を最優先に考えることを意味します。顧客のニーズを理解し、それに応じた解決策を提供することで、ビジネスアイデアが市場にフィットしているかどうかを早く検証し、成功の確率を高めることができます。

Noah Kaganの本を読んだ後の具体的なアクションとして、何をすべきですか？

Noah Kaganの本を読んだ後、まずは「今すぐ始める」という姿勢でビジネスを始めることです。次に、顧客のニーズや問題を理解するために、顧客との会話に時間を費やし、彼らからフィードバックを得ることが重要です。その後、事前販売や顧客からの支払いを通じて、ビジネスアイデアの検証を行い、ビジネスを構築していきます。

Outlines

00:00

🚀 ビジネスを始めるためのプレイバイプレイのロードマップ

Noah Kaganの書籍「Million Dollar Weekend」を紹介し、起業家の心構えやビジネスのスタート方法について解説。ビジネスを始めるにはまず「ビジネスを始める」という意思決定が必要であり、その後で良いアイデアを見つけるプロセスを見つける。本書は「スタート」「ビルド」「グロー」の3つのパートに分かれており、特に「スタート」と「ビルド」に焦点を当てた。起業家になる意欲を持つ人々にとっては、非常に素晴らしい読書になる。

05:00

💡 顧客ファーストのビジネス構築アプローチ

ビジネスを始める際には、まず商品やサービスよりも顧客を特定することが重要。ビジネスは、誰かの問題を解決し、それに対価を支払う人を見つけることによって成り立ち。学生などがビジネスアイデアを考えることが多いが、実際に誰が支払うのかを事前に確認しないまま商品を作ってしまうと、失敗するリスクが高まる。顧客ファーストのアプローチでは、まず自分がサービスを提供したい人々を特定し、次に彼らの問題を洗い出し、最後にその問題に対する解決策を提供することでビジネスを構築する。

10:01

💰 ビジネスアイデアを生むための4つのプロンプト

ビジネスアイデアを生むためには、自分の問題に注目し、それが他人にも問題である可能性があることに気づくことが大切。Noahが提供する4つのプロンプトを使って、自分の問題を見つけ、それに対する解決策を考え、人々がそれを支払う価値があるかどうかを検証する。ビジネスを始める前に、商品やサービスを作らずに、人々が支払うことを目撃することが成功への鍵となる。

Keywords

💡スタートアップ

スタートアップとは、新しいビジネスを開始することを指します。ビデオでは、Noah Kaganが書いた「Million Dollar Weekend」という本を通じて、読者に対してビジネスを始めるためのロードマップを提供しています。スタートアップのプロセスは、ビデオの核心テーマであり、起業家の精神を育むために重要な役割を果たします。

💡顧客ファースト

顧客ファーストは、ビジネスを構築する際に顧客のニーズや問題を最優先に考慮するアプローチです。ビデオでは、ビジネスを始める前に、まず誰をサービスするかを決定し、その後で製品やサービスを考えることが推奨されています。顧客ファーストのアプローチは、ビジネスアイデアを検証し、市場性のある問題を特定する上で鍵を握ります。

💡アクション

アクションは、ビジネスを始めるプロセスで重要な要素です。ビデオでは、「Just f***ing start」というモットーを通じて、準備が整っているかどうかにかかわらず、ビジネスを開始するよう促しています。アクションは理論や計画よりも優先され、ビジネスの成功に直接的に貢献します。

💡ビジネスアイデア

ビジネスアイデアは、ビジネスを開始する際に考案する新しいサービスや製品の概念です。ビデオでは、ビジネスを始める前に完璧なアイデアを持つ必要はなく、ビジネスを決定してからアイデアを見つけるプロセスを見つけることが重要だと述べています。ビジネスアイデアは、問題解決を目指す創造的なプロセスの一部です。

