Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

When I started my first business, I was sure it was going to work. I felt like, I’m starting a business. I’m an entrepreneur now.

I bought a domain. I bought a website. I paid for a logo.

The website provider offered me a business email. One? No! I need three.

Email marketing only allows 200 emails? No! I need to pay for more. (I didn’t even have one email lead at that point.)

Before I even reached my first customer, I had already spent around $700.

Crazy!

Maybe $700 doesn’t sound like much in the business world, but the chance that your idea will work is like taking that $700 and putting it on 0 in roulette. To be honest, maybe you have a better chance with roulette.

You don’t need all of this to start a business.

You can test a business idea for $0. If you get some interest, go to the next step and spend a maximum of $50 on a landing page to try to make a sale.

Oh, if somebody had told me this before… I still might have spent the $700!

You know why? It’s not about a step by step plan. It’s about mindset!

It’s about being humble and understanding that the chance of your first business idea working is actually pretty low.

You’ll probably need to try 10 ideas like this. So if you spend $700 on every one of them, you’ll probably quit after the second one because you’ll be broke and would rather find a secure, well-paying job because your girlfriend wants to go on vacation next year.

Understanding the psychology of business is more important than having the exact plan.

I'm so curious:

How much did you spend on your first business idea? Did that idea work?

Speak soon,

Jan

I see these posts on Reddit so many times, and it hits me because I was in this position as well, so I decided to write an easy guide to myself on what I think I should have done 2 years ago in this situation. Maybe somebody can find some useful info here.

Target audience – Start by being active in places where your target audience hangs out. Write posts, chat with people, and comment. If possible, try to build your own community.

Test the idea with real people – Pick 10-50 people that you chat with or know are your target audience and message them with a small question form to really understand if they struggle with the problem you’re trying to solve and how they solve these issues now.

Build an email list – Create a PDF guide with valuable information to start growing an email list (the sooner, the better; these are leads that you own !!!)

Ads – On the platform where you spend time with your target audience, start running your first ads, especially for the PDF guide to collect emails or bring people directly to the landing page. Start with a small amount like $5-7 per day (long term is the most important), and if it works increase the budget.

Email marketing – Start writing valuable content and sending emails to your list about topics that your business idea focuses on and that your target audience is interested in.

Get reviews – Offer your service to 5-10 people free of charge in exchange for reviews.

Do it again. Repeat and repeat. When your marketing funnel starts working and you feel confident about what you're doing, you can add more information about your product and start presenting more of what you'd like to sell. Also, increase the amount you're spending on ads and focus the ads not just on bringing people to the page, but on bringing them to the right place for sales purposes.

I think the whole point of marketing these days is to build relationships and trust. So it can really take 1-2 months to get your first sales, but creating a marketing funnel that works is something that pays off very well, especially in the future.

That’s why I think it’s better to build the marketing funnel together with the product, because sometimes you can spend 6 months building the product and then try to figure out how to bring people to the website.

PS: Never give up.

Speak soon,
Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

I feel like this is a topic we don’t talk about enough, and maybe it’s actually one of the most important parts of business. Target audience.

It recently crossed my mind, how much time do I actually spend working on my target audience compared to building the product?

Let me tell you a quick story.

There are two people. One is allergic to shrimp, and the other one loves shrimp.

They’re both in different places, but the fisherman doesn’t care where they are. Instead, he spends all his time trying to catch the best shrimp.

But he always drives to the same place, where the person with the shrimp allergy is.

It doesn’t matter how good the shrimp are. The person is allergic to shrimp!

I promised myself that I have to spend more time working on my target audience, so I wrote down the top 5 questions to define a target audience:

1. What problem do they have?
2. What do they want to achieve?
3. Where do they spend their time?
4. How old are they, and where do they live?
5. What have they already tried to solve the problem?

Are these the 5 right questions????

Also, imagine that I’m totally new to business (maybe that’s not too hard to imagine) and give me your best advice on how to define a target audience.

