Article
Before You Quit Your Job: How to Test Your Idea First
The most expensive mistake with a new idea is spending months on it before anyone has said yes. The safer path is to test it while your salary still covers your life.
Test the offer, not the business
You do not need a logo, a website or a registered company to find out whether an idea is useful. You need one specific offer and a few people who might want it.
A warehouse supervisor in the book, Daniel, wants to help new supervisors avoid the mistakes he keeps seeing. His first instinct is to build a full training platform with videos and a studio. Then he talks to three new supervisors. They want something much smaller: an opening checklist, a handover template, and a calm way to handle incidents. He writes a twelve-page guide instead, and learns more from three reactions than he would have from six months of preparation.
A four-week test
- Week 1: Write the offer in two sentences. Who is it for, what problem does it solve, what do they get.
- Week 2: Talk to five people from that group. Ask how they handle the problem today. Do not pitch yet.
- Week 3: Show something small. A one-page outline, a short checklist, a sample session. Ask what is missing.
- Week 4: Count what happened. Replies, interest, people who would pay or commit. Adjust the offer or the audience based on that, not on your mood.
How to read the results
- Silence from everyone: the audience or the problem is probably wrong, not necessarily your skill.
- Interest, but no commitment: the offer is unclear, or the timing or price is off.
- One real yes: that is a signal worth following. Deliver it well and ask what they would change.
Do not keep switching ideas
Halfway through a test, a shinier idea will show up. Write it down and keep going.
Imagination has no delivery costs and receives no rejection emails; naturally, it always looks good.
From The Compass of Focus
Give one idea enough time to produce real evidence before you compare it with anything else.
Protect your current job
Check your employment contract for clauses about outside work or competing activity before you start. Do the test on your own time and without company resources.
Quitting is a personal and financial decision that only you can make. A test does not make it for you. It gives you evidence. In the book's closing example, the receptionist Maya ends the first stage with a direction and a plan, not a resignation letter:
She hasn't quit. She has three calls booked.
From The Compass of Focus
Questions people ask
How much money do I need to test an idea?
Often none. Conversations and a clear message cost time, not money.
What counts as validation?
Someone agreeing to pay or to commit their time. Compliments from friends do not count.
When is it safe to quit?
That depends on your finances and responsibilities. A test gives you evidence for the decision; it does not make it for you.