💡事前販売

事前販売は、製品やサービスが完成する前に顧客から支払いを受け取り、そのお金を使って製品を開発または提供するビジネス手法です。ビデオでは、事前販売を通じてビジネスアイデアの市場性と需要を検証し、リスクを軽減することができると説明しています。

💡問題解決

問題解決は、ビジネスの核心的な目的であり、顧客が支払う価値のある問題に対する解決策を提供することです。ビデオでは、問題解決を通じてビジネスを構築し、顧客のニーズに応えることが重要だと強調しています。問題解決は、ビジネスアイデアの検証と市場性検証の鍵です。

💡エモーショナルサポート

エモーショナルサポートは、ビジネスを始める際に必要とされる精神的な励ましや助けです。ビデオでは、多くの起業家が技術的な問題よりもエモーショナルな側面で苦しむ傾向にあると指摘し、ビジネスを開始する意欲を高めるためにエモーショナルサポートの重要性を語っています。

💡マーケット検証

マーケット検証は、ビジネスアイデアが市場で受け入れられるかどうかを事前に確認するプロセスです。ビデオでは、製品を開発する前に顧客と話をし、彼らが問題に対して支払う意思があるかどうかを確認することで、ビジネスアイデアのマーケット検証を行うことが推奨されています。

💡投資

投資は、ビデオで紹介されているTrading212というアプリを使用して株式、債券、ファンドに資金を投じる行為です。ビデオでは、ビジネスを始める上での資金調達や、既存の収益を再投資する方法として投資が触れられており、ビジネスの成長戦略の一部を形成します。

💡MVP（Minimum Viable Product）

MVPとは、最小限の機能を持つプロトタイプ製品を意味し、ビジネスアイデアの初期段階で市場への投入を試みる際に使用されます。ビデオでは、MVPを作成する前に顧客とのコミュニケーションを通じてアイデアを検証し、その後に製品を構築することが推奨されています。

💡オンラインコース

オンラインコースは、デジタルコンテンツを通じて特定のスキルや知識を学ぶための教育プログラムです。ビデオでは、オンラインコースを提供するビジネスモデルとして、事前に顧客の関心と支払い意欲を確かめる方法が説明されています。オンラインコースは、情報発信や教育サービスを提供するビジネスアイデアの一例です。

Highlights

Noah Kagan's book 'Million Dollar Weekend' provides a step-by-step guide for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own business.

The book is divided into three parts: start it, build it, and grow it, focusing on the first two parts in this discussion.

A common myth among aspiring entrepreneurs is that they need the perfect idea before starting a business, which the book aims to dispel.

The core message is to start a business by deciding to start one and then finding the right idea through a process.

Successful entrepreneurs act first and figure things out later, emphasizing the importance of beginning before feeling completely ready.

The motto 'now, not how' encourages taking the smallest action now rather than getting stuck on the 'how' of executing an idea.

Emotional support is crucial for starting a business, as many struggle with the fear of starting rather than technical challenges.

Trading212 is highlighted as a useful tool for investing and managing portfolios, offering commission-free trading and a practice mode for beginners.

The customer first approach to building a business involves identifying who you want to serve before creating a product or service.

Verifying that there is a market and people willing to pay for a solution is crucial before investing time and resources into building a business.

Focusing on customer problems before creating a solution allows for more effective business ideas and market fit.

A simple example of the customer first approach is demonstrated through the idea of a dog walking app, emphasizing validation through payment before development.

The importance of asking for the first sale and securing initial customers to validate a business idea is discussed.

Personal problems can often be indicators of broader market issues, suggesting that finding solutions to one's own irritations can lead to business opportunities.

Four prompts are provided to help identify personal problems that may have business potential.

The concept of pre-selling a product or service before building it is introduced as a strategy to validate demand and reduce risk.

Talking to customers extensively is recommended for validating business ideas and understanding their needs.

The advice to speak to people and ask for money before building a product is a key takeaway for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Noah Kagan's book is highly recommended for anyone interested in a deeper dive into starting a business, with an interview available on the Deep Dive podcast.