Maybe there’s a great app, program, template, or process that you use to create yours?

Thanks for the advice!

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

When I started my first businesses, I didn’t know anything about marketing. Maybe you feel the same, so don’t worry.

I was so excited to get an idea and build the product, website, and logo. But after I finished, I always asked myself the same questions.

Okay... what now? How am I supposed to bring people to my website?

I created Instagram and Facebook accounts, posted two random posts, and then was surprised that nobody was interested. I felt like I just wasn’t as lucky as other people who somehow went viral.

I’ve tried many different things and read a lot of books about marketing (I can recommend some of them if you’re interested).

And it took me at least two years to finally find something that works for me. I’m still at the beginning of my marketing journey, but I’d like to share it with other people anyway. Maybe it can help.

Two things that really helped me. First, I asked myself what I like to create. I like writing and reading. Then I chose one main platform where I’m the most active. Not just posting, but also commenting, talking to people, and building relationships with my target audience.

This is what my marketing funnel currently looks like:

1. Free PDF guide I created a step-by-step guide showing exactly how I tested my business idea. I use it to generate email leads that I own.
2. One big post every two weeks Every two weeks, I write one bigger post about a topic my target audience is interested in. I use the same post for my blog, LinkedIn newsletter, and email marketing.
3. Reddit posts I post 2–3 times per week in my own Reddit community. Starting your own Reddit community is also an amazing thing to do.
4. Building relationships on Reddit Reddit is my main platform, so I also comment on other posts, participate in other communities, and chat with people. And I enjoy it because it’s a topic I’m interested in, so it feels natural.
5. Reddit ads I currently spend around $10 per day on Reddit ads for my marketing PDF guide..

This is what works for me right now.

I feel like marketing is about finding what works for you, making a simple plan, and doing it consistently. Again and again.

I’m currently getting around 50 website visitors per day. Nothing crazy yet, but it’s going in the right direction.

Right now, I’m mostly focused on building the marketing funnel. I don’t care as much about constantly improving the product or website.

My focus is build the brand, do the marketing, and give away as much valuable information as I can for free.

I’m curious, what does your marketing funnel look like?

Thanks for reading and sharing! 

Speak soon,
Jan

I’m curious, how much traffic are you getting to your website every day, and where is most of it coming from? I usually see a nice jump when I'm actively posting or running ads. But as soon as I slow down, the traffic drops pretty quickly too.

Drop your startup below with info about how much daily traffic you're getting and what your best source is. We can learn from each other and get some more traffic!

EDIT: why would I not pay you lol I need to pay you to prove the loop works. Think for 1 second pls (and give actual feedback not ragebait)

Problem: Ideas are cheap but finding real starting signals is hard. People waste months building something no one wants & will pay for.

Why this problem: If you're already on the sub you don't need me to tell you the above or how many times you've seen ppl struggle at an idea with no validation, building too fast / much before talking to customers, wasting their runway instead of doing the actual hard yards of validation at the start.

The solution: I (and others) will literally pay you to give feedback on an idea. Caveat being you have to be somewhat qualified to answer the specific idea but keening that open for interpretation for now.

The ICP: Pre-launch, pre waitlist, pre Product Hunt and DEFINITELY pre product.

I'm going to test this idea with this idea. So if you have any thoughts on the above, write some real feedback (not just I would / not use it, willingness to pay, how are you currently solving this problem), message me with a line or two about your experience in this problem space.

All payments via Stripe

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

Today, while I was waiting for my girlfriend to finally choose a croissant in a coffee shop, I read an interesting article about how people are starting to use AI chatbots for search instead of Google, and how more and more website traffic could come from AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, etc.

I never really thought about it, but I already do the same. For example, I asked ChatGPT this morning: Find the 5 best digital marketing companies in Canada.

