Just Start: With A Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
This is for all my fellow small business owners debating launching a product or service.
Just go for it.
Do it. The first step is the hardest, and your first launch will inevitably grow and change as your business grows.
Have you heard of an MVP?
Minimum Viable Product.
An MVP is a business strategy that gets a basic model of a product onto the market for early adopters.
It’s a product that will effectively solve the main problem for your customer base without additional features.
It still needs to be well-designed, be user-friendly, functional, and reliable.
A minimum viable product is a functional, reliable product that solves a customer’s core problem.
Essentially, it means that if it’s good enough… launch it. Don’t keep tweaking, adding, updating… get the core product into the market and then work on updates or re-releases later.
Now, don’t take this as a sign to rush and release shoddy products. That’s a surefire way to alienate your audience. I know you wouldn’t do that since you’re an ethical business owner, like me, who wants to influence positive change for their customers and communities.
Why is a minimally viable product strategy important?
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Testing. If you’re trying something new for your business, you want to see if the concept resonates with your audience. Releasing a minimum viable product allows you to see whether it’s worth investing more time and money into upgrading the concept.
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Budget optimization. Starting with a basic model of your product allows you to begin with a smaller budget.
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Get the ball rolling. If you wait for “perfection” you’ll never grow your business. Perfection doesn’t exist, and it doesn’t need to.
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Learning while you grow. Your MVP may fail. That’s ok. It’s a learning opportunity, and you can take those lessons to improve and scale your business. However, starting with a minimally viable product will reduce errors and waste since the product is no-frills.
When done well, launching with an MVP will generate excitement for your business and what is coming next, while optimizing your time and budget as a small online business owner.
Have you launched with a minimum viable product? What did you learn from the process? How was your product received? Tell me here.
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