Transcripts

All right, so how do you start your first business in a weekend?

That is what Noah Kagan purports to teach us in this book Million Dollar Weekend,

which is what we're discussing in this episode of Book Club,

the ongoing series where I distill and discuss highlights and summaries

from some of my favorite books.

And genuinely, this is a absolutely fantastic book to read

if you are an aspiring entrepreneur.

If you've ever thought that you want to start your own business

and you have not yet done it, you need to read this book

because it's going to give you a play-by-play roadmap

on how exactly to do that.

Okay, so the book is broken down into three parts.

We've got part one, start it.

Part two, build it.

And part three, grow it.

And in this video, I'm going to focus on part one and two,

start it and build it.

Let's go.

If you're watching this and you haven't yet started your business,

I suspect, for a lot of people I know,

you might have been thinking about starting a business for several years.

You have just not yet taken action.

And there is this pervasive myth that happens amongst

everyone who is an aspiring entrepreneur,

which is, I need the right idea.

I cannot get started until I have the right idea.

But the thing is, and what Noah talks about throughout the book,

is you don't start a business by first having the right idea

and then starting the business.

You start a business by deciding to start a business

and then you find a process to come up with the right idea.

And really, the core message he's sharing this first chapter,

which is why it's called a chapter one,

just f***ing start,

is begin before you are ready.

No one feels ready to start a business.

Just like I've heard, no one really feels ready to have kids.

The timing is never quite right.

Similarly, the timing to start a business is never quite right.

You have to just start.

You have to begin before you're ready.

And just to labour this point just a little bit more,

there's a nice quote here.

Most people overthink first, act later.

Every successful entrepreneur, act first, figure it out later.

Any analysis ahead of action is purely speculation.

You really do not understand something until you've done it.

Rather than trying to plan your way into the confidence to act,

just start acting.

And there is a motto that he talks about here.

And this is a motto that has really stuck with me

since I read the book a couple of weeks ago.

And that motto is, now, not how.

Whenever we think of doing something, we're like,

okay, well, I've got this idea for this thing,

but how do I do it?

And there's this tyranny of how.

The how holds us back from doing things.

Instead, think, what is the smallest action I can take right now?

Even if you don't know what to do about anything,

there's probably a small action that you can figure out

that you can just take action on.

And then once you've taken action on that,

you can then get started with the thing.

So honestly, the whole first chapter is a lot of emotional support.

Genuinely, I've been running my YouTuber Academy for a few years now.

We've taught like 5,000 students in it.

95% of students, when it comes to starting YouTube channels,

it's not technical things they're struggling with.

It's the emotional side of things.

They're like, oh, I couldn't possibly make YouTube videos

unless I have the perfect idea.

No one starts making YouTube videos with a perfect idea.

Just like no one starts a business with the perfect idea.

You decide to start, and then you can figure out the idea second.

Now, whatever stage of the business process you're at,

you're hopefully making some amount of money,

and then you're gonna need a place to invest that money.

And that is where the sponsor of this video comes in,

and that is Trading212.

Trading212 is a fantastic app that lets you invest in stocks,

and shares, and funds in a commission-free fashion.

They've got a bunch of really good features,

which is why I personally use them to manage a portion of my portfolio.

So firstly, they've got a great practice mode.

If you're new to investing, for example,

you can go on the app and you can make an account for free,

and you can invest with fake money,

which actually sort of will track how the market's actually performing.

And so you can see, would you have made money

or would you have lost money over a certain period of time

had you invested actual real cash?

And then once you're ready, you can always switch it

from like the fake play video game mode

into the actual money mode,

which is obviously what I do,

because I invest my actual money through Trading212.

They also have a really good pies and auto-invest feature.

So basically, there's a bunch of like random people

who are super into like the stock market analysis,

and they'll create these pies where they might be like,

you know, this is a pie of stocks,

like 30% Apple, 20% Tesla, 10% like, I don't know, Microsoft,

20% Google, all that kind of stuff.

