Viability Checklist: Test Before You Invest

Here is a product description tailored for Gumroad, drawing directly from the tone and content of your source material. It focuses on the "blunt" and decisive nature of the tool.

Product Title: Viability Checklist: Test Before You Invest

Stop guessing. Start validating.

Are you about to pour your time, energy, and reputation into a new business idea? Before you build the website, write the business plan, or look for a co-founder, you need to pass the Viability Checklist.

This is not a creativity exercise. It is a decision tool designed for knowledge-based side businesses.

I created this checklist to be intentionally blunt. Its sole purpose is to help you decide if an idea is worth pursuing before you make heavy investments. It forces you to stop "thinking, planning, and researching" and start taking irreversible action to test your concept in the real world.

What’s Inside?

This download contains a rigorous 7-step framework. You must answer the questions in order, and you cannot skip ahead. Each question is a gate that protects you from building something nobody wants.

The 7 Gates of Viability:

• Gate 1: Action vs. Thinking. Have you taken irreversible action, or does the idea only exist in your head?
• Gate 2: True Validation. Learn why promises, bartering, and discounts don't count. Only payment validates an idea.
• Gate 3: Testing the Outcome. How to sell the result before you build the system.
• Gate 4: Complexity Check. Are you using technology or planning as a form of self-protection? Learn to strip away complexity to find the core value.
• Gate 5: Sustainable Pricing. Ensure your price aligns with the effort involved so you don't burn out.
• Gate 6: Customer Definition. Why targeting "everyone" is a trap, and how to define a customer who can actually afford to pay you.
• Gate 7: Resilience. Would you keep going if progress stalled? Ensure your costs can flex when the market changes.

Bonus: Troubleshooting Guide

Even good ideas hit roadblocks. This guide includes a "Troubleshooting" section for when you've tested but haven't proven the concept yet, including specific advice for:

• "People liked it, but didn't pay" (How to fix your scope or ask).
• "People paid once, but not twice" (How to prove sustainable value).
• "Feedback is noisy" (Who to listen to and who to ignore).
• "Progress feels slow" (How to distinguish normal slow progress from unsustainable risk).

Who is this for?

• Creators and solopreneurs with knowledge-based business ideas.
• Anyone who feels "stuck thinking but not testing".
• Entrepreneurs who want to avoid the trap of building complex solutions before proving demand.

The only true failure is doing nothing. Everything else is learning, iteration, or discipline. Download the checklist today and treat your time with the respect it deserves.