How to go from idea to launch in five simple steps?

Hey, Marvin here.

You have not heard from me since December—happy belated 2022.

Thank you to everyone who is part of my LinkedIn community. I want to share how you can go from idea to launch in five simple steps.

How to go from idea to launch in five simple steps?

What stopped me from progressing my ideas? I did not have a system to test and launch things rapidly. I overcomplicated things, wasted tons of time, and spent too much money trying to figure out if I should pursue the business or not.

What I learned from those experiences was what mistakes not to make in the future. I thought about audience and market second instead of first—that is where all great business ideas go awry.

Using a business-first process forces you to make decisions around customers.

Let’s step through how to apply this method to launch quickly.

Step 1: Write down what you believe is true about your offer (product or service)

Use a Google Sheet to:

1. Write what niche audience you want to help with your product or service
2. What is the product or service you plan to sell to the audience
3. What pain or aspiration are you solving for your audience
4. What can you do better or different from other competitors who have the same or similar product or service

Move to Step 2 after you finish the above items.

Step 2: Write how you plan to turn leads into customers and fulfill orders

The purpose of this step is to answer six questions.

1. How will your audience become aware of your business
2. How will you get your audience to your test one-page website
3. How will your audience consider your product or service
4. How will you nurture your audience to a purchase of your product or service
5. How will your audience purchase your product or service
6. How do you plan to deliver the product or service value after purchases are complete

I use a Google Sheet to write out an answer to each of the questions that move the audience from Awareness > Consideration > Conversion > Fulfilment.

I then define what tools I need to execute the process. (Things I can implement quickly and inexpensively)

I then map out the process in icon form using Canva or Adobe Spark.

Lastly, I build out the customer journey in Funnelytics to help me see the steps and what digital assets are required to create it.

For example, many service providers can execute a customer journey with Typeform, Calendly, a one-page site, and Stripe. If they sell digital products (courses, information products), add Gumroad or Teachable to your arsenal. You can implement each of the tools without a paid subscription.

Step 2 is crucial to launching. Do not skip to Step 3 before completing it. Many people make the mistake of building things without thinking through Step 2.

Note: I encourage my one-on-one clients who sell services to productize their offerings to reduce sales friction.

Step 3: Create a one-page website and ask people what they think

Build out the messaging for your one-page website before adding any videos or images. Below is a high-level formula for my page construction.

1. Write out your value proposition for the hero banner.
2. Social proof (testimonials, logos, etc. if you have any)
3. Call to action (what action do you want the user to take)
4. Pain/aspiration, Benefits, objections, and features
5. Repeat call to action
6. Pricing (optional)
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Closing value proposition
9. Repeat call to action

I use Carrd.co, a one-page website builder, to create sites for free.

Note: The free plan caps out at 20-page elements. I use the Pro Plan, which costs $19 for the year, to create 10 one-page websites.

After completing a site draft, publish it and move on to Step 4.

Step 4: Setup a two-tier test marketing campaign

Group 1: Ask friends and family for feedback not necessarily part of your target audience but offer valuable critique. Make improvements from what you learn.

Group 2: Reach out to your network to ask them who they know people who are part of your target audience with a simple message—for example, “I am working on a Live estimating concept and want feedback from service providers. Do you know any service providers I can show this webpage to for feedback?” Aim to get at least ten people from this group to give you feedback. Make more revisions from what you learn. You may end up revising Steps 1, 2, and 3 after speaking with Group 2.

Step 5: Launch your business and continue improving your business

If you learn your product or service requires changes, do not get discouraged. Go back to Step 1 and modify your baseline assumptions and walk through the process again.

If you have vital feedback (6 out of 10 say they are willing to pay at an amount that makes sense to build a business around), that indicates you can launch the business. The next thing you should do is setup up a campaign to acquire your first ten customers.

I encourage people to use free and low-cost methods at the beginning. Email, audience networks, and strategic social media posting and messaging campaigns to drive traffic to your page and offer. You should target one type of customer at this stage based on what you learned in Step 4.

Think about going back to the people in Group 2 who said they were interested in purchasing your product or service.

That is all I have for today. Launching a business online is more accessible than ever.

If you enjoy the article, the best compliment to pay me is sharing it with people in your network.

Until next time. Crush the week,

Marvin

I am releasing a checklist to help people launch an idea without spending lots of time or money on it. Look out for a link in an upcoming email to grab a copy. To meet with me, visit my website for Office Hours.