My #1 recommended website platform your idea? WordPress.

Choosing the correct website platform doesn’t have to be hard. Sure, there are a lot of choices out there. But in most cases I would say WordPress can provide just about any solution you’re looking for.

I’m going to break down why I think you should choose WordPress to power your website.

Speed.

In my opinion, the number one thing you need when you’re starting with an idea is speed. Often times it’s better to run forward and figure out a plan along the way. Speed wins every time. Larger organizations lose speed with detailed processes, risk mitigation exercises and over-complicating a lot of ideas.

By choosing WordPress, you can get up and running with a site focused around your idea in minutes. From there, it’s on you to start adding your content and customizing your site.

I can’t think of a quicker way to get online with a more complete solution.

Make it your own.

Once you’re done installing WordPress for your website, it’s time to make it your own. With WordPress, customization typically takes place with themes and plugins.

With WordPress themes, you can change the design and layout of your site. With WordPress plugins, you can add more functionality to your site, such as an online store with WooCommerce or an email optin tool like Optin Monster.

Here at MOJO Marketplace, we offer all the above. You can shop for WordPress themes and plugins. We also offer WordPress services where you can hire our WordPress experts to setup your site for you. The choice is yours!

Take it with you.

Sounds simple but it’s true. Once you’ve setup your hosting account and install WordPress, your website content is yours and yours only.

You can move your site to any host at any time. Again, with other website builders you can’t move your site to another host if your traffic gets to a point where you need more control of your speed and performance of your site.

With WordPress, you control your site from the design files, the content, the database, to the servers it’s sits on. Sorry, I’m getting more technical but if you’re serious about your idea or business this will be important to you.

SEO for days.

One of the biggest reasons why I chose to use WordPress for the first time back in 2006 was because of how sound the platform was for SEO, or search engine optimization.

The benefit of WordPress from an SEO standpoint continually increases. Right out of the box, WordPress does one of the best, if not THE best job and delivering a rock solid optimized website for SEO.

In addition, there are several SEO plugins you can install for free to get more advanced with your SEO techniques.

With the right SEO strategy matched with a well structured WordPress site, you will pack a serious SEO punch for the keywords you need to rank for.

WordPress will scale as you grow.

Like I said, there are plenty of website platforms to choose from, but they are essentially a “walled garden.” And once you reach a certain point of growth with your business website you can get boxed in.

You’ll most likely be forced to move to another solution because there are limits. With WordPress, as you grow, you’re not constrained with any limits.

Sell online — Physical products. Digital Products. Memberships. Courses.

Whatever you want to sell, you can sell it with your WordPress site.

The most popular plugin is of course WooCommerce, but the possibilities are endless. In fact, almost 8 years ago when we launched MOJO, we used WordPress to power the entire marketplace. Back then, we didn’t have the tools that are at your disposal today.

The numbers don’t lie.

If you’re worried about security or how stable WordPress is, let me share a few things around that.

In terms of security, WordPress has several mechanisms built into it’s core to minimize your risk.

On top of that there are many security plugins you can download or purchase to secure your site. Additionally, you should always make sure your site is using an SSL certificate. Hosting companies like Bluehost offer a free SSL with any new WordPress site.

At the time of this post, the latest version of WordPress is 4.7 and it’s been downloaded over 57 million times. That’s a staggering number.

Not only is WordPress trusted by millions of sites but more and more enterprise level companies are using WordPress to power their websites. You can have that same control at your fingertips.

Creating a strategy from scratch can feel like a daunting task. Plus, it’s a very “corporate” word that I think has developed an unfair reputation. Strategies aren’t just fluff. They also don’t need to be overwhelming. When I started my last startup, I think I spent 30 minutes developing a quick strategy. What that did for me was it gave me a runway to run as fast as I could without looking up and getting distracted. I’m hoping this lesson of #theprep will help you get that runway you need.

It doesn’t need to be scary

I get it. The word “strategy” can sound a little corporate and vague. I like to think that it’s no different than sports. The idea is a football team, with a vision to win the state championship. In order to do that, they need a game plan (strategy) to execute on that. When you break it down to it’s simplest form it’s no different with business, it just has an ambiguous word.

Short term vs. Long term

I’ll admit a vision and strategy at this point of the game can sound like overkill. Just launch your idea and create a plan later. I’ve been there, done that, and taking a day or two to plan out where you’re headed isn’t going to be the end of the world.

With that in mind, your strategy can have a short term focus. For example, strategies could range from a 3 year plan broken down by quarters. At this point, that’s definitely overkill. But what about 90 days? 30 days? With a little planning you can save yourself the hassle of having to re-work things you didn’t plan or account for.