And you can browse through these different pies,

and you can see how they are currently performing

and how they've historically performed.

And if you like the idea of a pie

and you kind of agree with what's going on with it,

you can actually just copy and paste

that asset allocation directly into your account,

and you can invest however much money you want

in that particular pie.

Obviously, for the record, the thing that I do,

not financial advice,

but generally what most people recommend

is to just invest in broad stock market index funds.

But if you're like me,

and you maybe wanna play around

with some small percentage of your portfolio,

then using the pies feature is a great way of dabbling

with like individual stock picking in that sense.

They've also recently added support

for multi-currency accounts.

So if, for example, you're in the UK

and you wanna invest in a US stock market index fund

like the S&P 500, like I do,

then you won't get hit

with the annoying foreign exchange fees.

And if you have an invest or an ISA account,

then Trading212 also gives you daily interest

on your uninvested cash in USD or GBP or euros.

They've got more than 23,000 trust pilot reviews

with an average rating of over 4.6 stars.

So they are very reputable.

And like I said, I've been using them for years

to manage a portion of my own portfolio.

And so if any of that sounds up your street,

then do hit the link in the video description,

and that will take you to this page

where you'll be guided on how to sign up for an account.

And if you use that link,

you will also get a free share

up to the value of 100 pounds.

So it's free money.

You might as well check out Trading212.

And thank you so much Trading212

for sponsoring this video.

So now that we've gotten the emotional support

side out of the way, that begs the question,

what happens next?

And that is where we now come

to the customer first approach to building a business.

I have interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs on my podcast,

spoken to hundreds more in real life.

And all of them basically talk about this idea,

this customer first approach,

which is that you're not trying to find an idea

for a business.

Instead, first of all, you're starting with

who are the people you would like to serve?

Because fundamentally what a business is,

a business solves a problem for someone

who's willing to pay for that problem to be solved.

And the biggest thing that holds back entrepreneurs

and has done forever is trying to build something

without first verifying that there's actually someone

out there willing to pay for the thing.

This is the problem that students often have.

Because students come up with great ideas

and it's amazing.

They're like, I have this idea for this business.

And they'll just go and try and build it

without first verifying that there are in fact

people to pay for it.

Here we go.

That's why when it comes to generating business ideas,

customers come first before the product or service.

Even before the idea.

To build a business, you need someone to sell to.

I can't tell you how many times

someone has emailed me saying,

what do you think of this business idea?

I also get those emails.

My alter reply, have you asked what the customer thinks?

Basically, when you're trying to start a business,

the first step is to figure out

who are you going to sell to?

And that's ideally within your own zone of influence.

For example, in my position of being a medical student

at university, the people I'm serving

are probably the people around me

or the parents of the people around me

or the people I interact with in hospitals

or the people I interact with at the university

or the local businesses I interact with.

That's like within my zone of influence.

The other good thing that this customer

should ideally have is money.

It is so much easier to create a business

where you are targeting people who have money

rather than people who don't have money.

Again, this is one of the issues with students

is that if you're a student,

then everyone you know is your age

and probably does not have very much money.

If it were me and I were a student starting a business,

I might be thinking, okay,

my friends don't have any money,

but who does?

Their parents do.

Okay, what are the problems

that my friends' parents have?

Who else has money?

Like my college or my university,

there's a pot of money I can tap into there.

Okay, now that you've brainstormed

who are the sorts of people ideally with money

that you'd potentially like to serve,

the next step is to brainstorm

what are all of the problems that they have.

Now, the easiest way to do this

is to just go and ask them,

what are the things in their life

that are really annoying?

What are the things that they already pay for?

What are the things where they're paying for something

but the thing they're paying for doesn't seem very good?

And if you do this enough,

you will come up with an infinite list of problems

that people have.

And the whole world progresses and evolves

based on people discovering a problem

and then trying to find the solution to that problem.

