Note: This article was first published on 07.02.21
As promised, I will open up the micro start up garage door wider, so you can see what’s actually happening behind the scenes on a day to day basis.
So, let’ start with
What actually happened last week?
Things have gotten pretty messy, as I am balancing my January project on the one hand and starting out my February project on the other.
At times, I feel like attending two weddings at the same time - there are so many dance floors I would like to crush, but there is so little time!
Who’s bad?
This actually led to a “sickness” solo founders often suffer from called Analysis Paralysis, or put simpler “overthinking without acting”.
Fortunately, there is a quick fix for this, but more on that later.
At this point you most certainly will be thinking
How was project #1 ?
I’m glad you asked.
Lets look at some stats of the first project
Monthly Active (Unique) Visitor: 331 (1.1. - 31.01.21)
Newsletter Signups: 11
Sales Leads: 0
Big company business folks will lean towards abandoning this project as “Failed MVP, no sales, no traction”.
But, I have learned one crucial things from this project.
There is a real need for this problem and it takes time to build trust as a potential partner.
I have analyzed search terms and competitors and have made the decision to build a basis, where users can find more detailed information, guides, how to’s and more.
I really see people who discover the site via a search engines as a major underlying growth factor for many indie projects.
Fortunately this is not only my opinion.
Traffic from search engines is the highest quality of website visitors, as these people are really searching for a solution.
It’s basically like selling books at a museum store. The people are walking in with a genuine, real interest in the things.
Now here is a real first hand look into the garage, if you are interested.
You can look at the not launched website.
I still have to take care of a lot like
- Design & CI
- Technical optimization for search engines
- Keyword research and content planning
aaand a lot more.
As promised.
(discontinued)
My goal is to be ready with technicalities by the 12.2.21 and then start with the articles.
But, enough of past things, let’s look forward at
My next project #2 for February
First off: My goal is to come up with my product much faster than last time. This gives me more room for post launch marketing and feedback.
My Framework for coming up with my next project is
- Explore Audiences I have a genuine interest in and want to help
- Validate the audience size & market
- Detect their most critical problems
- Explore possible solutions
- Develop Product
I did not make this up, it’s a slight variation of this guide by Arvid Kahl, a several times successful solo entrepreneur.
Let’s dive into
Deciding on the audience
I am generally bullish on topics like No Gym, eSports, Pop-Culture and Anime, but felt a strong pull towards my passion for a healthy lifestyle.
I tried my first vegan month in December 2019 after watching the documentary Game Changers.
After the month I dropped back to my vegetarian diet, but got back on being vegan in the Summer of 2020.
Veganism checks everything for me at the moment which is why I have started running down this direction.
I am currently jumping back and forth between stage 3 stage 4, but am planning to decide on one track in the next days and get things going.
Want to see how this looks like? Check out one of my working documents here, you can even comment!
That’s it for this week.
And this is how you cure Analysis Paralysis. You aim at doing things that are not perfect and then improve steadily on the go. More simple
Go for 70% instead of 100%
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