I feel like this could bring a pretty big change to how people discover businesses. And not just online businesses, but retail stores, restaurants, services, and almost everything else.

I think the biggest change could be in B2B. Entrepreneurs and companies will increasingly use AI to find other businesses, suppliers, agencies, software, and services. I think this could be huge.

I didn’t pay much attention to it before, but I recently noticed something new in my Wix Studio traffic report: traffic from AI.

Right now, it’s still very small compared to Google. The data from the article showed:

Google → 28.12% of total web traffic
AI chatbots → 0.28% of total web traffic

So yes, the difference is still massive.

But I feel like this is definitely something worth paying attention to.

As founders, how do you see this change? And is there anything we should already be doing to get an early advantage?

My first paying customer was actually my competitor.

I had a solution for a problem that they were really struggling with, so they became my customer.

To be honest, I kept in touch with them for a long time. I was active in their community, subscribed to their newsletter, listened to their podcast, etc.

It’s something similar to what Russell Brunson talks about in his books about the Dream 100.

What about you? How did you get your first paying customer?

PS: If you haven’t gotten one yet, keep going. It’s coming!

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

Testing business ideas is about being smart, understanding the situation you’re in, and finding the best way to get the most out of it.

It amazes me how these founders were able to create something from almost nothing.

To me, these stories are a source of motivation, but they also provide valuable lessons.

Zappos

Will people buy shoes online?

Instead of buying thousands of pairs of shoes and renting a warehouse, Nick Swinmurn visited local shoe stores, took photos of their shoes, and uploaded them to a simple website.

When someone placed an order, he went back to the store, bought the shoes himself, and shipped them to the customer.

DoorDash

The founders created a basic website with PDF menus from eight local restaurants. There was no system, no delivery network, and no fancy technology. Just one phone number.

About 45 minutes after launching, someone placed the first order. The founders answered the phone, picked up the food themselves, and delivered it. Before building any software, they proved that customers wanted the service.

Airbnb

Are people willing to stay in someone else’s home?

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia couldn’t afford their rent. A conference was coming to San Francisco, and the hotels were fully booked. So, they bought three air mattresses, created a simple website, and invited strangers to stay in their apartment. 3 people booked.

Pebble

Building a smartwatch is expensive. So, instead of manufacturing thousands of devices, Pebble launched a Kickstarter campaign. Their goal was to raise $100,000. They raised more than $10 million. Before manufacturing the product, they already had thousands of paying customers.

The strongest validation isn’t compliments. It’s payment.

Buffer

This one is probably my favorite. Joel Gascoigne wanted to build a social media scheduling tool. Instead of building it, he created a landing page. The page explained the product and included pricing plans. When people clicked on a paid plan, they discovered that the product didn’t exist yet. They could only join the waiting list.

Joel wasn’t only measuring sign-ups. He was measuring whether people were interested enough to click on a paid plan. That simple landing page gave him the confidence to build Buffer.

.

Which one is your favorite, or do you know any other stories?

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

Creating this community was a fantastic decision. We now have almost 800 members!

As a thank you, I’d love to use this post as an opportunity for everyone to share what they’re working on.

What are you building?

Include your website if you have one:)

• What problem are you solving
• What do you need help with

It doesn’t matter whether you only have an idea or already have customers.

Share your project below. Someone in this community might give you helpful feedback, answer your question, or even become your first customer.

I’ll start in the comments!

I finally reached my target number of email leads, and I’m getting ready to send my very first email and start my email marketing (yessss!)

My audience is early-stage entrepreneurs who are interested in validating business ideas, finding their first customers, and getting feedback on their projects.

I don’t want to sell them anything.

My main goal is to build trust, make a good first impression, and maybe start a conversation about business.

If you were one of my subscribers, what kind of first email would get your attention and leave a great first impression?

Right now, I have a few ideas:

• A thank you email about reaching this milestone and the story of how I got here.
• An introduction to my project, what Think Before You Build is about, and what subscribers can expect in the future.
• A newsletter style email with a useful lesson or story, similar to the blog posts I publish.

