Launch Now, Fix Later

"Usage is like oxygen for ideas. That means every moment you're working on something without it being in the public, it's actually dying, deprived of the oxygen of the real world" Matt Wullenberg, Wordpress

LAUNCH NOW

You're holding back. You're too afraid to launch you product because it's not perfect or doesn't include every feature that you think that it should. Just as Matt mentions in the quote above, I believe that the longer that you wait to launch, the longer you are doing a disservice to people. They don't want what you're building. They want something that solves their problems. You can find out faster than ever whether something solves their problem or not by releasing the most simple version of your solution available. And then, build from there.

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LAUNCH BEFORE YOU'RE FINISHED

I do a lot of creative work for clients and in the past, I've waited too long to show them the work-in-progress because I wanted to show them a little more of a finished version. More times than I'd like to admit, I've had to hit the drawing board and start from scratch late into a project because it simply wasn't what the client wanted. It's also been apparent when I've consulted or advised inventors that are convinced that the extra bells and whistles will sell the product. In some cases it works (for instance the Coolest Cooler Kickstarter Campaign), but in most, it's the simplest, most elegant solution that becomes the most popular in the marketplace. 

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Have a prototype? Sell preorders through crowdfunding. Get a large beta tester group and then ship them the product in whatever stage it's in. Get it into the hands of people as soon as possible even if you haven't polished off your dream product. This applies to software, hardware and anything in between. 

CREATE COMMUNITY

Use Facebook ads. Start a new facebook group and page. Put at least $10 a day into a like campaign. Target people in your projected demographic and start communicating with them. Write about your progress, take pictures and start to build a following. Trust me, people will tell you whether or not they like what you're selling. Some may be more brutally honest than others. 

Being a leader in any new industry is difficult and requires a large amount of tenacity. However, starting earlier in order to protect your downside risk will be the best decision you've ever made. A good leader identifies their vision, speaks slowly, communicates why it's the way to go and stands behind their word. You don't have to change immediately when you come across a naysayer. It's only when that one negative person turns into 30% or more that you should start considering the change. 

Go make something!

FIX LATER

What will inevitably happen is that whatever you launched with break. You want it to break. You want people to find the flaws and the loopholes and the different use cases for whatever you built. Then, go and fix them. You'll always be fixing, so might as well find out the big problems with your solution, sooner than later. 

That's all folks!