Having yourself as the ideal customer is a happy way to build products. That’s what it’s all about. I mean money is great and all, but you want to be happy while doing it.
We often hear (already successful) entrepreneurs say that it’s all about the journey. That it’s not about the destination. I’m not saying they are lying, but it’s much easier to enjoy the journey from your lambo right.
Well for first time entrepreneurs still driving scooters like yours truly (I’m not sure if I can call myself that because I still haven’t sold sh*t) it is massively important to build something you enjoy using.
Listen, I’ve been a wantrepreneur my whole life. I haven’t been sitting on my ass but I never shipped anything. So the thing that finally pushed me to persevere and make this journey fun is building a product that I use daily. It does look like a selfish reason, but doesn’t hurt anyone. In fact there are many benefits to it. It will save you lots of cash and lots of guesswork. Here are the top 4 reasons why you should build something for yourself.
Focus groups of one
You are the focus group, period. If you like the app, then you’re good, move to the next task. Just don’t be overly critical of your work and keep this in mind, if you aren’t embarrassed of your first version, then you launched too late 🙂
Personal flavor
Let’s face it, you will have competition. If there isn’t any competition, you could be in trouble (there could be no market for your product).
So you have competition and they are already in business for 5 years. There is no way your first version can have all the bells and whistles as your competitors. So you must give your own flavor to the product. You must selectively remove features that aren’t needed and add others that are missing. In this process what will be your guiding light? Again your happiness with the product. If you were using other people’s opinions then too much information is lost between what they feel and what they tell you they feel.
Motivation to keep pushing til the end
Motivation is the most unreliable force in the universe, I’m sure you’ve noticed. However if you keep using something on a daily basis, a base level of motivation will remain. At the very least you will remember the feeling you had few days ago when you were motivated. Your happiness with using the product will help you through the rough patches of fear and doubt in your abilities. Recognize that this is natural and you’ll be fine.
Content marketing from living your life
Just live your life, use your app and marketing will be a piece of cake. For example, I’m a productivity nerd building a productivity tool, I have content for days. There is no way around it. Naturally I read productivity articles and books, so all I need to do is share my thoughts on them because my perspective is unique to me.
Leave your thoughts in the comments, I’ll be there for a chat.
The LifeHQ Beta release is coming close. Join us here to get notified and be among the first users.
