Lets go Nuts!

So vacation time is over! Now, it is time to get some money into the business. No VCs are involved, but just selling and validating if my products get some traction. Lets go!

Okay, so a little background on my business idea. When I was little, I always went to the local market with my father on Friday afternoon. After we got all the groceries for the next week, we got to the stand where they sold all the nuts you could get! But for me, there was only one specific one I really wanted. And it actually wasn’t a nut. They were delicious raisins covered in yoghurt/white chocolate dip! My god I loved those things!

So let’s go back to 2024. I was looking for a product that had a similar satisfaction as the raisins, but fit better with my more health-conscious lifestyle. So I started researching and found out that there was one nut that actually is very healthy: It is packed with monounsaturated fats (the good kind!), fiber, protein, magnesium, and more. I knew that this was it, a healthy and delicious snack of Macadamia’s!

So now that I got the idea for a product, it was time for the next step. Let’s find out if people are willing to pay some money for it!

Finding your dream customer

To validate a business, you need a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). And of course, you need someone to buy it! Most of the time we overthink it and just have too much of a problem building a product. But this time, lets find customers first and sell our product, to see if there is actually a market.

Before we start selling our product. Let’s make a list of some customers who would actually like this? Well, for a snack it might be a little obvious (who not?), but still think of people in your inner circle who fit your idea of your product. In my case: a healthy snack made out of nuts. So in my case, I looked in my inner circle to people that like:

• Nuts (Mom!)

• Foodies

• People committed to a healthy lifestyle

I wrote the first 10 people down that sprang up in my mind! And here it was, my perfect list of dream customers!

Crafting your sales pitch

The next step of getting your dream customers to buy your product. In the book Million Dollar Weekend they propose sending out an email to these customers. That could definitely work, but I went for a Whatsapp message.

The most important thing is to actually get something out of your customer. And that could basically be three things:

1. Money! They bought the product!

2. Feedback: They did not want to put down the money but they surely want to tell you why not

3. A referral: Perhaps it is nothing for them, but they know someone who would really like the product!

So, I jotted down a message, gave it a few spins through ChatGPT and voila! Time to earn some money!

But of course, my mind said: “man, you don’t even have a product to sell? How are you going to ask for money.” That is true, but actual paying customers in are the best validation you can get. And you should not promise them golden arches. Tell them in your message that you are starting a new business, so they know where they sign up for.

My message looked something, like this:

And you know what? It worked! Nine out of the ten people I sent this message to, bought the product. And the feeling of getting that money in the bank was amazing! It meant just one thing for me: “You’re in business!”.

That feeling, was something new. But it felt amazing! It feels like a ticket to freedom and already a great ride. And the fun thing is: I did not even produce anything yet… so this is just the beginning!

The power of pre-sales

By sending out these messages and getting my first customers, I got one of the key things you need to have when you start a company: Validation! And how much did it cost me? Nothing.

It is not necessary to create your product before you start selling. You can sell it right away and validate your idea. And if no one buys it, you get valuable feedback on why they did not. So start crafting your sales pitch and start selling!