Be a better entrepreneur every week.

Hey, Creators!

Welcome to Mind Your Business, AppSumo’s brand-new weekly newsletter for entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a content creator, 9-to-5er looking to take the leap, or just someone with a really cool idea, we’re here to help your business succeed.

The traditional 9-to-5 is on its way out—and so is the traditional idea of an entrepreneur.

You don’t need to have going-to-space-f**k-you money, subscribe to “hustle culture,” or be a #bossbabe to own a thriving business. All you need is the right tools, the right mindset, and a little bit of guidance—that’s what we’re here for. Let’s get to work.

This isn’t working

By now, you’ve definitely heard of The Great Resignation. According to Fast Company, in 2021 alone, a staggering 47.4 million people across industries left behind long, underpaid hours and unfulfilling work. Now they’re rethinking what gets them up in the morning. During this phase of the pandemic, workers are trusting their value in the labor market, taking big risks, and demanding more from their current and future employers.

The “more” here, according to a recent Work Trend Index study done by Microsoft, is flexibility and balance between working from home and in the office, purposeful connection with colleagues (Zoom fatigue, anyone?), and time for priorities outside of work—in short, a more definitive line between the work day and personal time.

All gassed up

If you’re a risk-taker who submitted one of the 5.4 million new business applications in 2021 (WIRED magazine) and are planning to start something supply chain-heavy, keep a close eye on the war in Ukraine. President Biden’s recent sanctions on Russian oil, coal, and liquified natural gas are impacting already-strapped global supply chains.

While the U.S. economy isn’t wildly dependent on Russian oil (in 2021, it accounted for only 3% of our imports, according to TIME magazine), the ban is essentially creating a domino effect across other industries. The collective sanctions from the U.S. and Europe mean less oil is circulating on the market as a whole, which has triggered higher energy prices across the globe (hello, $6+ per gallon!). This impacts the cost of energy-intensive materials (think plastic, steel, and fertilizers) and makes it more expensive to transport goods, slowing everything down. For small businesses, these high prices and shortages will be particularly challenging.

Sometimes, it takes trying (and failing at) 20 different businesses before you find one that sticks. That was the case for Noah Kagan when he launched AppSumo in a basement in 2010.

Twelve years later, on March 11, 2022, AppSumo celebrated its inaugural Founder’s Day, an internal holiday devoted to every entrepreneur on the team and their side hustles. In honor of Founder's Day, we sat down with our fearless leader Noah to chat more about taking the leap and navigating the ups and downs of building a business.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs starting a new business?

Solve your own problem first. Be your first customer. I think people get really distracted thinking about “Is this a big business or is this a big opportunity?” Go find something that you would be excited to have solved yourself. The second thing that you can do as an entrepreneur is to start putting yourself out there. Go on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, wherever it is. I’ve been doing that for 20 years. It builds an audience of potential customers, improves your writing skills, and lets you become a magnet for interesting people.

Lastly, look at your credit card statement. See where you’re spending a lot of money and figure out if there are ways to make a business around that or save money around that.

What’s your favorite part of being an entrepreneur?

The people I get to hire and work with—that’s everything for me. I think the other part of being an entrepreneur is that it gives you a little bit more control over the outcomes of your life. As an entrepreneur, you’re totally in control of making no money or making a lot of money, potentially. But it’s really all your responsibility, which, if you want to sign up for that, is a blessing and a curse.

Lightning round: weirdest things you’ve done to grow your business. Go!

• ​I took a shot of hot sauce once while we were promoting a thing called “heat map” for AppSumo … that sucked.
• I wrestled a Sumo wrestler at our Sumo Con, which was interesting.
• One time we challenged a customer to deliver us something, so I had them pick up a burrito in San Diego and fly it to the office. That was a fun marketing experience.

How to discover your business idea

Prep Time: 30 minutes or less
​Yields: A solid foundation for any business

It all begins with a problem. The first step to starting any business is figuring out what your business is going to solve and which needs you can fill.

Ask yourself these questions and jot down any ideas that come to mind:

1. How can I make an existing product better for consumers? “Amazon Whisperer” Chaim Pikarski built his career around adding simple new features to existing products. Read negative Amazon reviews and use Twitter Advanced Search to find dissatisfied consumers that you can develop solutions for.
    
2. What am I really passionate about? Business owners who are passionate about their own products know how to best cater to their niche. Consider pain points you encounter regularly in areas you really care about.
    
3. What are consumers excited about right now? Use tools like Google Trends and Exploding Topics to discover trending products and niches. Browse product subreddits like /r/ShutUpAndTakeMyMoney and /r/BuyItForLife.
    
4. What’s selling well in other countries? Could you bring successful products or business concepts from abroad to your country? Use keyword research tools like GKP, Moz, or Keywords Everywhere to get country-specific search data.
    
5. What’s on the rise? Check out what’s popular on crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo’s Top Campaigns. Product curation sites like Product Hunt can give you an idea of what buyers are excited about.
   ​
6. What are manufacturers already making? No need to reinvent the wheel. Check out manufacturer platforms like Alibaba, AliExpress, and IndiaMART for products that are already selling well.

This is the part where you get to dream a little and look for opportunities. Next time, we’ll help you narrow down your ideas through research, feedback, and testing.

Got a question about your business that you'd like answered by an expert? Want to be featured as an entrepreneur? Have feedback for us? Reach out at mindyourbusiness@appsumo.com.

That's it for this week! Thanks for joining us in our inaugural issue of Mind Your Business. It’s a pleasure building business with you.

—The MYB Team

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