You made it!
This is the introductory episode of The Minimum Viable Business Podcast.
In this kick off episode I welcome you to the podcast and talk about how this podcast will support you as you build your business. Below every podcast I'll be posting the show notes and links to any of the resources that are mentioned throughout the show.
Transcript:
You’re listening to the Minimum Viable Business Podcast Episode 0.
<Intro>
Hey there, Nunzio Bruno here and welcome to the prequel to the Minimum Viable Business podcast. I’m thinking of this podcast as an audio version of the scrolling text in the Star Wars movies but better because I’m only going to do this to you once and not before each episode.
The Minimum Viable Business Podcast is a daily podcast dedicated to helping you take your business off of the backs of napkins and kitchen tables and out into the world delivering your value to the people that really need it.
I wanted to use this episode to have a bit of a conversation and talk directly to you. That means, if you’re listening and you’re looking for action items, checklists or advice on how to make your business work better then you should probably skip on ahead to Episode 1 or later.
No hard feelings I promise.
If you haven’t stopped this podcast to skip ahead to a future episode or stopped to move on to something else entirely - first thank you, have to celebrate the little wins right?! And second let’s start to talk about what I mean by Minimum Viable Business, about how I think I can help you make the most out of the work you’re doing in your business and just a touch of why I might be worth listening to.
So, what’s Minimum Viable Business all about. Minimum Viable Business is about ruthlessly cutting out all the stuff that can sometimes feel like work but doesn’t actually help to move you and your business forward. It’s about getting to the work that matters, doing your best to figure out why what you’re doing is worth it for the people you serve and then delivering that value.
That being said I want to stop for a second and give you a quick peak into my life this afternoon. Here’s a real life example of me not delivering on my promise of Minimum Viable Business to me. I literally spent an hour comparing screen capture softwares. I was flipping back and forth between Adobe Captivate and Camtasia because eventually, not today, tomorrow or even next week but eventually, I’ll need something like that for an ecourse I’m working on. A WHOLE HOUR!
When I realized that I wasn’t actually doing the work that mattered I closed all my browsers, got up, took a second to collect myself and then sat back down and started back at it. You might not realize it but those little rabbit holes add up and when you’re throwing the label of “work” around them it can really slow you down.
What else is Minimum Viable Business? It’s a process. When I work with new businesses or businesses that are launching some kind of new product or service there’s always a flurry of to do’s and ideas. It’s really a lot of build first and assume someone will buy later. That’s a terrible way to build anything. Minimum Viable Business is about figuring out what the priorities are, how you’re going to measure success, what your workflows look like, why your customers should care and how you’re going to solve that problem you’ve identified. And if you’re listening to this as a seasoned entrepreneur, no - I’m not just biting Steve Blank’s Minimum Viable Product methodology. I think that’s a great tool set to lean on but there’s more to building a business than just interviewing customers, rapid learning and excel spreadsheets.
In this podcast it’s my goal to provide you with the tools and conversations that will help keep you running lean and mean as you’re building your business.I want to talk to you about more than just the theories and principals about how businesses “should” be built and get into helping you make better decisions one day at a time.
This podcast is for you if you’ve ever had a business idea and then instantly run out to claim the domain, all the social media handles and even set up the GMail account only to have done nothing with that stuff for the last 3 months. It’s also for you if you’ve worked with a business coach and you were good while you were working but now without them (or maybe even with them) you don’t feel like you’re getting anything done. It’s also for you if you’ve listened to all the business books your Audible subscription let’s you have and you’re still struggling to figure where you should be focusing in your business. Oh oh and can’t forget the #hustle peeps. If you are a #hustle person but you’re more shift-3 than hustle then this is definitely a podcast for you.
Sometimes it’ll be just me and sometimes I might have a friend or two on board to help out. I hope that means that this podcast and eventual community is doing a good job of helping you go from stuff that feels like work or wantrepreneuring to actually making a difference peoples lives while earning a decent income doing it.
Side note to future me: If we really do have a community going I want to give future me listening a virtual high five and to remind me to not mess it up.
So why bother with me. Well if it means anything to you I literally teach this stuff. I’m a professor and have done everything from re-writing and teaching MBA Capstone business strategy classes to teaching economics to that lovely species of college student called freshmen at 8am. I’ve also been in the management consulting and business strategy game for almost a decade working across the spectrum on projects for Fortune 500’s to helping brand new entrepreneurs write their first business plan and helping them pitch it (successfully) to their local bank. I wouldn’t say that I’ve seen it all but I have seen A-LOT. My goal is to help you either avoid or minimize the bumps in the road that I know will come as you’re building something that matters.
So I just want to say thanks for finding me and that I’m looking forward to being a resource for you. I’ll see you in the next one.