Uber started because someone complained,

was like, oh man, it's really annoying

trying to held out a cab

and trying to ring the taxi company.

And so that's where the idea for Uber comes along.

And there's a really good example here.

So I love this.

There's the founder first approach

and then there's the customer first approach.

So here we go.

Let's say you have an idea for a dog walking out.

How would you go about doing it?

Here's the way most people,

most entrepreneurs would do it.

One, spend hours at home thinking about the app

and coming up with clever names for it.

Two, spend $100 hiring their cousin to draw a cool logo.

Three, set up an LLC.

Four, watch YouTube videos about apps

and programming and business and dogs.

Five, consider signing up for a developer bootcamp

and quickly realize that coding is hard.

Six, buy the domain name for the snazzy website

they're going to build.

Seven, look into hiring a developer on Upwork

and quickly realize it's prohibitively expensive.

Eight, give up again.

Does that sound familiar?

That is founder first.

Now let's take the same idea for a dog walking app

and let's put it through the customer first perspective.

One, call or text three people right now who have dogs

and ask them to pay you to walk their dog.

Two, turns out none of these dog owners

have problems walking their dog.

You discover their real problem is finding dog sitters

when they're traveling.

Three, ask for the next travel dates

and have them pay you a deposit.

They pay jackpot.

And the idea here is that quickly,

based on this really simple example

which I think we can all relate to in some ways,

in the founder first approach,

you go down a rabbit hole

where you build this thing

without verifying that people actually have the problem

and are willing to pay for it.

In the second one, you come up with an idea, cool.

Then you talk to people and you see,

does the idea have legs?

Would they be willing to pay you for it?

You realize, no, they don't.

And now you do something else

because you realize they are willing to pay you

for this other thing.

And crucially, you ask for that first sale.

You make that first dollar.

The first dollar is always the hardest.

The first three customers are always the hardest.

If you just aim to try and get

your first three paying customers

as soon as is humanly possible

before you even try and build anything,

then at least you have some kind of validation

that the idea has legs.

So this, for example, is an email

that one of Noah's friends, Boris, sent.

Subject, helping you help me with food.

Hey friends, one thing I realized

is that I'm busy all the time

and I don't have time to cook a quality meal.

I wanted to invite a few close friends

to test a business idea with me.

Consider yourself the lucky chosen few, smiley face.

Convenient and home-cooked meals.

On February 9th, for $20,

there will be a personal chef making us food

and delivering it to you conveniently and deliciously.

If this is something you're seriously interested in,

please PayPal $20.

Open to all and any feedback.

Cheers, Boris.

P.S. Please let me know

if you have any dietary requirements, et cetera.

I promise the dinner will be delish,

exclamation mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark.

This is how you validate the idea for a business.

You know, you might have a business idea

and at a party you say to someone,

oh, I'm thinking of starting a business around bloody blah.

Would you be interested?

Social etiquette dictates

that they basically have to say yes.

You're very unlikely to meet someone

who will actually say,

no, I won't get about that.

But here's the crucial bit.

If you ask them for money,

be like, oh, okay, cool.

Well, you know, I'm taking pre-orders now.

Would you be willing to pay me $20 for it?

Now you see how good your idea actually is

because no one is gonna part with their money

unless they actually believe in the idea.

Words are cheap, money is not.

So if someone says, yeah, I like your business idea,

that means jackal.

What matters is, are they actually paying for it?

Have they pre-ordered the thing?

Would they be willing to be your first customer

for a 50% discount with a money back guarantee?

Anything like that.

Now, the other way to get business ideas

is to also look to your own problems.

If you find something is a problem for you,

chances are it'll be a problem for other people as well.

And there are four prompts that Noah gives us

that I fully agree with

that help us figure out what our own problems are.

So firstly, what is one thing this morning that irritated me?

Secondly, what is one thing on my to-do list

that's been there for over a week?

Thirdly, what is one thing that I regularly fail to do well?

