Book Summary: Will It Fly

Like a paper airplane, a project needs wings to be successful. This summary will give you the ability to fly.

Is your suggestion sound? Will it be a success in the market you're targeting, or will it be a waste of time and money? Is it a good idea for you and your desired lifestyle?

In a sense, will it fly?

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You've got an idea, maybe a few hundred. Your ideas may be brand new, or these could be scribbled on the back of a napkin at the bottom of your gym bag.

Good ideas are plentiful, but people ready to act on them and put them into action are far more uncommon.

This is due to a variety of factors.

Perhaps you don't know where to start. Perhaps your fear of not starting surpasses your fear of failing. Maybe you're just not sure if it'll work.

Whatever the case may be, you must commit to taking action from this point on.

"There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction." John F. Kennedy once stated.

To put it another way, the best method to forecast the future is to do nothing at all. When you don't do anything, you don't receive anything.

It takes more than just having a good concept to start a successful business. It needs excellent execution, design, marketing, copywriting, and other factors. Even the finest of those things, though, won't help if the concept isn't excellent.

That's why we need to make sure your project has the potential to succeed.

This summary is broken down into five components, each of which will walk you through the process of validating your next company concept.

1. The first and most significant aspect is called Mission Design. We'll use it to make sure your proposal aligns with and supports your objectives.
2. The Development Lab is the name of the second section. In this section, we'll unearth vital elements about your goal concept that you haven't considered yet.
3. The third step is Flight Planning. This is where you'll evaluate the present state of the market you're entering so you can see what you're up against and who you're up against.
4. The Flight Simulator is the fourth part. Here, you'll put what you've learned together to verify and test your concept with a small group of potential customers.
5. The final section, All Systems Go, is where you'll do a final analysis to ensure that you're ready to proceed with your plan. You'll also gain some useful insight into your next steps and how you might apply a lot of this knowledge in the future.

Mission Design

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You select a road of freedom when you decide to become an entrepreneur. You have the freedom to live life on your own terms and to mold it into anything you desire.

In truth, anyone may achieve this level of independence. Still, the entrepreneur has consciously deactivated autopilot and taken charge of their own destiny.

Creating a successful business is not the same as creating a successful life. It's worthwhile to pursue when your concept aligns with your lifestyle goals.

The objective of Mission Design is to assist you in figuring out what your personal goals are in all aspects of your life. And whether or not your target concept supports them.

It doesn't matter how well your goal concept does in the market if you can't prove how it can help you first.

The fact is that if you don't care about what you're doing, you'll ultimately run out of steam. Understanding your objectives and why you do what you do will inspire you and, more significantly, keep you going when the going gets difficult in your business.

Development Lab

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The Airport Test

What would have to happen in your life in five years to have you exclaim, "Things couldn't get much better!"?

• Step 1: Take a sheet of paper and split it into four equal parts.
• Step 2: Identify your four most significant life categories. Friends, family, financial, health, career, or musical interests are possibilities. Fill in the top four quadrants of your page with them.
• Step 3: Figure out why life will be amazing in five years. Concentrate on a single part at a time.

Examine what you've written down once you've filled your sheet of paper. This describes who you want to be, and it will serve as the foundation for many subsequent decisions.

You've decided where you want to be. What role does the company concept you're working on today play in your future self?

You have the option of moving on with your idea or starting again with something different if it doesn't fit with who you want to be.

The History Test

• Step 1: Get a piece of blank paper.
• Step 2: Make a list of your very first job. Below that, indicate the date you completed it.
• Step 3: Make a list of three things you liked about it.
• Step 4: Make a list of one favorite memory.
• Step 5: Make a list of three things you disliked about it.
• Step 6: Give your opinion on how much you appreciated the experience.
• Step 7: Repeat for at least two additional life events.

Take a look at what you've written. Are there any trends that you've noticed? Consider the following questions in particular:

• What one or two aspects of your work appear to motivate you the most?
• How much of your response to #1 is mirrored in your current actions?
• How can you mold your future company into one that allows you to enjoy your work and stay motivated?

Determine whether there are any red flags or grounds to choose a different approach.

The Shark Bait Test

Send an email to ten friends and coworkers asking them to name your superpowers. You'll never be able to harness your abilities if you don't know what they are.

It's possible that you won't receive the answers you want, but anything you do get will be valuable.

Folding Your Wings

To retain as a representation of your "why," fold the paper from The Airport Test into an airplane. A plane represents flight, mobility, and invention. It also means liberty.

We'll go through a series of activities to help you fully grasp what your target is.

