Will It Fly: Book Review - The Seasonal Diet

Pat Flynn, the very well-known Podcaster, released his first hard copy book today: Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money.

I first found Pat through his very popular podcast: Smart Passive Income. We had just arrived to California and were stressing to take our business online. Every episode was so inspiring. He interviews guests who are making a living online, doing something they love.

He’s honest and super down to earth. Obviously Peter and I are a fan.

About the Book

Building an online business is very rewarding, but it’s a lot of work.

And sometimes you spend endless hours and a lot of money on a project that nobody wants. Peter and I have done this so many times over the years. I can’t tell you how many times after a big project I’ve found myself thinking “Well, that was a crap idea”.

I always assumed that was part of being an entrepreneur, and to some extent I think that’s true.

This book teaches you exactly how to test your idea before you spend the time and money creating it. I was lucky enough to be on the Launch Team for this book, so I got to read it a few weeks ago.

The book isn’t that long, 157 pages, but it contains exercises within every chapter. And the work involved takes time. I did every single exercise in the book and even got Peter doing them with me.

We decided this book is more like a course, and this was the most testing we’ve done for a business idea – that has to be a good sign, right? ;)

We usually do some of the things suggested in the book, but never all of them, and not in such a meticulous order. This is definitely our new testing method.

What You’ll Learn

What’s important to you: Why you’re going into business in the first place (also a good refresher).
What you’re good at and enjoy doing: This will help you figure out if your idea is good for you.
How to talk about your business: What makes you and your idea so special.
Market research: How to find the people who are interested in your idea.
How to make sure your idea actually solves a problem: You’ll figure out the problem, but more importantly, what needs to be created to fix that problem.
Learn the market: Best way to see what’s out there and who the leaders are.
Testing your idea for take-off: How to pre-sell your product, the true test of flight.

Why I liked it

I loved how it was laid out, I loved how everything was tied together to fit the analogy of taking flight, but most of all, I loved all of the real life examples, stories and exercises.

He talked about business cards from high school in one chapter, and next thing you know you turn the page and there are pictures of said business cards #impressed. Or he’s talking about an example of how he learned what he’s known for by asking his audience, and next thing you know there’s a picture of his status update asking this very question #themanstalented.

The exercises are really good as well, complete with pictures and graphs. If you’re someone who needs a lot of descriptions and explanations, this is going to be a good option for you.

You should read It If…

I recommend this book for anyone thinking about a new business idea, or looking for other ways to test your ideas. Like I said, the concepts aren’t totally new, however it was delivered in a sequence that I found to be super helpful.

*Also, the book comes with a companion course, which includes even more helpful content and videos.

Our Test

We’re currently in the process of testing a new product that helps entrepreneurs balance health and work. We’d really love your help.

So far we’ve found that time is limited, energy is lacking, accountability is crucial, and videos/audios are going to be an essential piece of this upcoming product.

We still need a few more entrepreneurs to help us “test” our idea, if you’re interested. We’d love for you to become part of the testing crew. Click Here to Help Test Our New Product (takes less than 4 min)

I established that this book very helpful – of course though, the real test will be if our product exceeds all of the examinations and actually fly’s ;)

I think a follow-up will be in order, because like it say’s in the book… “The Riches are in the Niches, but the fortune is in the follow up.”