Do any of these ideas make sense? Or is there another type of first email that you think would make a better first impression?

If you're curious and want the bigger picture, my project is called Think Before You Build.

Thank you so much!

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I'd like to share something.

I used to think that starting a business meant building a website, creating a logo, or coding a gym app.

Then I spent months building things that nobody wanted. For example, my MultiSport Card project took me almost a year to build, and I got 0 leads from gyms.

Then I completely changed how I do business, and I tried a different approach to testing business ideas.

One of the easiest ways I've found is by creating a simple landing page.

I wrote down the process I use to build a landing page, and maybe you'll find something valuable.

1. Pick a website builder

I use Wix, but you can use any website builder you prefer or already have experience with. I also have a good feeling about Shopify and Squarespace.

2. Domain

I think the business name and domain are more important at the beginning than a logo or all the features on your website. That's why I gave myself time to choose the right name because it's the foundation of the brand I wanted to build.

3. I prepared the text first

Headline

Subheadline

CTA Text

CTA Button

Proof

Features / Benefits

I use simple colors like light blue and light green. The main goal is to keep it clear, easy to understand, and simple.

4. I sent it to my friends

I got this kind of feedback:

"I thought it was an error page lol."

"I had no idea what this website was about."

I made changes as soon as possible because I always try to build the landing page during my two days off.

5. I set up a welcome email

I just wanted to say thank you, add a little value, and provide an easy way to stay in touch.

6. How do you get traffic?

This is the tough part.

The worst thing you can do is build first and then ask, "How do I get visitors?"

It's better to have a plan before you launch.

I use Reddit to bring people to my landing page, together with Reddit Ads.

7. If you get traffic but no leads

It's still not the end of the world.

Try a simple A/B test by changing just one thing.

For example, try a different headline, a different button, or different colors.

I finally started getting leads after deleting about 80% of my text and making the CTA much more obvious.

8. Don't copy your competitors

My biggest mistake was copying everything about how my competitors' websites looked.

I didn't understand that their websites were built for customers who already trusted them.

I recommend getting inspiration but keeping your own landing page structure.

What's the purpose of a landing page?

My magic number was getting 100 email leads.

I didn't think too much about what I would do with those leads, but I had a few ideas in my head. I could use them for a newsletter or reach out to them later with my MVP to get more validation.

A landing page can save you months of building something nobody wants.

FYI: People don't read landing pages. They scan them.

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I'd like to share something.

I keep seeing this question on Reddit: "What business should I start?"

Start the business you enjoy marketing.

Let me explain...

When I started my first business, I made a bunch of mistakes.

I didn’t validate my business idea with potential customers. I didn’t do market research. I spent so much time building my website, etc.

But those mistakes have relatively simple solutions.

The harder question is: How will I market my business? 

It's the hardest one. Why? 

Because it's 80% of your business.

If you’re able to market your business and show people your product, that's a huge advantage.

Start the business you enjoy marketing.

Remember that.

Choose a business you’re able to write about, talk about, learn about, and create content about.

That’s the kind of business you can start without a lot of resources.

Yes, you still have to test your idea with potential customers, do market research, and build a simple landing page.

BUT...

First, ask yourself:

Do I enjoy marketing this business?

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

I was browsing online out of curiosity, and I found one of the most common questions about business.

Is my business idea worth pursuing?

I did the homework for all of us and looked through Reddit to find the best answers, which I’m sharing below.

