Book Byte #41 "Will it Fly?" by Pat Flynn
How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author:
“In other words, a sure-fire way to predict the future is to take no action at all. When you do nothing, you get nothing.”
“The riches are in the niches, but the fortune is in the follow-up.”
“Your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience, and you can only best serve your audience when you know exactly who they are, what they’re going through, and what will get them to take action.”
“Create mode is when you’re imaginative, creative, and open to new ideas. Edit mode is when you are logical, regulated, and analytical. Most of us constantly switch back and forth between the two within a given piece of work, like when we write an email. You write a small part, read it, make edits, and then write some more. The major issue is that your editor brain gets in the way of your creator brain. It stops the flow, which can remove the potential of amazing thoughts that you didn’t even know exist in your head from ever coming out. You need these thoughts to surface during this experiment, but your editor brain can get in the way because it’s too focused on making everything right or perfect. Thinking puts your editor brain into the driver’s seat.”
“Good ideas are common, but those who are willing to take action and execute those ideas are far more rare.”
“I can give you a six-word formula for success: Think things through—then follow through.” —Sir Walter Scott”
“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”
“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
“What do you need to bring to the lot in order to give oxygen and life back to your audience, which may be tired of the same old stuff or looking for that missing puzzle piece?”
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” — Japanese Proverb”
“Building a successful business is no longer about B2B or B2C. It’s about P2P, those people-to-people relationships.”
“you don’t have to go big in the world to experience success. You just have to be big in somebody’s world. “
“Every second you waste thinking about a hater or troll is a second you’re taking away from those who matter and can benefit from what you have to offer.”
products and services we create as entrepreneurs are like elixirs—remedies or cures for certain “diseases” that are plaguing our target market. That analogy has stuck with me ever since.”
“To really know if this is going to work, you need more than just interest, you need a transaction”
“A successful entrepreneur is one who is both successful in business and in life. Too often, I come across successful business owners who are still unhappy because their business decisions have not supported the life they want.”
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
Many people have fantastic ideas, but few of them become successful enterprises. The elements to doing so are market research, understanding your client's needs, and thorough financial confirmation of the final idea.
Call your friends and colleagues.
If you are having trouble finding your advantages, contact some friends or colleagues. Simply send out some emails asking individuals what they find unique or intriguing about you; their responses may reveal a set of basic life values that you want your business to fit with.
🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry
I know a lot of entrepreneurs. I’m addicted to tech and have been my whole life. I have an almost inhuman, primal connection with anything digital or technology-related. When I see a piece of software or a gadget, I can instantly judge it with an accurate ability. I know what stage it’s in, how long it took to build it, what protocols and code languages they use, and what’s on the back end.
When I look at a product made by one of these entrepreneurs, I get hopeful for them trying to make and create something for this world, but also sad sometimes because I can instantly see if the majority are not going to be successful with their product.
We as an industry, and it may be because of our affinity for VC money, like to throw spaghetti at the wall and try and make things stick, because we try to throw all the stuff at the wall, the wall can get a little noisy sometimes (Hello Internet!) The only way you’ll succeed is if you have a true human connection with your product. If you haven’t found a way to make at least 1/4 of your living expenses promoting the product, automate it, and get out, it’s a waste of your time. If you do it as a hobby, even then I don’t believe true hobbies are a thing, if anyone came to you with a significant amount of money saying I want to buy all your hobby crafts, you’d probably sell them to them, you can always make more.
The moral of the story: Experiment, don’t marry your products. You must be malleable in letting things go if they don’t work out. Don’t quit prematurely, but don’t let you trick yourself into thinking what you have is gold but no one is willing to part with just money for it.
🤝 Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:
Do you have any projects or domain names you can get rid of because the project is dead? How can you start freeing up your mind on that project so you can be open to new ideas that might turn a profit?