Business advice

A friend wanted to start a business and was asking for some advice. After hearing the elevator pitch the questions I began to ask were:

Who’s it for? What is the smallest viable audience that you need to sustain a living? Kevin Kelly talks about 1,000 true fans, can you get away with even less?

Think about the long tail. You are not going to be the next greatest hit. Instead be sustainable further down the tail.

How can you be best in the world? Not the entire world but the world that your customers are willing to drive to.

Are you finding customers for your product or products for your customers? They are very much different. The latter being much easier to get through the dip.

How can you cut overhead? What can be done for free and given away generously?

Let’s see your portfolio. If you don’t have one, how can you build a portfolio? Why should we trust you?

Are you cheap or expensive? Why not charge more? Are you not worth it?