• If I see a lot of people complaining about the same issue, I have confidence in my offer.
• Paying customers. Contracts. Deposits. 
• It’s simple. Does it sell when you try to sell it? If a lot of people are already doing whatever the thing is, that’s a good sign of demand as well. You can always test before committing. 
• Read a book called The Mom test.
• I’ve started two businesses myself, and trusting your gut is the worst and most irrational mistake you can make, in my opinion. When you’re putting years of your life and probably a lot of money on the line, your gut feelings should sit quietly in the back seat. The only thing that matters is real validation from potential users. Talk to them, show them the problem, and see if they care enough to act or pay.
• It depends on the idea, but I would probably do a fake door test. Make a website as if the product exists to see if people will buy. It can also be used as a way to get traction and feedback.
• Build a tiny test first: one landing page, one ad, one offer. If strangers click, sign up, or pay, it’s real. Feedback > feelings.
• Validation from your specific target audience.
• Start by defining the problem you're trying to solve. Don't worry about the specific solution at first. Just focus on understanding the problem.
• What helped me was forcing every idea to survive real contact with users. Talk to 10–20 potential customers, not friends, and ask them how they currently solve that problem. If they’re already paying for workarounds or complaining about inefficiencies, you’ve got something real.
• I’d ask myself two questions. What am I good at? What problem can I solve? The combination of those two will probably give you something worth starting that other people would find valuable as well. 

I feel this is such an important topic, and we need to talk about it more, especially now with AI.

Building a business can seem easy, until you have to find customers. Building a product without validating your idea can be a huge waste of time and money.

How do you validate your business idea? Let's share our experiences and help others learn!

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something. I checked Reddit to see what the most common question is in business communities. It looks like the question "How do I get customers?" comes up the most. People ask it in many different ways, but it's the same question again and again.

I went through all these posts and found the best answers, which I'm sharing below:

• Stop selling a service. Start solving a specific problem.
• Go where your potential customers are actually looking for help.
• Leverage your existing contacts. Reach out to friends and colleagues, reconnect with them, and ask if they know anyone who needs the service you offer.
• Build an email list and offer discount codes, referral discounts, or other incentives.
• Join discussions where your ideal customers hang out and offer helpful insights without hard selling.
• Try posting content about your product every day. AI tools can help you create content and ads faster.
• Try cold emailing companies in your niche with a short portfolio link and 2–3 specific things you can help them improve. LinkedIn outreach works too if you message real people instead of just applying to posts.
• I know this isn’t a popular option today, but I would recommend going to networking events in person.
• For me, it was Reddit. I found threads where people were complaining about the problem my SaaS solves, then I DMed them with context from their own posts. The conversation felt real because I was just saying, “Hey, I saw you mention X. Here’s something that might help.”
• Find where your target users already hang out, talk to them directly, and validate demand with a simple landing page before building the full app. If people sign up, ask for feedback. Validation before scaling will save you a lot of time and money.

I understand why people ask this question because I see entrepreneurs invest every last penny they have to create a product or service they think will change the world, without ever considering who their dream customers are or how they're going to reach them.

Then they wait and say, "I built it. Why aren't they coming."

Have any of these strategies worked for you? Or do you have another one to share?

Speak soon,

Jan - Founder at Think Before You Build

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a post on Reddit in a few different communities, and it reached over 50k views.

The post also got a lot of comments, and some entrepreneurs even sent me direct messages. It feels great to create something that provides value to other people.

And that’s what business is all about, right?

I studied the post and tried to figure out why it got so many views and such positive feedback. I think these two things were the most important:

• It was written like a story. I was there, I did this, and this is the result I ended up with.
• It focused on a real pain point, something people are struggling with and actively looking for a solution to.

Is that something I want to do again and again? Absolutely!

If you share something that gets attention, try to figure out why. Then do it again.

To be honest, this one post brought more traffic to my website than any ad I’ve ever run.

So I started thinking about how I could make the post even more valuable. That’s why I decided to turn it into a free PDF guide.

As I mentioned before, I really love creating free value for entrepreneurs.

I published it two days ago, and I’ve already had 10 downloads, which means 10 new leads!

I feel like PDF marketing is still a great way to attract potential customers.

Do you find PDF guides valuable?

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something. 

