I recently read “Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way To Launch A 7-Figure Business In 48 Hours” by Noah Kagan. Below are the quotes I found most interesting. If you liked them, buy the book here.
“Defining yourself by the things you do each day (the process) will get you to where you want to be quicker and more joyfully than measuring yourself agains others.” (10)
“If you believe your product or service improves the lives of your customers, sales is just education. You’re helping people out.” (30)
“It is deadly to build a business without first verifying that there are paying customers.” (40)
“Customers don’t care about your ideas; they care about whether you can solve their problems. And you should not build your idea into a business if you don’t know with 100 percent certainty that it’s a solution your customers will pay for.” (40)
“Look for something working in one category and bring it to another.” (44)
“You are a surfer. What you’re selling – the product or service – is your surfboard. The market is the wave, and the wave is what matters most.” (67)
“Your job is not to create demand for something that seems exciting, it’s to find existing demand and satisfy it.” (69)
“You don’t want to be convincing people that they need your product.” (69)
“Here are the six Revenue Dials you can use:
- Average order value: Increase the amount someone pur-chases.
- Frequency: Increase how often someone will buy your service.
- Price point: Increase or decrease your price point to affect total sales.
- Customer type: Approach a more lucrative/wealthier customer segment.
- Product line: Add additional products to make the business more attractive to start.
- Add-on services: If you’re selling a product like cookies, can you offer a service like setting up birthday parties or cooking at the person’s home?” (81)
“Validation is finding three customers in forty-eight hours who will give you money for your idea.” (87)
“Actively reselling your first few customers is the best way for entrepreneurs to launch a business.” (89)
“Every rejection is an opportunity; you can use it to take a deep dive into customer problems…
- “Why not?” It’s really easy to get scared from attacking this one head-on, because what happens if their criticism is right? But that’s exactly what you want to know!
- “Who is one person you know who would really like this?” Always, always, always ask for a referral! Be specific about what kind of referral and use a number; this makes it highly effective.
- “What would make this a no-brainer for you?” If they don’t want your product, maybe they’d want something related to it. If they don’t want to pay for your dog care app, what about dog walking? A dog hotel? Dog dating?
- “What would you pay for that?” One of the hardest things in a startup is setting prices. Getting potential customers to say what they’d pay is pure gold!”
“The lifetime value, not to mention the lifelong joy, generated by a community of 100 high-value, attentive fans who know, like, and trust you will dwarf whatever short-term satisfaction you may get from having 10,000 low-value, inattentive followers.” (111)
“A community who already knows you, who follows you, who is rooting for you is one of the most powerful forces in business, and it’s created through generosity. Adding value without expectation. Helping them with their journey without asking for an immediate return.” (111)
“The mechanics come down to figuring out how to embrace and amplify your uniqueness in a way that attracts people to become friends and customers.” (114)
“What’s your unique angle in thirty seconds or less.” (114)
“1. He defines who he is,
- Why you should trust him,
- What he is passionate about, and
- What unique thing this prepares him to do for you.” (114)
“Write out your unique angle:
- Who are you?
- Why should people listen?
- What are you passionate about?
- What will you do for people?” (115)
“The challenge with YouTube is that it’s harder to create a video than write a tweet, which discourages most people. However, I see that as an advantage since it means less competition if you’re willing to do it.” (118)
“Rewrite your profile/bio to reflect who you are and how you help your ideal customer.” (120)
“Start with specifics topics for a tiny circle to build raving fans, then slowly expand your circle of content to influence larger groups of people.” (121)
“1. Core Circle: Start with a very narrow audience. Ali started with the medical school exams for British people. Your niche within a niche can be the most obscure thing imagin-able, as long as it makes you and your audience passionate.
- Medium Circle: As you move bigger, your content should overlap somewhat with what concerns your Core Circle, but it should appeal to a broader audience. Ali started talking about studying and productivity in general, since that’s required for all students.
- Large Circle: Here you go for the largest audience possible that’s still related. Some of Ali’s most watched videos are about his salary-made possible by his medical video fame—or the latest Apple product-which he uses to increase productivity. All the circles should still include your core audience but keep expanding your circle of influence.” (121)
“To come up with your unique viewpoint, ask yourself a few questions:
- What is something everyone thinks is true-but you think is wrong?
- What is something nobody in your target market is talking about—but should be?
- What are the biggest mistakes people in your market are making-but are totally blind to?” (123)
“Be the Guide, Not the Guru… people don’t want to be lectured at by an all-knowing guru-they want to tag along with a guide.
“Ali is an absolute genius at this process. His videos— which are almost always titled “How I..” rather than “How to …”” (124)
“The goal here is to document what YOU do, not what you think everyone else should do.”
(Sales copy example about fonts that works because it’s only for the right people)
“If you get a boner when I whisper the word ‘Garamond’ into your ear… you might be interested.” (128)
“The email was FUN. It wasn’t pure utility. Sales have repeatedly been shown to go UP when the people selling are enjoying themselves.” (131)
“Whatever you put yourself to, do it 100 times before you even THINK of stopping.” (149)
“Lean in and commit to 100 reps. (Think of the sas doing reps and practicing as opposed to failing or succeeding.)” (149)
“1. What is your one goal for this year?
- Who exactly is your customer and where can you find them?
- What is one marketing activity you can double down on?
- How can you delight your first 100 customers?
- If you HAD to double your business with no money in thirty days, what would you do?” (154)
“1. Who is your ideal customer?
- Where are they?” (166)
“Starting a business all comes back to freedom. That does not mean everything you do is to always maximize profits.” (179)
“In a j-o-b, you must accept the system you are in. As an entrepreneur, you get to design your own system.” (182)
“Great entrepreneurs have great entrepreneurial communities. There’s no such thing as self-made. Everyone is team-made.” (194)
Liked the quotes? Buy the book here.