Lesson 1.1 · 7 minutes

Plan a small test

Choose a manageable audience, an amount you can lose and one test.

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Before you start

Choose a manageable test

Example: Alex has $120.00 for a storage-bag trial. What could this test teach without risking the whole budget?

A small test needs a clear question.

Step 1 · Read

Audience. Name a specific buyer so you can ask about a real use.
Risk. Keep some money aside. A trial may reveal costs before it produces orders.
Test. Choose one uncertainty to investigate; several changes make the result harder to explain.

Step 2 · View

Consider	Focus	Explore
Work	Learn one group’s needs in detail.	Hear different needs, with more research to organise.
Cost	A narrower sample order may limit stock exposure.	More samples can reveal alternatives, but tie up cash.
Limit	You may overlook a useful market nearby.	Early feedback is harder to compare across uses.

One audience

Focus fits when you have access to one group of buyers. You get clearer feedback, but learn less about other uses.

Several uses

Explore fits when the intended buyer is still unclear. You spend more time sorting feedback before choosing a direction.

Step 3 · Match

Audience

The people whose situation you want to understand.

Assumption

A belief you can investigate rather than treat as a fact.

Trial

A bounded attempt to learn before committing more resources.

A trial is useful when its result can change your next decision.

Step 4 · Try

Write who the storage bag is for, what you want to learn and what would make you pause. Leave room for an unexpected cost.

Step 5 · Choose

I can speak to a particular group of buyers.

Compare a product and its costs for that group. The narrow scope improves feedback, though it limits what you learn elsewhere.

I have several uses in mind and no clear buyer.

Compare channels and messages before ordering stock. This delays selling while you find a reachable audience.

Step 6 · Next

Read about choosing the scope of a first trial, including the cost of learning about several audiences at once.

Keep your next question in the workspace.