Where do people who focus on product development while preparing for independence inevitably get stuck a few months later?
"You haven't written down the premise that you can execute this alone."
A few months after I became independent,
a friend who read my business plan
said this to me.
"The document is impressive.
But there is no mention anywhere of the premise
that you, Tsujimura-kun, can execute this alone."
I couldn't respond well at the time.
It wasn't until a while later that it really sank in.
The first thing people want to work on
when preparing for independence
The very first thing people who decide to become independent
want to work on
is "product development."
Organizing service menus.
Creating price lists.
Diagramming the delivery process.
Thinking about the structure of a brochure.
I was the same way, and
many of the people who come to me for advice on independence
start with this task.
I understand the feeling well.
Because I think that if you don't decide what to sell,
you can't do any sales.
However, the majority of people who start in this order get stuck in the same place a few months later.
The product is finished, but it doesn't sell.
Or rather, I don't know who I should take it to.
I will write about why that happens, based on my own failures.
The business plan I should have been good at
was the one that progressed the least
I became independent at 52.
My previous job was at a consulting firm,
where I wrote dozens of project proposals ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yen.
I should have been good at creating business plans.
However, the plan for my own company
didn't progress even after several months.
I would write, erase, and write again.
Every time my hand stopped,
what came to mind wasn't the plan.
What did I want to do by becoming independent?
Can I really do something like this?
What about my children's tuition and the mortgage?
Looking back now, most of those months
were spent filling my anxiety with busywork.
Proving that one's own ideas are correct.
The person you are trying to prove this to is
neither an investor nor a bank.
It was my own anxious self.
Therefore, the
greatest constraint—that there is only one person to execute the plan—was completely left out.
I deleted the business plan.
The moment I pressed the delete button,
a suspicion that I might be running away and a sense of relief that I could finally move forward came at the same time.
Product development falls into the same trap.
Please apply this story to product development.
The structure is exactly the same.
Products developed before independence
are usually built from "what I can provide."
Experience from a previous job, certifications held, areas of expertise.
Taking inventory of those, organizing them, and packaging them.
As a task, it looks correct.
However, not a single buyer appears in that process.
Who is struggling, in what situation, and how much are they willing to pay?
Products created without knowing these three things
become harder to sell the more elaborate they are.
The more you obsess over the development, the more rigid the premise of "I must sell this" becomes.
Therefore, you become unable to change the shape
to match the troubles of the person right in front of you.
"Proof of preparation" is something no one buys.
Just as the business plan was "proof of correctness,"
the product also becomes "proof of preparation."
No one buys proof.
I am sure the materials of those currently preparing
are better made than mine.
Even so, elaborateness and ease of selling were different things.
At the very least, I wasted several months there.
Instead, start with the first 30 minutes.
So, what should you start with?
What I did after deleting the business plan
is not a story that sounds impressive.
"Let's do what I can."
"Let's handle the work right in front of me."
"Let's first build it so that life keeps running."
That was all.
However, there is something I learned in that process.
What you want to do and the shape of the product only become visible after you start moving.
Three steps that worked when I tried them
1. Choose just one person.
Not "small business owners" in general, but one specific person whose name and face you can picture.
It could be a former colleague or a client from your previous job.
2. Ask for 30 minutes of their time for a consultation.
This is not a sales pitch.
Saying, "I've gone independent, so I'd like to hear what you're struggling with right now," is enough.
3. Confirm only three things during those 30 minutes.
・Pain: What are they actually struggling with right now?
・Feasibility: Is this something I can address with my experience?
・Budget: Is there someone in their company who would pay to solve this?
The moment you confirm these three points, your plan shifts from fantasy to validation.
I believe it is sufficient to create your product after repeating this conversation with about five people.
Moreover, by then, you will already have your first customer lined up.
Can you write one name on a piece of paper?
If you are currently preparing for independence and
obsessively building your service menu,
please stop for a moment.
Then,
I want you to check if you can write down the name of the person
you will show that product to firston a piece of paper.
If you can write it, it is fine to continue building your product.
If you cannot, it is faster to find that one person before building the product.
I am also still on the journey
I may sound like I'm preaching,
but I am in my third year of independence myself,
and I am still crawling my way forward.
The habit of wanting to fill my anxiety with busywork
is, honestly, still there.
However, if you can avoid that detour of a few months,
it is better not to take it.
That is why I wrote this.
(The story from that time, which served as the basis for this article, is written in the series "The Reality of Starting a Business at 52")
Next time,
I will write about "how to turn your achievements from your time as a company employee into services that customers can buy."
I am also preparing a "Consulting Post-Order 1-Week Checklist" that summarizes how to proceed after receiving an order.
I will announce it when it is released, so please follow me.
Thank you for reading this far.
#EntrepreneurshipInYour50s #Entrepreneurship #Independence #ProductDesign #SecondCareer #FailureStories