And fourthly, what is one thing I wanted to buy recently

only to find out that no one made it?

And these sorts of prompts help you think about

like the problems in your own life.

You should sort of become a magnet for problems.

Like as you go through life,

anytime you find something annoying,

what an aspiring entrepreneur

or an actual entrepreneur does is they recognize,

I'm finding this thing annoying.

I have just identified a problem.

And a problem with a solution is a business,

assuming people are willing to pay for that solution.

Whereas what most people do is like,

they will just come across a problem

and they'll be like, oh yeah, it's just a thing.

Oh yeah, it's really annoying that we have to fill out

these like feedback forms in our lectures.

And that's where the idea will stop.

What I used to do in med school was,

oh man, it's really annoying

that we've got to fill out

those feedback forms in lectures.

I wonder if there would be

a more efficient way of doing that.

If we found the right person,

we could build a solution to this.

And when I was in med school,

I was unsophisticated with this.

I was like, oh, how might I build this?

I knew how to code.

I knew how to make websites and apps and stuff.

So I would default to like,

just trying to build the thing.

I've wasted years of my life chasing business ideas

where I was like, I found an idea,

I'm going to build the thing.

And I didn't find any customers

to pay for the bloody thing.

And I really, if someone had told me this when I was 13,

I would literally say seven years of my life

chasing down random rabbit holes

because I was afraid or didn't realize

I could speak to people

and actually just ask them for money.

The main thing is that honestly,

the way you start a business these days

is that you try and get people to pay for the thing

before you make the thing.

People come to me and they're like,

hey, Ali, I've got a bit of an audience.

I want to make an online course.

And I'm always like, okay, cool.

I know that the temptation is there to build the course

and then sell it in that order,

but you should flip that around.

You should sell the course and then build it.

So if for example, you're thinking,

you know, maybe your audience wants a course

on how to build the perfect productive desk setup.

You could go out and spend like a month

or two or three trying to create the course.

That would be a terrible idea.

Instead, what you should do is pre-sell it.

You can whip up a landing page in like a Google doc

in maybe half a day.

You can send it out to people in your audience

and be like, hey, potentially working on this course

about how to have a productive desk setup.

If this sounds interesting,

you can pre-order the course here.

It'll be released in the next month

and I'll give you your money back if you don't like it.

50% off, something to that effect.

Because based on how the pre-sell goes,

if enough people want to buy it,

then it gives you an idea.

It lets you validate the market.

So it's about finding a problem,

finding someone who's willing to pay

for the solution to that problem,

talking to those people quite a lot,

getting money from them.

And only once you have done that,

do you know that, okay,

this is a business idea worth pursuing.

And now you can start to build the thing

because you already have paying customers.

This is the thing that I wish I had known

when I started my entrepreneurship journey.

This is the thing I wish is a message

that could be hammered into the heads

of every single aspiring entrepreneur out there.

I give so many talks these days around the world.

It's super fun.

And there's always like half the audience

are aspiring entrepreneurs.

And they're all stuck in this thing of like,

oh, I need to have a good business idea

or, oh, I've just been building this thing,

but like I haven't built it yet.

And I need to make my MVP first.

And then all of it is a total waste of time.

If you speak to people who are second time founders,

people who have started multiple companies,

you'll find they spend the majority of their time

just talking to customers.

The more you talk to your customers,

the more you validate the idea actually has a market.

The more you understand what problems they have,

the more you can start to see,

huh, maybe I thought this thing should be red,

but actually this thing is blue.

The more you try and ask them for money

to pre-sell the thing that you haven't even built yet,

the more likely you are to succeed in the business.

Honestly, I think you should totally read the book.

It's absolutely amazing.

Noah's done a smashing job of it.

And if you liked this video

and you wanna see a way deeper dive into this,

I actually have an interview with Noah Kagan

on the Deep Dive podcast

that will be linked right over here.

Thank you so much for watching

and I'll see you in the next video.

Bye-bye.