I love checklists.
Today, I will share a simple six-step checklist with you. And if your side hustle business validates with all of the items – congratulations!
I see people start create eBooks, courses, and information products all around me.
And a few months down the road I see the same people quit.
And more often than not, it’s because they pursue immediate satisfaction in form of fast cash. And that’s a wrong success metric.
A good idea is something you commit to without stress. With ease. So that you motivate yourself to do whatever it takes until.
Yes, until.
Until what?
Until whatever is necessary.
Until.
Six-Step Checklist for a Good Side Business
Let’s get to my six rules for a great information product. Check your idea against all these.
1. Build in the intersection of what you want and what they want
I know, everyone always tells you to just solve massive, urgent problems.
But hear me out.
If you’re building something truly _on the side_ you’re going to get bored and frustrated fast unless you also want to build it.
And maintain it!
So check your idea against demand but also ask yourself: Is this something I am willing to commit, long term?
2. What’s your unique backstory?
Nothing is saturated when the niche is you.
You make your product stand out by lending it your story.
Talk about your past, how you have solved problems, what experiences are you bringing to the table as part of your product.
This bit is critical and not so easy. So start a habit of writing down bits and pieces of your personal history and story that can be used as origin stories for the lessons you’re teaching in your side business.
Get the story correct
3. What is the true MVP of your product?
It’s easy to make the mistake of just building. And adding. And building more. Adding just one more module. And maybe another.
You know why that happens?
Because it’s a convenient excuse not to have to launch.
And get the answer to “will it sell?”
Before even starting, draw a finishing line.
What is the single viable minimum product?
Build that first. And see if it sells. Learn how to sell it.
Then build it up.
4. Would you sell it to your family or friends?
Make it that good.
Otherwise, your subconscious mind will sabotage your sales efforts.
Because you’re not a scammer.
5. Is it evergreen and/or are you willing to update it?
If your info product deals with concrete use instructions for tools or technologies that move all the time… Are you willing to update it?
Or would it be possible to focus on something that’s more evergreen?
A human skill involved in using the same tech?
It might seem trivial to update an eBook or a course… but once you seal it somewhere, the barrier to going back and editing is surprisingly high sometimes!
6. Where can you repurpose it?
The holy grail of content game: Repurposing it.
To how many places can you lend material from your first product?
Maybe you do presentations about the same topic: Videos, talks, other presentations. Maybe it can be included as a bonus in a bigger product later on. Maybe it can be used in your 9-5 for something.
The more you can imagine places where you can somewhere down the road repurpose the materials you create for your info product, the more you will be motivated to create it in the first place!
Use this checklist every time you start to build something you dream of making a long term commitment to.
And say no if you can’t tick all the boxes.
Hope this helps, see you next week again!