The One Thing That Determines Everything

If you don’t do this right, everything else falls apart.
If you don’t do this right, you’ll be working on the wrong path, wasting time and money.
If you don’t do this right, your chances of success, and building a meaningful business, are zero.

That’s the actual reality.

I say this because I’ve lived it.
I’ve spoken to billionaires about it.
I’ve crushed my soul over it.
I know firsthand how hard this is.

It may sound simple, even obvious. But it’s so hard that 99% of people don’t do it. And I believe that’s why 99% of people don’t win in business.

A lot of us think what’s simple doesn’t work.
Simple = Obsolete.

But I think this has more to do with ego than anything else. 

We want to build something complicated, something no one has done before, so that we can feel like we actually achieved something.

But here’s your test…

I’m giving you the actual secret to business.

Yes, you heard me right.

This is the first issue of our newsletter, and I want to start hot.
I want to give you the best thing ever.

Don’t get me wrong… this is the hardest thing you’ll do.

But here, we don’t just talk fluff.
We talk about what works.
We talk about what’s necessary for all of us to succeed.

I could be talking about AI, about optimizing everything, about fancy marketing tricks.
But this is the foundation of your business.

And, honestly? It’s the foundation of everything in life.

The Hardest, Most Overlooked Skill in Business

The foundation of your business isn’t your product.
It isn’t your marketing.
It’s your CUSTOMER

And I mean really, really, REALLY understanding them.

At a superficial level, we all say we “understand” our customers.
We assume we know what they need and how to serve them.

But trust me—we don’t.

99% of people don’t.

Understanding your customer requires deep work, focus, and extensive listening.

And here’s why this matters:

What if you spend months working on a strategy you believe serves your customers…
Only to realize that only 5% of them actually care about it?

What if you’re afraid to reach out and listen to them—because their answers might force you to change your approach?

That would hurt your ego wouldn’t it?

Especially after investing so much time crafting your strategy!

What if even calling them feels like a stretch for you?

You might ask yourself:

• What if they hang up on me?
• What if they’re rude?
• What if they tell me I’ve been focused on the wrong thing this whole time?

Damn.

So many fears.

Remember, you’ll have to make those calls eventually, so why put it off?

Face the truth and harsh reality of your business now, rather than later. 

Delaying only creates problems—there’s no benefit to waiting.

To succeed in business, you need to acknowledge your fears. Either get over them or find ways to move through them.

“No plan survives first contact with customers. So, the first step is to get out of the building and start learning.” Steve Blank

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The Simple (But Brutal) Process for Evaluating Your Business Id

There are a few critical steps to making a business successful:

1. Evaluate if your idea has enough customers.

• If there aren’t enough people willing to pay, your business is dead before it starts.
• Use data tools like Google Trends, Keyword Planner, and industry reports to estimate demand.

2. Research the market 

✅ Analyze Competitor Reviews

• Check Google, Amazon, and forums for feedback on competitors.
• Take notes on what customers love & hate.

✅ Use Reddit for Market Feedback

• Post in r/business: “I want to start XYZ business, need help improving my plan. Here is my plan : “…………” Crush my strategy if it’s wrong.”
• Post in niche subreddits. Take the Roofing business for example. Works on any other topic and look how much info you can gather . Take 2 hours to read this and you will know more than 99% of people.

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✅ Leverage LinkedIn for Insider Knowledge

• Find former employees of competitors.
• Interview them to uncover blind spots & industry insights.

✅ Do the Math

• Create your own cost structure Profit and Loss
  • 
• Pretend you are a customer and inquire your top competitors about pricing 
• Compare with your own cost structure
• Calculate expenses vs. income—is it profitable?

3. Talk to 50+ Potential Customers.

✅ Talk to them:

• Call them. Meet them.
• Ask questions. Listen deeply.
• People LOVE giving advice—they just hate doing the work themselves.

✅ Ask them:

• If I offered this, would you pay X amount for it?
• What’s the biggest problem you are facing with this? 
• What’s one thing you wish existed that doesn’t? 

Bill Gates once said : 

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

4. Evaluate Yourself: Do You Have the Skills to Succeed?

Before launching, be honest: 

Do you have the skills to make this work? 

If not, how will you bridge the gap?

✅ Assess Your Strengths & Weaknesses

• List key skills (sales, marketing, finance, operations).
• Rate yourself 1-10—where do you excel? Where do you need help?

✅ Fill the Gaps

• Learn: Take courses, read, or practice real-world scenarios.
• Delegate: Hire or partner with someone who complements your weaknesses.

