Worked example
One illustrative product taken from conversations to a pre-sale decision and launch, showing how the routine works.
Example: Worked example (illustrative, simulated). The person, product and numbers below are invented to show how the routine works. They aren't results anyone achieved, and they aren't a forecast.
The setup
- Operator: a part-time bookkeeper with contacts in two local small-business Facebook groups.
- Hours budget: 6 a week.
- Pre-sale point written in week 0: 5 pre-orders from people who aren't friends or family.
Weeks 1–2: problem and offer
- Has 11 short conversations with sole traders (prompt 1). Prompt 2 groups the notes. Seven of the eleven mention the same problem in similar words: "I never know what to put aside for tax and super each month."
- Product idea (prompt 3): a Google Sheet that splits each payment received into tax, super and spending buckets, with a one-page guide.
- What it doesn't include, written on the offer page: tax advice, lodging anything, or software connections.
- Offer price: A$29, with A$19 for pre-orders.
Week 3: pre-sale
- Sends the one-page offer and a preview screenshot to the 11 people, and posts it once in each group (following the group rules).
- Simulated result: 6 pre-orders (4 from conversations, 2 from a group post). That clears the pre-sale point.
Weeks 4–6: build and launch
- Builds version 1 in Google Sheets and tests it with 2 pre-buyers (prompt 8). Both are confused by one formula column, so it's simplified.
- Publishes on Gumroad, emails the pre-buyers (prompt 11), and starts the weekly rhythm.
Simulated tracker for the first three weeks after launch:
| Week | Page visits | Sales | Conversion | Refunds | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 140 | 5 | 3.6% | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 60 | 1 | 1.7% | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | 45 | 1 | 2.2% | 1 | 5 |
The decision
Sales fell once the operator's own contacts had bought. The one refund said the guide assumed the buyer was registered for goods and services tax. The 30-day point would read change one thing: add a section for sole traders who aren't registered for it, and test one new channel (a free useful post each week in a third group). Nothing more gets built until that test runs.
What this example is meant to show
- Talking to buyers first turned up the exact words for the product page.
- The pre-sale point protected weeks of building.
- First-week sales from your own network don't show ongoing demand. Weeks 2 and 3 matter more.