⚡HOW TO BUILD A

LARAVEL PROJECT

THAT PEOPLE WANT

! I'M @MIJUSTIN

STORY TIME

I FELL IN LOVE WITH COMPUTERS.

SPECIFICALLY, I LOVED MAKING THINGS WITH

COMPUTERS.

I'm a geek

!

MY FIRST PRODUCT WAS A

MICROSOFT ACCESS DATABASE

I LOADED ONTO CD-ROMS AND SOLD AT A TRADESHOW.

I SOLD 2 COPIES. $20 EACH.

!

> Find where people are struggling

> Design software that helps them overcome that

struggle

> Partner with a developer to build it

> Get the word out (marketing)

PRODUCT MANAGER

2008-2016

> Mailout

> Partyline

> Sprintly

SIDE PROJECTS

KEPT GETTING THIS QUESTION...

''I just built an app. How do I get

people to use it?''

I realized something...

WHEN A DEVELOPER LEARNS MARKETING THEY'RE BASICALLY

UNSTOPPABLE.

CASE STUDIES

JUSTINPRODUCT + MARKETING = !

ADAM WATHANCODE + PRODUCT + MARKETING

CODE + PRODUCT + MARKETING =

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If a jackass like me can do it, so

you can you.

IN THIS TALK I WAN TO HELP YOU...

FIND A COOL IDEA FOR A LARAVEL PROJECT SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE

SOME MONEY.

READY?

1 MISTAKE

4 ACTION STEPS

MISTAKE #1

''PEOPLE NEED MY APP. THEY JUST DON'T KNOW

IT YET.''

JAMES CLEAR: "HOW PEOPLE TAKE ACTION"

1. Noticing

2. Wanting

3. Doing

4. Liking

PEOPLE BUY APPS FOR ONE REASON ONLY:

THEY WANT THEIR LIFE TO BE BETTER NOW.

WE HIRE PRODUCTS TO DO JOBS IN OUR LIVES

''TAKE AWAY MY HANGOVER HEADACHE SO I CAN FOCUS ON LARACON TALKS''

FOCUSING ON A NEED ISN'T ENOUGH.

YOUR PRODUCT HAS TO GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING

THEY WANT.

OUR ENVIRONMENT ''NEEDS'' PEOPLE TO DRIVE ELECTRIC CARS

BUT WHAT PEOPLE WANT IS A BAD ASS SPORTSCAR.

OK, HOW DO I BUILD SOMETHING WITH LARAVEL

THAT PEOPLE WANT?

STEP 1: FOCUS ON A SPECIFIC GROUP OF

PEOPLE

''I HAVE A LIST WITH HUNDREDS OF IDEAS BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO

BUILD.''

INSTEAD OF STARTING WITH AN IDEA TO START WITH PEOPLE.

ONE TRICK FOR CHOOSING A TARGET MARKET:

"WHAT GROUP DO I BELONG TO ALREADY?"

TAYLOR FOCUSED ON PHP DEVELOPERS

GOOD TRICK FOR CONSULTANTS, FREELANCERS, EMPLOYEES:

"WHAT GROUP IS ALREADY PAYING YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND EXPERTISE?"

STEP 2: OBSERVE THEIR STRUGGLE

(THIS IS A MINDSET)

JEFFREY COMES ALONG WITH A SOLUTION!

STEP 3: CREATE A HYPOTHESIS

STRUGGLE + DREAM

''FREE ME FROM HAVING TO WRITE LOOPS SO THAT I CAN HAVE ELEGANT CODE THAT'S A PLEASURE TO WRITE

AND A JOY TO MAINTAIN.''

MAGIC WORDS:

> give me

> help me

> free me

> make the

> take away

> equip me

STEP 4: BUILD SOMETHING SMALL + ITERATE

EXAMPLE

HYPOTHESIS

"GIVE ME A SUPPORT GROUP SO THAT I CAN STAY

MOTIVATED IN MY BUSINESS."

SOLD OUT

YOUR TURN

GO HOME AND OBSERVE

1. Your clients

2. Your peers

3. Your boss

☝ all people who pay money to solve problems

DO RESEARCH ONLINE:

1. Google (look at related keywords)

2. Twitter

3. Reddit

4. Forums

5. Comment threads

PLACES TO DO RESEARCH OFFLINE:

1. Current clients

2. Your competitors

3. Meetups

4. Conferences

5. Tradeshows

FIGURE OUT...

1. Where are they now?

2. How do they want their life to be better?

3. What obstacles stand in their way?

4. What have they already tried?

Your competitive advantage is in

how well you understand the

customer.

WHAT'S THE SMALLEST "PRODUCT" YOU COULD CREATE?

TINY PRODUCT IDEAS

> Workshop (online or in-person)

> Open source projects

> Plugins and add-ons

> Video tutorials

> Ebook

BIG OPPORTUNITY

BUILD ON TOP OF EXISTING APP DIRECTORIES

SEE IF THERE'S DEMAND: CREATE A LANDING PAGE

(BEFORE YOU START CODING)

⚡ LAUNCH LIST = GOLD ⚡(1,000 SUBSCRIBERS IS A GOOD

BENCHMARK)

LAUNCH. GET YOUR FIRST $1. LISTEN TO FEEDBACK. ITERATE!

''There are only two people you

should listen to: someone who has

just paid for your app or someone

who has just canceled.''— Jason Fried

NO: ''WHAT COOL APP COULD I BUILD?''

YES: ''HOW CAN I MAKE MY USERS MORE AWESOME?''

I now earn an independent income from the things I make.

That's my dream for you too!

THANKS!

I'M @MIJUSTIN

DEVMARKETING.XYZ