A viable startup business in 7 days … sound too good to be true?
Dan Norris is the co-founder of WP Curve, a service that offers unlimited 24/7 WordPress support for small jobs for $79 per month. He went from idea to paying customers in less than 7 days.
Indeed, we saw just last week how Cassandre went from an idea to legitimate customer inquiries within only a couple hours. These rapid-launch business ideas DO exist; it’s just a matter of coming up with an offer that you can deliver and that customers really value.
Based on his experience, Dan penned the bestselling book The 7 Day Startup, and stopped by The Side Hustle Show to share some of his insights.
I’ve been following along w/ Dan’s journey for a few years; before WP Curve existed he was working on a failed startup called Informly. It was a dashboard software service for entrepreneurs. Everyone told him it was a good idea, but no one paid for it, and he was bleeding money every month.
Faced with the terrifying reality of having to get a real job again, he came up with the WordPress support business. Two years later, the business is currently at a $74k monthly run rate.
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Learn:
- Dan’s business idea-generating framework.
- Why he says validation is overrated.
- Why he says the traditional advice to “niche down” is suicide for long-term growth.
- How effective content marketing can propel your business to new heights with almost no marketing budget.
- What it means to create content for a community rather than just a customer.
- Several examples of “7 Day Startup” businesses.
- Dan’s #1 tip for Side Hustle Nation.
The 9 Elements of a Great Bootstrapped Business Idea
- Enjoyable daily tasks
- Product/founder fit
- Scalable business model
- Can operate without you
- Turns into a sellable asset
- Taps into a BIG market (the Piggyback Principle)
- Tap into pain or pleasure differentiators
- Unique lead generation advantage
- Ability to launch quickly
Tweetable:
“Solve problems where people are ALREADY paying for solutions.” – @thedannorris <– click to tweet!
Links:
- DanNorris.me
- WP Curve
- The 7 Day Startup
- Content Machine
- ContentMachine.com/resources
- Black Hops Brewing
- Chris Ducker
- LeadPages
- Copywriter Today
- Design Pickle
- ABCD Impact (Now WP Mastery)
- WP Amplify | Founder Ryan Cote on The Side Hustle Show
- Sean Marshall on The Side Hustle Show
- How to Fund Your Side Hustle
What do you think? Think you could use Dan’s startup principles to get your side hustle off the ground in the next week?
Thanks for the kind mention Nick. What a valuable show for entrepreneurs of any size or stage to listen to. Dan shares some incredibly good advice. I especially like how he recommends against niching down too much. That’s a very valuable perspective.
You bet! Love what you guys are doing. Taking the Curve model to a different but similarly large industry!
This has made me rethink everything I’ve been doing for years. Wondering if I started the wrong business now :(
I came across Dan a few months ago thanks to his books being on Kindle Unlimted. He certainly has mastered the art of using content for promotion! Keep up the awesome interviews!