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What are the TOP three things a founder should be doing daily

I realize this is going to vary and be highly contextual. I am going to ask anyway because I am genuinely curious to know what the common denominator is.

My top three things as of recent for https://storycreatorapp.com/ have looked like this.

#1 Talk to users (2-4 hours) - This is broad, so specifically what this has meant for me is, firstly being as scrappy as possible. Meaning reaching out to anyone relevant to whom I want to speak with. I will reach out to them on Instagram and send them a quick video DM. I will spend 30 min writing a well thought out post on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/content_marketing/comments/ftxcgu/finding_users_for_a_content_creation_tool_i_made/ then when I have folks who are interested in my mission I will set up a call with them. Getting users to talk has been HARD F*&&*# work. Going to local meetups before the quarantine. Messaging hardcore, connecting the dots, and being patient. This by far is the hardest thing. It requires MASSIVE HUMILITY. So undervalued.

#2 Improve the product (8-10 hours now 1-4 hours) - For the first 8 months, this was 90%-100% of my time. A huge mistake on my part. Looking back I would have been way more diligent on talking to users and collecting valuable data and doing pre-sales. I should have spent every SINGLE day working on traction and talking to users. This has been a problem for me because I want it to be perfect, but the POINT is to have empathetic imagination with what your users want. The code and the product itself are just the answer to the questions your users have been asking.

#3 Learning and taking care of yourself - This is a bundle because I limited this post to a digestible three. Learning and taking care of yourself do go together in my mind though. I believe every day there should be time allocated to learning a new skill that is essential to your growth. Right now that is marketing for me. I am pushing myself to learn traction and follow the principles in that book. Watching 30 min of valuable YouTube content is critical IMO. Then also working out, doing push-ups, pull-ups, handstand push-ups, etc. Bonus is doing all that while listening to a relevant podcast.

Let me know if I am missing anything. I believe those are the three things to a successful day. I am aware this is highly contextual and specific to someone like me building a SAAS product.

I would love to learn from you what the three most important things one can do to maximize their day on this planet.

on April 4, 2020
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    1. Build
    2. Improve & Introspect
    3. Market
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    "Getting users to talk has been HARD F*&&*# work. Going to local meetups before the quarantine. Messaging hardcore, connecting the dots, and being patient. This by far is the hardest thing. It requires MASSIVE HUMILITY. So undervalued."

    I agree. I feel the same way about it. It feels like pulling teeth sometimes and is not always a natural process.

    I like your three you chose. I think the top three things change depending on the person and situation though.

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    Hey @storycreator - Sorry to hit this so late in the game but any tips, tricks, or templates for creating a good video DM? I'd use either cloudapp or loom (both of which include screenshare & webcam recording in much the same manner). Any suggestions?

  4. 1
    1. Sell your service. If you don't spend 80% of your time trying to sell your product, you've lost your focus.
    2. Develop new ways to sell yourservice.
    3. Improve your service.
  5. 1

    I love your focus on user interviews. You're right, they are hard work, but that's because they're the most valuable thing you can be doing! Without customers, all that product building would be for nothing.

    Keep grinding, it only gets easier as you get the practice!