08 January 2023

Why I am building in public?

This year I have set myself a pretty ambitious goal (maybe too ambitious?), I will be building a product in public every 60 days, the whole process: idea generation, design, development, launch, marketing and monetization (I hope at least).

Before starting this new adventure, I wanted to make a brief summary of the reasons why I decided to start with this challenge in this way:

⏳ Defined timebox: First and foremost, having a strict 60-day timeline helps me stay productive and focused. I've found that tasks tend to stretch out as far as their deadlines allow, so setting a hard timebox is a great way to keep myself on track.

“work expands so as to fill the time which is available for its completion”.
Parkinson’s law

⛓️ Community: Building in public also allows me to contribute to the community. By sharing my progress and challenges, I'm able to help others who might be facing similar problems or simply be interested in the process of building a new product.

💰 Audience = Money: Throughout my career as an entrepreneur, I have built many products that have ended up failing miserably, without generating any return. So why not take advantage of all the work and effort invested in improving my personal brand and generating an audience?

I believe that a loyal and segmented audience can be as valuable as money itself. The next time I close a product (because it will happen), at least I will have been able to capture some of that effort in the form of an targeted audience.

Audience is money

🔄 Cycle virtuous: Following on from the previous point, the audience that you have reached thanks to creating valuable content about your past products, could become your future customers.

Cycle

An amazing case is Pieter Levels, who generated over 300k in just 3 months through a couple of AI related products, his fan base of over 220k followers on Twitter surely had a lot to do with it!

🔒 Commitment: Additionally, building in public creates a sense of commitment and obligation for me to follow through on my project. It's one thing to say you're working on something, but it's another thing entirely to show your progress and be accountable to your audience.

☕ First clients: One of the benefits of building in public is that it allows you to generate interest and anticipation for your product. By sharing your progress and giving people a sneak peek of what you're working on, you can build excitement and generate a waiting list of potential customers. This can be especially useful if you're planning to launch your product as a paid offering, as it can help you gauge demand and secure early adopters.

💸 Other business lines: There are so many ways to monetize your audience, such as through ebooks, courses, sponsorships, or consulting services. The key is to identify what your audience is interested in and find creative ways to meet their needs and add value. I don't have any ideas at the moment, but in the future, who knows?

Monetize audience

And that's all, if you want to receive more content like this and follow my adventures building products in the following months, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter.

See you soon!

Building in public a product every 60 days
Follow my journey. No bullshit, only key lessons & tips.
@ 2023 Mike Haba - All rights reserved.