Start Doing Things for Free

Summary

• I always start new ventures with a free offering, whether it's a product line or a software for a company.
• For instance, we developed a software product and offered it to our top 100 customers for free to get their feedback.
• The feedback from these customers is incredibly valuable, and I am thrilled they are using the product, even if it's free initially.
• Offering something for free helps in three significant ways: customers might give testimonials, refer others via word of mouth, and possibly pay for the product later.
• Eventually, I charge a small fee once it's established that customers want to continue using the product.
• Over time, I gradually increase the prices as the product gains more value and customer base.
• Investing in free trials or products is essential even if it initially costs—it's part of building a business.

Video

How To Take Action

I would suggest implementing some simple and high-value strategies to grow your small business or personal brand. Let's start with offering something for free. Begin with a free version of your product or service. This could be a trial, a sample, or even a full version for a limited time. Reach out to your top 100 customers or potential clients and offer this for free in exchange for honest feedback. Their feedback is gold and will help you improve your offering.

Next, don't worry if this initial phase costs you some money. Think of it as an investment. The people you work with for free can benefit you in three ways: they might give you positive testimonials, tell their friends about your product (which is free marketing!), and some of them will decide to pay for it later when you start charging.

Once you’ve gathered enough feedback and made improvements, introduce a small fee for your product or service. You don’t need to charge a lot at first. The goal is to turn some of those free users into paying customers. As time goes on and your product gains more value and users, you can gradually increase your prices.

Remember, starting free doesn't mean you’ll stay free forever. It's just the first step to building trust, getting valuable insights, and eventually generating revenue.

Full Transcript

everything that I do I always start with free whether it's a new product line in a massive company one of our portfolio companies we built out a software product and what do we do we started for free we took our top 100 customers and said hey why don't you try it out let us know get us feedback and they just kept giving us feedback and honestly in the beginning the fact that some people want to charge for this is insane it's like they're giving me so much valuable stuff I'm just happy that they use it and for those of you who are worried about your pocketbook like I'm fronting all these costs well yeah that's why it's called investing in a business but people who you work with for free can make you money in three ways number one is they can leave you a testimonial number two is they can refer you other customers via Word of Mouth that you did a good job and number three they can actually stay on and pay after a certain period of time when you do make it not free and you make it for money you do such a good job that they're like I don't want this to stop and then you say great now you can do it in exchange for money because I can't do this anymore in exchange for nothing you go with free and then you go with a small small amount of money and then you keep raising your prices over time