The core idea is to reject the “grow at all costs” venture capital-fueled mindset and instead focus on creating real value for a specific community, achieving profitability from the outset, and building a business that serves your life, not the other way around.

Profitability First

Become profitable as quickly as possible, ideally from day one. Instead of focusing on growth at all costs, the goal is to get “profitable at costs.” This forces you to create something that people actually value enough to pay for from the very beginning.

By spending less than you make, you get the freedom and control to build the business you want, without being beholden to outside investors.

You don’t learn, then start. You start, then learn.

Start with Community

Every successful business begins with a community. You shouldn’t just find a random community to exploit for a business idea. Instead, you should be an active, contributing member of a community you genuinely care about. The most successful businesses often arise because the founder is solving a problem they and their community experience firsthand.

It’s the community that leads you to the problem, which leads you to the product, which leads you to your business.

The real magic happens when you move from being a passive member to an active contributor.

A great framework for this comes from Nathan Barry, founder of ConvertKit:

• “Work in Public,”
• “Teach Everything You Know,” and
• “Create Every Day.”

By consistently sharing what you’re learning and creating, you build a reputation and become a trusted resource.

When choosing a community to focus on, it’s important to find a “Goldilocks” size—not so small that you can’t build a sustainable business, but not so large that you’re immediately competing with giants. The ideal community has problems they are willing to pay to solve and is currently underserved by larger competitors. The best way to win is to be the only one serving a specific, well-defined niche.

Build as Little as Possible

The ethos is to build only what is absolutely necessary and to automate or outsource everything else.

You should start by solving a problem manually for your first few customers to understand the process and validate the need.
This “manual valuable process” comes before a “minimal viable product.”
This approach allows for iterative building, constantly incorporating feedback from the people who matter most: your paying customers.

Before building anything new, I should ask myself these four questions:

1. Can I ship it in a weekend? The initial version should be something that can be prototyped quickly.
2. Is it making my customers’ lives a little better? The focus must always be on providing real value.
3. Is a customer willing to pay me for it? Profitability from the start is crucial.
4. Can I get feedback quickly? The faster the feedback loop, the quicker you can build something people truly want.

Sell to Your First Hundred Customers

Don’t be tempted to give your product away for free in the beginning.
You need to charge something, anything, to ensure you can stay in business.

The process of selling directly to your first customers is invaluable. It’s less about a hard sell and more about a process of discovery, where you learn directly from your customers what they need and how to provide it.

Launches are alluring, but they are one-off events I wouldn’t bet your business on. Instead, wait until you have a product with repeat, paying customers. Then launch by thanking them!

Market by Being You

Once you have validated your product with your first hundred customers through direct sales, it’s time to think about marketing. Sales is a one-to-one, outbound effort. Marketing is a one-to-many, inbound effort designed to attract thousands of customers. This begins by shifting from just being part of a community to actively building your own audience. An email list is a crucial asset here.

Your marketing should be an extension of the authentic value you’ve already been providing. It’s not about expensive, flashy campaigns. Start by educating your audience, then move to inspiring them, and finally, entertain them. Each level has a broader reach. Paid advertising can be a powerful tool, but it’s an expensive rabbit hole. It’s best to wait until you have a very clear understanding of what’s working and who your customer is before you start spending money to accelerate growth. Ultimately, marketing at scale is just an extension of the sales process you’ve already mastered.

Marketing is not about making headlines, but making fans.

Grow Yourself and Your Business Mindfully

You own your business; it shouldn’t own you. This means growing at a pace that is sustainable for both the business and for you personally. A key part of this is being smart with your finances. Don’t spend money you don’t have, and never sacrifice profitability for the sake of scale.

Here are some practical ways to do more with less:

• Pay yourself as little as possible to start. Treat yourself like the first employee. Pay yourself a modest salary and increase it as the business can afford it. This forces you to set up proper financial systems from the beginning.
• Hire software, not humans. Automate as much as you can. Software is far cheaper than people.
• Don’t get an office. It’s an unnecessary expense for most minimalist businesses.
• Outsource everything. Before hiring a full-time employee, leverage freelancers. This is a great way to get help while also providing opportunities for other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Build the House You Want to Live In

The ultimate goal is to build a business that you genuinely want to be a part of. This starts with defining your values early on. These values—what you do, how you do it, and why you do it—will become the foundation of your company culture. This culture is essentially another product you are building, with your employees as the customers. By being clear about your values, you will attract like-minded people who you enjoy working with.

Building a company with people is more challenging but also more rewarding than just building software. It’s important to remember that fit is a two-way street. If a working relationship isn’t right for you, it probably isn’t right for the other person either. It’s better to have those difficult conversations early.