How to Test Your Business Idea for Less Than $100

This article is ALL value, no fluff. Terms are linked to other sources for more explanation.

When starting a business

Test it first:

• Put up landing pages in minutes. See my article and video showing you How to Start a Website in 10 Minutes.
• Plug in Google Analytics & Hotjar , or another heat-mapping tool.  Check out my video on How to Setup Hotjar on a WordPress Website.
• Where are your prospective customers?
• Go there & put $100 toward ads. Split it into $25 buckets for 2 cycles of a/b testing.
• Use UTM codes for attribution
• Use Hatchful and Canva for design assets. Don’t pay a designer initially, look at sites that make you feel how you want your customers to feel when seeing your site & content and mimic.
• If you have to, use Fiverr or Upwork. Set a budget and time expectations.
• Lumen5 or something similar for cheap video ads
• Setup your social accounts with your newly branded material
• Connect with fam & friends and go from there
• Page Pixels – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google/YouTube

Landing Pages:

• What do customers gain by using your product or service? Say it, say it clearly and constantly. Keep it short and simple, people have short attention spans and competition for their attention is everywhere.
• Make it easy for people to give you money. Remove as many steps as possible. Have people go through your website with the intent of buying something. Without speaking, observe them. If they have issues, IT’S YOUR FAULT, not theirs. Make it easier.
• Capture impulse. Always have a call-to-action visible, but not too many at once. It should be the most obvious thing visible at any point.
• Collect all the data you legally can. It will help you make informed decisions.

When hiring:

• Start everyone on short-term contracts or internships. Reward strong performers, not strong interviewers.

Other:

• Learn about behavioral economics. You won’t regret it.

• Make it valuable. Provide as much value as you can afford to provide. It will come back to you in the form of loyal followers.

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