School for Startups Minutes

I am working on a presentation right now where I'm supposed to analyze a video and talk about it. I asked ChatGPT to watch the entire one-hour video, point out 10 weaknesses, and suggest a funny joke. It did it in under two minutes. It was incredible, this entire day of work replaced in under two minutes. Just remember, your prompts need to be as detailed as possible.

Chat GPT remembers every conversation that you've had. So, after I uploaded my resume, I thought it would be a good idea to upload more information about myself and see if ChatGPT could come up with any suggestions. I uploaded my bank information for the last year and asked ChatGPT to look at it. Unbelievable what it said. It said, "You eat out too much." Oh, it devastated me.

All we hear about is AI and ChatGPT. If you're not using it, people say your business is going to die. I don't know what to do—do you? I keep hearing these scary warnings, but I have no idea how to actually use any of it. So, I signed up for ChatGPT, saw a prompt, and had no clue what to do next. This week, I'm going to share five cool things I figured out how to do—things that are seriously aweso...

When you get a group of employees together to talk about a particular topic with absolutely no restrictions on the conversation and where it goes, it's called brainstorming — and it works. Some of the best ideas come when you gather your team and let them talk.

If you want your staff to contribute more and give their ideas, reward them, pay them, set up a contest, and see who wins with the best idea.

So all of the tools we have mentioned so far involve being out front with who's giving the advice. Maybe sometimes you want to give anonymous advice, so you, as the boss, must have some sort of anonymous advice box, or an email, or some system where your employees are allowed to communicate with you without you knowing who it is.

The change starts with you. Instead of asking questions like "How is it going?" or "What's up?" with your staff, you need to ask, "What do you think?" or "Do you have any ideas on how to improve that?" These kinds of questions let your staff know that you are valuing their opinion, want to know what they are thinking, and are inviting them to talk — and to talk freely. That's what you want.

As a business owner, I want my employees and partners to always feel safe giving me feedback. I want to hear their thoughts on how to improve the business, how I can improve my actions and persona, and anything else they believe could help. This week, we're going to talk about that — how you can encourage your staff to give you the feedback you need. First tip: create a feedback-friendly atmospher...

Use small experiments to test your different messages. Use A/B testing to try different variations of your copy, your price, your imagery. All of those things can be tested using Google Analytics and other tools.

One of the ways to do free or very cheap market research is to talk directly to your potential customers. You can do that by going to trade shows. There's a trade show for every industry, and just walking up to people and asking if you can ask them a few questions — they will probably help you. Or you should have a list of your potential customers. Call one of them and say, "If I developed a tool...

One of the inexpensive tools that we can use to do market research is to conduct surveys and polls. Again, that sounds like it could be really expensive, but luckily, there are many free platforms that allow us to create short, simple, focused surveys that we can post on Facebook, in different groups, and put them in forums or on Reddit — another good place to post to get the data that you need.

Part of any market analysis will be a detailed analysis of your competitors, and luckily, so much of that can be done for free by studying their websites and their reviews. The customer feedback that they get will give you incredible insight into how their products are being received and how the customers think of them. Also, use Moz - it's a free SEO tool that will help you find out what keywords...

We all know that market research is absolutely critical, but when you're just getting started, you usually don't have a budget for it. So, this week we are talking about how to do market research on a budget. I'll give my first tip right after this. When you are doing market research on a budget, we are very lucky because there are many free online tools and resources. Google Trends will help anal...

Now that we have talked to our customers and gathered their feedback, we need to make the adjustments that will make them happy. Whether it's rearranging our store, redesigning our website, adjusting our prices, or training our team to better serve customers—whatever it is, we have to do it. The importance of this process lies in learning, continually iterating, and making your company and its pro...

After you have studied the customer profile, you need to collect feedback from them in normal ways—things that won't freak them out. Offer them discount cards or talk to them casually and ask simple, natural questions, like "Why did you come back?" or "Would you recommend the store?" Also, be sure to monitor word of mouth and all social media platforms, and respond to everything you see online—esp...

Once you have the customer profiles or avatars, you need to observe each group and learn their differences—both online and offline. Watch how they shop: do they linger, do research, compare costs, and evaluate different options and prices? Do they buy things in bundles? If they always buy A, does that mean they're likely to buy B and C as well? If you learn these things, you can sell more. 

The second step to understanding your customer journey is to build real-life customer profiles—or avatars. Start by talking to real buyers in your store, at events, or even by calling them on the phone. Ask why they chose your store and your product. Find out their common traits: lifestyle, shopping habits, budget, and values. Are they all eco-conscious? Is that the buying pattern of everyone? It'...

I hope you're having a great week, and I think understanding your customer's journey will make it a better week because you will sell more. That's right. You need to know the path—the process that your customer goes through—and you should design that path so that it is a pleasant one. This week, I will talk about the five steps for understanding your customer's journey better. Today, in the beginn...

Your hobby — that thing you do to relax, maybe just watching TV in the evening — is going to have to be put to the side. You're going to need to invest many hours in this new business. So, whatever you usually do to relax will have to go away. Your new joy is starting the business, and that's what should occupy your free time and mind space.

Set a clear sales goal for when you will quit your job. That's right — we get to talk about actually leaving that job. But when? When you have a hundred thousand in sales, or when you can afford to buy your own independent health insurance? You need to have a clearly defined goal so you know what the end looks like.

As you prepare to start your new business, you may consider changing your job so that you have more free time. Can you take a lesser job for less salary, but work at home so you have free time to start your business—keeping your health insurance and some income? Maybe that's the route. Consider having an inferior job so that you have more time to start your business. It keeps the health insurance...

When you start a new business, one of your first and most unexpected partners might be your current boss. I know that sounds crazy—but hear me out. If possible, go to your boss and say, "I'm starting a business, and I'd like to adjust my hours. Can I work from 7:00 to 3:00 so I can handle my FedEx and UPS shipments in the afternoon?" You'd be surprised—many bosses will respect your initiative and...

This week, we're talking about reducing your risk. I want you to do everything you can to minimize risk so that starting a business becomes an absolute no-brainer. We'll walk through several ways to do that—so when you launch your business, you'll have transitioned gradually from your day job. Keep your current job so you maintain your insurance, and begin building your business on the side. When...

What makes America great is its multi-generational businesses. Second- and third-generation businesses earn my trust. If I see a plumber who's been around for 50, 60, or even 70 years, I'm going to hire that company—I trust them more. Multi-generational business is a true American innovation. Yes, it existed in other countries before, but it didn't become a cornerstone of the economy until the Ame...

Some of us don't work well with others. Some of us need to have our own business to be happy — and that's one of the great things about American entrepreneurship: you get to be in charge. Wear what you want, work when you want, commute where you want. That freedom makes millions of people happy. If you don't work well with others, consider becoming an entrepreneur. You might be a lot happier.