SKILL.md
$27
Stage 3: Productized (Automate the process)
- Now automate each task so customers can use your product without you
- This is when you actually build software or a product
- Only build what you've already proven works manually
The Four Build Questions
Before building anything, answer:
- Can I ship it in a weekend? If not, reduce scope until you can.
- Is it making my customers' life a little better? That's the bar for MVP.
- Is a customer willing to pay for it? Be profitable from day one.
- Can I get feedback quickly? Build for people who can tell you if it's working.
What to Build
Most apps on the internet are just forms and lists (CRUD: Create, Read, Update, Delete). Your MVP should be no more complex than that.
For your MVP:
- One thing. Your product does one thing, at first.
- No polish. It doesn't need to be pretty. CraigsList has never been pretty.
- Charge money. There's a huge difference between free and $1 (the zero price effect). Charge something.
- Use existing tools. Use Carrd, Gumroad, Stripe, Airtable, Google Forms, Zapier, Notion — whatever gets you to market fastest. Every business is tech-enabled now.
What NOT to Build
- Don't build features you think you'll need "someday"
- Don't build for scale — you don't have scale problems yet
- Don't build a mobile app when a website works
- Don't write code when a spreadsheet works
- Don't hire an engineer when you can use no-code tools
Ship Early and Often
- You will be wrong. The goal is to get less wrong as quickly as possible
- Gumroad has never shipped a "v2" — just thousands of incremental improvements over many years
- Each time you ship, you cross the threshold from "I may want this later" to "I need this now" for some customer
- Your goal is to move away from being paid directly for your time
Essentials Checklist
Before you launch:
- Name your business (two real words combined > made-up word; pass the "radio test")
- Buy a domain (~$10/year)
- Build a simple website (Carrd, Gumroad, or similar)
- Create social media accounts (personal + business)
- Set up payments (Stripe or Square — 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction)
- Create an email for customer communication
Output
Help the user define:
- The single thing their MVP does
- The simplest possible implementation (manual, no-code, or minimal code)
- What they can ship this weekend
- Their initial price point
- How they'll collect feedback