Reading list

PositioningIssue #1

Obviously Awesome

How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It

by April Dunford · 2019 · Ambient Press

The clearest book I know on positioning.

Mindset & business modelsDaniel’s shelf

Unscripted: The Great Rat-Race Escape

From Wage-Slavery to Wealth: How to Start a Purpose-Driven Business and Win Financial Freedom for a Lifetime

by MJ DeMarco · 2021 · Viperion Publishing

A case against the default script of working for decades and retiring late, told partly through a fictional family's story, with a framework for building a business that solves real problems and earns beyond the hours you put in.

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Judge your product by whether it solves a problem people will pay for, and whether it can keep earning when you aren't actively working on it.

For

Builders still deciding whether to commit to their own business, or who want a bigger-picture reason to keep going.

Founder realityDaniel’s shelf

Lost and Founder

A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World

by Rand Fishkin · 2018 · Portfolio

Moz co-founder Rand Fishkin's candid account of building the company, which started as a mother-and-son business in debt and took about fifteen years to grow, and of the startup myths he found didn't hold up: venture money, growth hacks and launch timing.

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Decide early whether you actually want outside funding. Venture money comes with expectations about growth and exits that may not fit a company you want to run on your own.

For

Builders who feel behind because their path doesn't look like the startup stories, or who are weighing whether to raise money.

Pricing & offersDaniel’s shelf

$100M Offers

How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No

by Alex Hormozi · 2021 · Acquisition.com

A practical guide to building what you sell as an offer: pricing on value rather than cost, plus guarantees, bonuses, honest scarcity and urgency, and naming. Written in a loud, direct style, with examples mostly from service businesses.

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Before you cut your price, raise the value instead: make the result clearer and more certain, get people there faster, and ask less effort of them. A guarantee is often the quickest way to start.

For

Builders with a product people like who struggle to charge for it or to turn interest into sales.

BootstrappingDaniel’s shelf

The Minimalist Entrepreneur

How Great Founders Do More with Less

by Sahil Lavingia · 2021 · Portfolio

Gumroad founder Sahil Lavingia's case for building a profitable, sustainable company instead of a big one: start with a community you already belong to, solve a problem for them, sell early, and grow without venture money.

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Charge for something before it's finished. Even a small first sale tells you more than more building will, and it protects your money and your energy.

For

Solo builders who want a business that pays for their life without needing to raise money or hire a team.