Mind Mapping

Set the alarm for 10 minutes, then jot down as many thoughts or ideas as you can on your goal concept. Nothing should be edited, deleted, removed, or moved. Whatever the case may be, keep continuing until your time is up.

Now it's time to organize your thoughts. There is no one-size-fits-all approach; do what feels right to you. After that, you should prune your tree. Remove any ideas that don't belong there. The only thing you'll have left is what you'll need to continue onward.

One Sentence

• Step 1: Write a one-page synopsis of your main point.
• Step 2: Compose a paragraph. Reduce the length of a single page to 3-5 sentences.
• Step 3: Compose a single sentence. Listen to how your sentence sounds when you read it aloud. Make changes until you get a statement that you can confidently say.

Conservation and Observation

Small discussions regarding your business can greatly aid in refining your concept.

Try to talk to at least 10 individuals about your goal concept during the following two days. Pay attention to the replies and see what you can learn from them.

Flight Planning

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1,000 True Fans

Kevin Kelly, Wired Magazine's founding executive editor, wrote an article titled "1,000 True Fans."

He defines a true fan as someone who will buy everything you make. There are many sub-worlds in a world of seven billion people. You may become or build a trusted resource, product, or service that 1,000 people will enjoy.

What market does your concept fit into?

The Market Map

Within your market, look for the 3-Ps: places, people, and products.

Make a spreadsheet for each person with three columns: name, web address, and notes.

Examine blogs, forums, and social media groups in your niche. Check to see if there are any established authorities that your target audience already has faith in.

Find the most popular goods, services, and literature for your target market. This is when Amazon comes in handy.

The Customer P.L.A.N.

The following are the sections:

Problems

A business concept is nothing more than a potential solution to a customer's pain or problem.

The more effectively you tackle that challenge, the more successful your company is. One-on-one interaction with your target consumer is the greatest method to find out. Surveys are also beneficial.

Language

Understanding the language your target consumer uses to communicate is one of the most significant things you can do. Look for it in forum searches, F.A.Q.s, and complaints on the websites they visit.

Take a look at the Amazon reviews. Go to Google and type in any keyword relating to your target market, then scroll down to "Searches Related to."

Anecdotes

When developing content or advertising items, using a narrative to frame it may hugely influence how well others relate to and respond. Look for tales about your target client on forums or through podcast interviews.

Needs

A need is not the same as the product or business that you may justify and construct. A need is what you feel your clients need to solve an issue, and your product or service becomes the mechanism to meet that need.

You'll know exactly how your target idea fits within your target audience once you've discovered your Customer P.L.A.N.

Elixirs

To complete your Customer P.L.A.N., you'll need to develop "elixirs" that address your target customer's unique issues and demands.

To begin, create a new column to your P.L.A.N. spreadsheet and name it Elixir, and then brainstorm what you believe is the ideal solution to the problem.

Now, start eliminating until you've discovered one that's suitable for you to pursue. After a day of contemplation, repeat the mind mapping technique with your new objective solution as the focus point. Write a page, a paragraph, and a phrase once more.

Flight Simulator

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This is where we determine whether or not your concept has the potential to be successful.

Step 1: Get in front of an audience.

Targeted advertising (for instance, Google AdWords), private targeted advertising (like Facebook advertisements), guest posting, forums, and offline approaches are all options.

The next stage is to persuade folks in the crowd to "raise their hands," whichever method you choose to discover your audience.

Step 2: Hyper-target.

This entails convincing people in your bigger target market to identify as people who desire or need your service. To do so, start by asking them a question or presenting a situation that evokes a "yes" answer. A remark or answer, such as in a forum, blog post, or social media post, is usually the simplest method for individuals to express "yes."

Step 3: Interact and share your solution.

Engage with those who have expressed an interest in a person through video chat, phone call, or email. Take a moment to learn about them, establish yourself as an authority figure, and be forthright about your intentions. Then propose your concept to them.

Step 4: Ask for the transaction.

It may feel awkward to request cash before you construct your product, but if you're upfront with your prospect about it, you'll have no problems. The more interested candidates you speak with, the better, but 10% is a reasonable benchmark to consider when determining the correct number.

All Systems Go!

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You're all set. Stopping is the worst thing you could do from here. Take advantage of the fact that you have momentum on your side.

Being a successful company owner is not a simple or small undertaking. Along the road, remember to celebrate your tiny victories. Obtain assistance. Treat your consumers as though they were gold. They are your company's lifeblood, and you must treat them as such.

Keep in mind why you chose to become an entrepreneur in the first place. Keep chasing your ambition and having fun along the way.

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