See a video overview of our software below.

A micro-test is a small call to action that gives you information on your prospects and what they want. It can be as simple as putting up fliers and calculating the ratio of stub-takers to responders. It can get very creative too. This post features some great, easy services with which you can micro-test your new product. Did we mention that they’re all free?

Website: www.fiverr.com

Time Investment: ~5 minutes.

Description: Neat concept. Small products and services for five dollars (Fiverr keeps 1 dollar, you get 4 dollars). Great for seeing what kind of demand or reactions your products or services will have. Before going all out, you can try minimal viable products on here.

Website: www.WuFoo.com

Time Investment: ~15 minutes.

Description: WuFoo lets you easily create forms for your website, and it even lets you store and review submissions later on. The first 3 forms are free. This idea was talked about in “The Four Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris. You can test demand for your product or service before you’ve even created anything using a WuFoo form. You would have a landing page, which pitches your product or service, and then a “buy” page with a Wufoo form on it. Ask for customer information (except for their credit card number), so it seems as if they’re taking the next step to purchase it. Then have a thank you page that says “Thank you for your interest in ___. Unfortunately, we’re out of stock/not shipping yet/still developing it/etc. You’ve been added to our e-mail list and will be notified when it’s completed!”

This method is great, and it allows you to track what real conversions and clicks would look like. This allows you to dive into product or service development with confidence.

Website: www.craigslist.com

Time Investment: ~10 minutes.

Description: A popular one, but still worth putting on this list. Create a post and give people an incentive to test your product or service for you, such as a free one when it’s done. You might be able to even form a small focus-like group.

But does this kind of fierce independence do more harm than good?

The most direct answer is “yes”, it does do harm.

Time and time again, we see that the best entrepreneurs are those who can work with others very well. They understand the value of human relationships, and it is this that they use to their advantage. They know, at some level, that business– the exchange of services or products for money– is a social practice between human beings.

Instead of asking “How can I become more independent and make more money?”, it is often wise to ask “How can I provide my customers with value?” and “How can I provide my partners and associates with value?”

Thinking in terms of giving value rather than personal gain will is important. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know are the ones who networked with other entrepreneurs and figured out a way to create a win-win situation for both ends. As a result, both of their businesses profited.

Begin thinking of business this way and you’ll see immediate positive results. People usually don’t have a problem putting their money where they see adequate value.

Psychologists have identified several “laws” that govern our subconscious mind, which in return influence our conscious thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and beliefs.

Because our subconscious mind is actually programmed by our conscious mind, this creates what is known as a feedback loop. The two work in a dualistic fashion to create our sense of reality.

One of these laws relates a lot of success is business, and I believe that this principle is one of the most important of you’ll ever learn. It can determine the difference between success and failure at a much deeper level.

This is in the principle that the subconscious cannot negate statements.

Allow me to explain. You see, the subconscious doesn’t do logical reasoning. It can’t understand the socratic method, and most people can’t subconsciously do math. It doesn’t understand sarcasm and it doesn’t understand the word “not”. It takes everything quite literally. This is because the subconscious rather uses things like symbols, emotions, and repetition to make sense of the world.

As a result, thinking things like “I hope I don’t fail!” and “I better not get stuck on my next big website” translate into symbols for the subconscious. You can think of them as just pictures (although we do store ideas in a number of modalities, not just visually). The first will probably resemble a symbol of failure, and the second will probably resemble some sort of symbol of getting stuck and “my next big website”.

You may recall what I have said about a feedback loop. When ideas like failure and getting stuck enter your subconscious and are reinforced time and time again, duality causes your conscious mind to become affected as well. This is a recipe for actually getting stuck and failing, despite your conscious effort to do quite the opposite!

This is the science behind why people get so stuck; they have unknowingly, perhaps even unconsciously, programmed their subconscious to work against some of their biggest goals.

There is a reversal to this phenomenon, however. If the subconscious doesn’t understand negatives, then you can simply feed yourself positive (anything without a negation such as “not”) things that get you closer to your goals. This is the idea behind affirmations, the law of attraction, “The Secret”, and countless other strategies in positive psychology and pseudo-psychology. It takes practice however, especially if you’ve become used to focusing on what you don’t want.

What would happen if, now, you began to practice focusing on new, only positive concepts that help you get closer to your business goals?

Here we hope to create an active and ever-growing knowledge base for small online businesses.