Forget LAUNCH, think “failure date”

Perfecting your product before you launch it is impossible.

You can tinker around, making incremental improvements, for years. However, the reality remains; you have no idea if you’re building something anyone will want.

OR, you can put a product out there and start getting feedback. Do people want what you’re making? Are they using it in a different way than you imagined? Is someone interested in partnering with you? How are you going to know these things unless your market is involved?

Honestly, I’m pretty sure that most people “rework the prototype” a zillion times because they are scared of failure. Until the product or service is out there, it’s still an idea, incapable of being judged. Of course, this is merely an illusion designed to fool your own brain.

So how do you know when to launch?

Step 1: Remove the word “launch” from your vocabulary. This isn’t a shuttle taking off into space. No one is paying attention, and no one will die if you’re wrong. Instead of “launch date”, use the phrase “failure date”.

Step 2: Set your failure date. I suggest tomorrow.

Step 3: Fail.

Step 4: Fix it incrementally based upon the desires of your target market, instead of the odd ramblings of your excuse-making brain. Keep doing this into perpetuity.

Step 5: Profit.

A few FACTS to punctuate this concept appropriately.

• No one will steal your 8.3 cent idea until it’s working anyway
• About one out of every billion businesses “launch” to great acclaim
• Like an artist, there comes a point where adding to your work begins to reduce value
• It’s easier to add to simple than it is to remove from complex
• Creating a quality product/service, while critical, is only a piece of creating a successful business