How to get out of "UNFINISHED PRODUCT" loop?
I know it is a regular problem with most of the indiehackers in the community:
We keep picking up next 'SHINY' Idea to work on!
This is a nice problem to have, but never a productive problem which will solve any issue for us!
Here is my usual life cycle:
- Get a new problem/idea written down on Notion
- Talk to 2-3 people facing this problem
- Jot down all the potential feature list
- Register a Domain name
- Create a Logo
- Register on social media pages
- Start working on product development (coding)
- Loss confidence in the Idea which I am working on.
- Go to the step no 1!
I keep doing this and turns out with so many unfinished ideas, shiny logo, unused domain name and unusable product page with login and other basic features.
After almost 2 years of doing this, I am fed up and really need to buckle up and start shipping product and not partial code!
How to get out of this UNFINISHED PRODUCT LOOP?
A good trick is to scope down your product or idea.
If it takes a long time to build, it's super likely you'll lose the initial motivation that drove you to buy the domain and start coding.
You need a step somewhere between 3 and 7:
Create a super simple landing page (shouldn't take more than 3 hrs), use Carrd or any other LP generator. Write down your value proposition and show it to the world (communities, social media, chat rooms…).
Allow people to register or pre-order what you're building.
Hope that helps!
I would try to change the plan a little, I wouldn't spend time on having a logo, thinking about a domain neither create social media pages, only if it's fundamental for the idea to work.
I trend to think more closely about the problem and try to bring a solution that sometimes includes code but most of the time it does not and ship it. In your timeline, I would keep talking with people with "the problem" and keep showing "your solution". (Which at the end of the day it's just a prototype) and keep improving it with feedback and polishing it.
If you execute this properly you will some people that needs/loves your solution, and then it's the right time to start coding, but without forgetting this minimum value delivery loop, otherwise can fall into the same UNFINISHED LOOP.
Absolutely agree that the steps needs to be changed. No running ahead to register domain, creating logo before getting answers to all questions.
I have also decided to sit on a idea at least for 30 days before moving on!
This is a tricky one. I consult some founders who had this problem. I was able to convince 2 of them to build in public. The ones who started building in public were able to cope up with this problem because they entered the feedback-loop from unfinished-product-loop.
Once that happens you priorities change. You are no longer building to your own satisfaction but to the satisfaction of your potential users. And they keep bugging you with request for updates. So you have no option but to fix release dates and ship something.
IMO these 2 founders building in public have made 3x more progress in past 6 months than the ones who are still in their unfinished-product-loop.
Talk to 50 to 70 people in Step 2.