The four-step playbook
- Find a common, time-consuming or costly problem a specific kind of business has.
- Design a way to solve it with software, training or a service.
- Build the solution and show clearly how it saves time, saves money or makes more profit.
- Get paid a small amount every single month from those businesses.
Recurring revenue changes what you can do
A one-off sale funds this month. A subscription funds a decision. You can hire, plan and build once you know roughly what next quarter looks like.
The catch nobody mentions: recurring revenue means recurring proof. Every month the customer quietly re-decides.
Sales-led, not idea-led
Most founders build first and worry about selling later. Mike did exactly that and it nearly sank the software. Now the sequence is reversed: work out how it will be sold, then build the thing that's sellable.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Starting five things instead of one.
- Building for everybody, which means building for nobody.
- Confusing effort with progress.
- Assuming a good product will explain itself.
Books on this
The SAFE Startup System: How smart businesses are built one clear step at a time.How smart businesses are built one clear step at a time.
In A World Full of Sheep, Fuck You Im An Entrepreneur: The entrepreneur's guide to success!In a world full of sheep, be an entrepreneur.
Get Rich With Digital Real Estate: Become a Digital Landlord Today!Become a digital landlord today.Common questions
- What businesses has Mike Martin built?
- Mike is the founder of the SEO agency More Leads Local and Mike Martin Business Coaching, and the co-founder of 3local Ltd and its software GBPly. See the businesses page for the full list.