100 words or less

When creating your strategy one of the first things I like to do is to make sure I can describe my idea or business in 100 words or less. It forces you to focus. It restricts you from trying to run before you walk. When writing down the 100 words, think through what you’re doing, who you’re doing it for and why you’re doing it.

Target Audience

As I’m writing these things down I just keep thinking this all sounds like common sense. But if everyone was doing it then this whole “launch an idea from nothing” would be a lot easier than it is. You’d be surprised how many businesses or people trying to launch struggle to understand who they are serving. When I say target audience I don’t just mean one thing.

I’m building an app for schools.

Ok cool. Are you focused on K-12? Just high school? College? Are you targeting the teachers, parents or the students? Private or public schools? Boys only or girls only schools? The list goes on. Again, when I say strategy it doesn’t have to be a large strategy session that drags out. It’s just making you stop and think about where you’re going, for who and why.

Value Prop

In short, a value proposition is a concise statement that explains how your idea or product or service solves a customer’s problem and gives them some sort of benefit. Lastly it should clearly state to your customers why your solution is better than the competition.

1. Explain the problem you’re solving.
2. State the benefit of the solution.
3. Finally, tell them why yours is the best of all.

This is a very important part of your strategy to nail down. It’s your unique value proposition and it’s what drives your differentiators.

Competitive Analysis

Like a strategy, you can get really in-depth with a competitive analysis. For this series of the #theprep, I’m not interested in that. The biggest thing I’d like you to get out of this section is to make sure you’re not creating another “copycat” idea or business. If you’re only in it to do that, then you’re just in it to make a quick buck, and you’re not providing value to anyone.

In my opinion, the point of a competitive analysis is to get a feel for the landscape. Seek to understand what you’re competitors are doing, but more importantly what they AREN’T doing. If you’ve done your work with your value prop at this point, this should be a breeze and you should understand what is missing in your specific niche or industry.

Marketing Strategy

Yet another crucial component of your strategy. You can have the best product in the world, but if you can’t sell, no one will ever buy it. There are a million ways to market something online.

• SEO
• Paid Search
• Affiliates
• Social
• Email
• Etc

Additionally, there are a million ways to present your product. It’s exclusive only, it’s high-end, it’s cheap or deeply discounted, it’s free with add-ons as you grow, etc.

The point here is, you need to have a strategy when it comes to marketing your product. If this isn’t what you’re strength is, that’s ok. Find a partner to help. If you don’t want a partner, hire for it. Don’t make the mistake or assumption that customers will find your one of a kind idea or product.

Wrapping up

There’s a lot to cover in a strategy. Especially if this idea or business of yours is something you really believe in. You want to do it right from the start and you want to put your best foot forward. You have a long road ahead even after we get through this launch and this crucial planning will put you lightyears ahead.

To help with this process, I’ve put together a very simplified strategy document you can download. You can copy it, download, etc. You’re free to do whatever you want with it. It will help you get your thoughts down and after going through the entire google doc, you’ll have a strategy to run with. As always, good luck!

A vision is a world you’re creating based on your idea.

Let’s jump straight to it. A vision and an idea are two separate concepts. Simple as that. A lot of times people think their vision is their idea when in reality, that’s really not the case. It’s easy to confuse your idea with your vision. Let me show what I mean.

Our vision is to allow brands provide customer service in the palm of their hand.

In the example above, that’s not a vision. That’s an idea. It’s allowing business to provide customer service in todays mobile-first and fast-paced world. To be honest, it could be a really good idea that I just thought of while writing this, but it’s not a vision. If I were to create vision around the idea above it would be something like this.

With our product we want to create a world where brands can interact with their customers without friction.

The biggest takeaway: it doesn’t confine you. You’re free to help brands interact with their customers, no matter if it’s from their phone, eye glasses, drones, etc. (I know, sounds crazy). In short, an idea is something you want to do. Something you want to accomplish. A vision is a world you want to create based off your idea. It’s a place you arrive at from what you created. Make sense?

It can be big or small

For some of you, a vision might be too much for what we’re building. It’s too soon or maybe you don’t know what you want “it” to be yet. That’s ok but you should at least spend some time thinking about where you’re headed to in this new world of yours. In my mind, an idea without a vision is like a baseball team without the vision of winning the World Series. They go hand in hand.

It’s important to challenge yourself or better yet, challenge the idea. By doing so, you will essentially “poke holes” in your idea and simplify the V1 of your idea.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves

While I think it’s a good exercise to take a moment to think about the vision of this idea, let’s also not get too far ahead of ourselves. At this point, it’s still an idea. We’re not really sure how the market will react to your idea or how your customers will shape it in the future. This is an important part to understand.