✅ Test Yourself First

• If you can’t sell a few jobs or validate demand now, scaling will be tough.

💡 If you lack key skills and don’t fix them, your business will struggle. Address this NOW—not later. 🚀

Don’t forget that perfection and fear of failure hold many entrepreneurs back, but progress comes from taking action, learning from mistakes, and trusting that each step forward—no matter how small—moves you closer to success. 🚀

The Most Powerful Growth Engine: Feedback Loops & Word of Mouth

Once you start the feedback loop determines how fast you improve.

Think about it:

• If you deliver a service today, and you get immediate feedback, you can improve faster than your competitors.
• If you collect customer insights in minutes, hours, or days, you’ll refine your product faster than 99% of companies. They need months.

How to Collect Feedback Efficiently:
✅ Use forms, review strategies, and phone calls to get feedback.
✅ Act immediately on negative feedback.
✅ Use positive feedback in your marketing, sales, and advertising.

💡 Marketing cost = the cost you pay for your product not being good enough.

If your product is great, people WILL talk about it.

Tesla doesn’t spend a dime on marketing.
Apple barely does.

They don’t need to.
Their products sell themselves.

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Save Yourself Time, Money, and Pain

I wish I had done this for all my businesses.

I would have saved so much money—but even more importantly, I would have saved time.

Time wasted on things I could have learned in days instead of months or years.

I remember when I started a furniture business during COVID.

I was high on success after selling my previous business for millions. 

Nothing could stop me …DOH
I didn’t realize I’d need $1–2 million for warehousing in multiple locations, logistics, and staff . 

Scaling was also a BIG issue for the revenue I was targeting. 

COVID forced me to shut it down—but if I had done this process, I wouldn’t have wasted so much effort and a stack of cash. 

Now, I never start a business without going through this process.

And neither should you.

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Do you want to get rich without being lucky? 

I am sure Naval Ravikant who wrote one of the best Twitter threads in the world would agree with me when I say that starting a business isn’t just about having an idea!

It’s about validating it, understanding your customers, and being prepared. 

The difference between those who succeed and those who fail is simple: the winners do the hard work upfront. 

Do your research, test your assumptions, and be willing to adapt. 

If you take this process seriously, you’re already ahead of 99% of people. 

Now, go build something great! 🚀

“You will get rich by giving society what it wants but does not yet know how to get.

At scale.” 

Naval Ravikant 

💡 To make your life 10x easier. Instead of spending hours figuring out how to understand your customers and validate your business idea, I crafted a powerful prompt that will do all the heavy lifting for you.

📢 “I need a comprehensive market and customer analysis to validate my business idea before launch. My business idea is [describe your idea ] and I plan to launch it in this [add location].

Please answer the following in detail, based on research and data-driven insights:

🔍 Understanding My Target Customer

1. Who is my ideal customer? (Age, gender, occupation, location, income level, lifestyle habits)
2. What are their biggest frustrations related to my product/service?
3. What emotions drive their purchasing decisions? (Pain, urgency, trust, excitement, status)
4. How do they currently solve this problem? (Competitor products, DIY, ignoring the problem)
5. Where do they spend time online? (Social media platforms, forums, YouTube, blogs)
6. What specific words/language do they use when talking about this problem?

📈 Market Analysis & Competition

7. How large is the potential market for my product/service? (Size, growth trends, demand)
8. What are the current industry trends that could impact my business?
9. Who are my top 3-5 competitors? What are their strengths & weaknesses?
10. How do competitors price their offerings? What’s the average price range?
11. What do customers love & hate about competing products/services?
12. Are there underserved areas or gaps in the market that I can exploit?

💰 Pricing & Monetization

13. How price-sensitive is my target audience? What price range feels right to them?
14. Would they pay more for better service, quality, or convenience?
15. What pricing models (subscription, one-time, freemium) work best in this industry?

📢 Sales & Marketing Insights

16. What marketing channels (ads, referrals, content, cold outreach) work best in my niche?
17. What psychological triggers (scarcity, authority, social proof) influence my audience?
18. What objections do customers typically have before purchasing? How do I overcome them?
19. What brands in this space have built strong customer loyalty? Why?

🎯 Final Validation & Action Plan

20. Based on all the above, what is the fastest way to test and validate my idea with minimal cost?
21. What key risks should I be aware of before launching?
22. What are the three most important actions I should take next?

📌 Deliver the findings in a structured, easy-to-digest format, highlighting key insights, data sources, and action steps.
P.S. You should still do manual research and calls—nothing beats the real experience of interacting with your customers.