OK, it was a test. The truth.

Hi All,

Thanks for the overwhelming feedback on the subscription model we proposed for the Thursday newsletter. And it certainly seems that the community isn’t a fan of having to pay a subscription fee. Noted (as we batten down the hatches for what we’re being told could be a ‘generational storm’ on the way tonight - Storm Éowyn!). 

So, for transparency, this was part of a product / market fit test, to show you a working example, following on from the discussion around that topic a few weeks back. To really test product / market fit you need to get a product or service to a ready state and even go as far as to launch it to your target audience. Only then can you make that judgement. So, in physical product terms, get some stock, as much as budget allows, and try to sell. Not to early adopters (e.g. through crowdfunding) - rather to early majority, and see if it hits (website or marketplaces). Obviously you do the other work we outlined first. But this is the only real litmus test. Get to it before making huge financial and time commitments. And get there fast.

(PS - all paid subscribers from the test have already been refunded in FULL)

Now, as you can imagine, I got a fair amount of feedback over the last couple of weeks, good and bad. And thank you for that. We do appreciate it and take it on board.

Next - your input please, 2 considerations.

1. One of these pieces of feedback was the lack of a tool to help with the core of what we’re discussing - a business model ‘builder’ if you will - i.e. a program or a tool that would allow you to build your complete business model in one place. Think of a fancy spreadsheet / SaaS, that’s damn easy to use. Data in - projected result out. One thing I do believe is that most eCommerce business models are badly broken, fueled by over-inflated conversion rates and under-stated CPA’s.

So, we may run with this if there is interest, as I’d actually really like to have it for our own business.

Remember the 4 pillars:

1. Develop a ‘painkiller’ or ‘must-have’ product

2. Build out your customer and market profile

3. An easy to use cashflow projection, pre-populated with common eCommerce income and outgoing categories, including flagging when cash may be required and stock cost forecasting, etc.

4. Profit and Loss or Income Statement that can API with common accounting packages

This tool would be optimized to allow any eCommerce business to see in advance the parameters that it should be operating within from a cost-base and margin perspective, and would make recommendations using AI. A little crystal ball one might say.

This would help us plan & project with confidence, and would also be a useful tool to show potential investors, shareholders etc. Get away from death by Google Sheets or Excel.

2. Another request that transpired quite a bit was that we put together a detailed course on finding product / market fit to ensure that we have a painkiller product before coming to market.

   This would have ‘actionables’, along with real life figures and case studies.

I’ll let you know what everyone says.

All back to normal on Tuesday when we’ll dig into Big 5 Sporting Goods - a company that had been in the news lately. We’ll also be delving into the P&L for sports and outdoors as we’ll be going back to consolidating all into one Tuesday email.

As always, feel free to reach out with feedback or questions on [email protected]

Until then, go n-éirí leat!

From a stormy Ireland.

Derek.