A business is a system that solves a problem people will pay for, repeatedly and profitably. Start from the problem and the customer, not from the product you want to build.
Part 01
The lesson
Test cheaply before committing: talk to potential customers, sell something small, find out whether money actually changes hands. Most failed businesses were never validated, only assumed.
Part 02
In practice
Before building anything, try to get ten people to say yes to a paid version. Interest is free; payment is data.
Reflection
Questions to sit with
- 01Do you know exactly what you spent last month, or are you estimating?
- 02If your income stopped today, how long could your household continue?
- 03What are you actually building toward financially, and by when?
Put it into practice
Action points
- 01Track every expense for 30 days and categorise them at the end. Do not change your spending in week one — just observe.
- 02List every debt with its interest rate on a single page and choose a repayment order.