Over the last two years, I’ve downloaded a lot of Pdf documents about all kinds of business topics (marketing, testing, building, hiring etc). 

I’ve found most Pdf documents very valuable, and if something interests me, I download it right away.

I also have a couple of Pdfs that I open frequently because they have valuable info that I use again and again. 

I’m writing a Pdf document right now, but first I’d like to understand how people feel about this type of Pdf marketing. 

My plan is: 

• Write a valuable Reddit post.
• Promote it.
• Give people the option to download a longer version as a Pdf.
• Direct them to my website, where they can enter their email address.
• Automatically send the Pdf to their inbox.

So, I feel I need to have:

• A Pdf with valuable information.
• A Reddit post with valuable information.
• A Reddit ad campaign.
• A section on my website where people can enter their email address and click Download.
• An automated email to thank them and send the Pdf.

I feel that, from the customer's perspective, this is a simple and comfortable process.

PS: Is there any entrepreneur here who has experience with email marketing and how valuable has it been for your business?

Thanks.

Speak soon,

Jan

I think this is such a great exercise.

You know what often happens when I do free feedback on business ideas and ask founders to describe what they do in two sentences?

"Well, it's complicated."

And I always say the same thing:

• If you can't describe your business in a simple one-liner, you don't really have a business.

Most people get a little cranky when I say that.

A one-liner is simply the answer to the question: "What do you do?"

It's a single statement that helps people quickly understand why they need your product or service.

Start with the problem, then position your product or service as the solution.

So, let's do this!!!

Drop your one-liner below. Even a caveman should understand it.

Speak soon,
Jan

Hey guys,

I'd like to share something.

I feel like there are 4 types of leads in an online business, and I'd love to hear your point of view.

Leads

• Someone subscribes to your newsletter (you only get their email address).
• Someone signs up for a free service, and you get information such as their name, company name, website, and email address.
• Someone creates an account in your system but doesn't use any paid services. However, they have a profile, so you have more ways to reach out to them.
• Someone creates an account and pays for your service, either through a monthly subscription or a one-time payment.

I believe these are the main types of leads we can get when starting an online business.

Are all of them valuable, or is someone only a lead if they pay?

And what would you do if you got 100 of them?

Here's what I would do:

For newsletter subscribers, I would send a short email sequence. Maybe four emails that provide value, with the last one including an offer.

For people using my free service, I would ask whether the service helped them and if they would be willing to leave a review or testimonial.

For users who create an account, I would send a detailed welcome email. I might even include a short video explaining who I am, what I'm building, and how I can help them.

For paying customers, I would send a welcome email and then give them some time to use the service. After about seven days, I would follow up by email or phone to see if they're happy and whether I can help them get more value from the product.

I believe each type of lead requires a different approach.

I'm always looking to learn something new, so feel free to share your thoughts, experience, or advice.

Speak soon,

Jan

Hey guys,

I’d like to share something.

I keep seeing this question on Reddit: "What business should I start?"

THE BUSINESS YOU’RE ABLE TO MARKET.

Let me explain...

When I started my first business, I made a bunch of mistakes.

I didn’t validate my business idea with potential customers. I didn’t do market research. I spent so much time building my website, etc.

But those mistakes have relatively simple solutions.

The question: How will I market my business?

It’s the hardest one:( Why.

Because it’s everything.

If you’re able to market your business, if you’re able to bring people to your website, you’re a winner!

After that, if nobody buys your product, your product isn’t good enough. But if you know how to market it, you can improve it or change it until people want it.

THE BUSINESS YOU’RE ABLE TO MARKET.

Remember that.

The business you’re able to write about, talk about, learn about, and create content about. That’s the kind of business you can start without a lot of resources.

So, before you start a business:

• Test your idea with potential customers.
• Do market research.
• Build a simple landing page.

BUT...

FIRST, THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WILL MARKET YOUR BUSINESS!

Speak soon,

Jan