This is called validation of your idea.

What if you’re not a “Visionary”?

If you’re reading this and thinking to yourself — “The last thing I am is a visionary”–that’s ok. In fact, that could work to your benefit. That probably means you’re a doer. You can take a list and execute it. The world needs more people like that! A lot of times, big visionaries get caught up with the biggest of visions and get to a point where they’ve created a world so big, they don’t know where to start. Remember, the world wasn’t created over night. I know that sounds obvious but in business it’s no different.

Find a co-founder, a partner, an advisor that has that visionary thinking. Have them help you define the vision with you. Everyone has to start with nothing when building something from nothing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help along this journey.

Wrapping Up

In short, an idea and a vision are two separate things. Take time to think through what kind of world you want to create. It gives you the ability to run faster and you’ll have a clear path to follow. Best of luck!

People are giving “ideas” a bad name. I agree, everyone has ideas. Everyone has what they think is the next big thing. The problem around ideas and why they have such a bad wrap is no one EXECUTES on those ideas. On top of that, the simplest ideas really start to change and mold into something once you actually start working on your idea. The most important thing is to just start.

Now that you’ve got your idea, whether it’s just a sliver of an idea or truly the next big thing, here’s some steps to validate it.

1. Is your idea solving a problem?

For starters, let’s get real with each other for a second. Odds are you’re not building the next unicorn, with millions of dollars in funding. It’s ok. Let’s stay practical here. Practical is actually sexy. It’s sustainable.

Take a gut check with your idea, product or service and ask yourself, does this solve a problem? Even better, does it solve a problem you’re dealing with? If the answer is yes, then you’re most likely onto something.

2. Will anyone actually pay for it?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a path for those going the “freemium” route. Or if you just want to get users on board using your product. With that being said eventually we all need to make money to keep our businesses alive.

Whether you’re selling your product, a service, generating leads or promoting products to your followers, make it something people are willing to pay for. The last thing you want to do is have a few of your family and friends telling you they love the idea but no one’s actually pulling out their wallet.

Again, it’s ok if you want to run with an idea to build your following. Get feedback. Provide mountains of value without charging. But in time, you will need to find a way to make money if you want to see your idea support your dream.

3. It’s all about MVP.

When you’re first thinking about your idea, it’s easy to start thinking about everything it can be. This feature and that feature. It could work for this person and that person. Don’t get ahead of yourself or pretty soon the idea will become so big you won’t know where to start.

KISS – Keep it simple, stupid. This principle was actually started back in the 60’s when the Navy wanted to ensure success of their protocols. It’s no different with anything else you’re trying to execute. Your idea can be as big and wide as you want but in the beginning you need to keep things simple.

4. Does it keep you up at night?

It’s all about passion. If you really want to take something and make it amazing, it has to be something you’re passionate about.

Let me clarify what I mean when I ask “Does it keep you up at night?” When I’m saying that it’s from experience. When you’re working on something you’re truly passionate about you won’t want to sleep. Heck, sometimes you don’t want to eat. You’re just so focused, you get lost in what you’re building.

The other thing is, when you’re first getting your idea off the ground there are zero shortcuts. It takes hard work. Period. You will work day and night on this. Every day. Usually working late into the morning–1am, 2am. Then back up at 6am again to start all over again. The hustle never quits so you better be working on something you enjoy.

5. Are you an expert at it?

It seems obvious but when you’re creating something you can increase your chances of success by doing something you actually know something about. If you don’t know anything about what you’re trying to build it will come out in your work. There’s definitely a motto of “fake it until you make it” but that won’t work when starting a company. Whether directly or indirectly, you need to have the chops with what you’re working on.

You can work as hard as you want and solve the worlds biggest problem but if you’re not talented or great at what you’re doing, your idea will fail. That’s not to say you can’t partner with someone else that may bring that piece of the puzzle. You can absolutely do it, just don’t lie to yourself. Expose your own weaknesses and find people to fill those gaps you find.

Wrapping up

Ideas are just ideas when you don’t execute on them. Ideas don’t work when you don’t validate them. Ideas fail when you have no business doing what your doing.  Ideas aren’t “shit.” It takes courage and hard work to see an idea through. As you work on your idea, it will change and morph into something much different than when you first started. That’s exactly what you want. You’re validating, pivoting and just like everything else, change is constant.

Don’t let anyone tell you your idea can’t work. If you feel confident your idea passes through some of these of points above, you’re onto something and you should without a doubt run with it. Good luck!