Discover which business ideas have the best shot at success; customer support training is on the rise; plus, thoughts on the anti-work movement
â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â â Be a better entrepreneur every week. Hey, Creators! March was certainly full of madness this week. (Raise your hand if youâre still recovering from one hour of lost sleep and St. Peterâs busting your bracket by pulling off major upsets â.) The perfect reset? Channeling your energy into creating something awesome. We hope todayâs newsletter is the perfect pick-me-upâletâs get to it. News Bites News that matters to entrepreneurs (Credit: [Tenor]() NSFW: Not suited for work Sure, weâve all fantasized about quitting a job, retiring early, or hitting pause on the daily grind to embark on an Eat, Pray, Love journey ⦠but would you ever consider yourself âanti-workâ? Recently, the anti-work reform movement has gained serious traction in the U.S. and serves as a topic of particular popularity on Reddit, where [/r/antiwork]( has amassed over 1.8M members. The community has been a rallying cry against exploitative work under capitalism and believes the traditional 40-hour work week is outdatedâat one point, some members even flooded [Kelloggâs job portal]( after the company tried to squash a union strike. Contrary to the name, âanti-workâ is not about being lazy or not working at all (though many have believed it to be a misnomer, flocking instead to[/r/workreform](). Instead, the movement supports [organized labor, better working conditions, and higher wages](. These ideas may have felt fringe pre-COVID, but once the pandemic stripped away the pleasurable trappings of work as we knew it, folks were left wondering what it all meant. That dissatisfaction combined with the climate crisis, big feelings after the 2016 election, #MeToo, and a general âWTF is happening here?!â has left thousands looking for things they can actually change. Thatâs a lot to consider for entrepreneurs who may be considering quitting traditional 9-to-5s to build something from scratch. Thoughts? [Weigh in on our Twitter poll](. If I could turn back time Last week, the Senate approved legislation to make daylight saving time permanent by 2023. It's still unclear if the Democratic-led House will take up the measure and President Joe Biden hasn't offered his take yet. Other than a collective vibe shift when we âspring forwardâ into more daylight, what does it have to do with your business? Some say it will boost the economy, make workers happier, and improve public health. Turns out, that might be a stretch. [Scientists actually encourage](sticking with standard time (i.e., brighter mornings, darker evenings) because itâs more in sync with our natural rhythms. Only time will tell. Recipe for Success Quick hacks to improve your business How to validate your business idea Prep Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour per task
âYields: A clear direction for your businessâs future Once youâve come up with your business idea, you want to conduct due diligence. Validating your idea reduces time wasted and maximizes your chance of success. Here are the steps: - Discover consumer interest: Use keyword research tools like [GKP](, [Moz](, or [Keywords Everywhere]( to discover the search volume for keywords related to your ideas. Make sure to keep different types of [search intent]( in mind!
- Research your competitors: Figure out who your competitors are and their target market so you can identify any potential areas of opportunity. Find them by using [Alexa Similar Sites]( and get a backstage look at how they operate with [Branalyzer]( or [SEMrush](.
- Determine long-term viability: Use [Google Trends](or tools like [Trend Watchers]( to pinpoint whether your business idea has long-lasting potential as part of a growing market, or if itâs a trend that will die out in a couple of months or years. If there are lots of peaks and valleys, itâs volatile. If itâs on an upward trajectory, thatâs a sign of stability.
- Create an MVP: When Steve Jobs launched the first iPhone in the 2007 Apple keynote address, [it didnât actually work](. He had a stash of extra iPhones on stage ready to swap in if the original one crashed. But like any good MVP (minimum viable product), it was still enough to get consumers excited and ready to buy. So create your own MVP! Donât spend too much time or money on itâjust make a bare-bones prototype to pique peopleâs interest. More on this next week.
- Run surveys and customer interviews: One of the biggest mistakes new entrepreneurs make is spending too much time building their product instead of selling it. Once you have your MVP, get it in front of your customers. How? Call them, text them, slide into their DMs, and conduct surveys using tools like [Formly](. Your surveys and interviews donât have to be super formalâjust start getting feedback! That feedback will determine whether your business idea has legs to stand on. Other [takeaways](: - Make sure youâre solving a problem you care about
- Donât spend too much money while validating: donât hire a branding professional, donât spend on pay-per-click-adsânot at this stage
- Move quickly: what can you accomplish without spending weeks and months?
- Continue to collect audience feedback to improve the product to suit their needs On Trend: Customer Service Training The pulse on emerging trends and opportunities (Click to expand. Source: [The State of Customer Service in 2022 [HubSpot Data]]() At your service Getting that coveted 5-star review requires companies to be on top of their game. But customer service was [pretty rough]( for consumers during the peak of the pandemic, from long lines at grocery stores to hours spent on hold with airlines. Now that weâre (hopefully, maybe?) pulling out of this whole thingâthereâs a new business opportunity: customer service training. More businesses are putting an added focus on creating a solid customer experience. A [new report by HubSpot]( reveals an influx of companies looking to up their customer support training. They found that investing in customer service is smart: around 50% of respondents saw exponential growth while simultaneously training their support agents several times a month. The two biggest customer service challenges for agent-level respondents at both high- and low-growth companies were not having enough time in the day to address problems and dealing with upset customers. Consumers also want a more personalized experience. You know, fewer chatbots and endlessly pressing â0â in a desperate attempt to talk with an actual human. Whatâs more, customers expect more: 93% of customer service teams say customers have [higher expectations]( than ever before. They also expect a response in minutes, not daysâno pressure. So our team asked Candice, AppSumoâs Director of Customer Experience, âWhat advice would you give to a company looking to improve their customer support?â The answer? Invest in customer experience professionals! Candice says: âI've seen quite a few companies address Customer Support as a humanized help center, but that is not where their value lies. Build a help center to address your most common questions and build a support team that is well-versed in the intricacies of your product and your audience! Most anyone can answer an email; support professionals can diagnose issues (often before they're even communicated!), quickly and effectively communicate solutions with your customers, and suggest high-leverage developments to your product based on customer feedback.â Got a question about your business that you'd like answered by an expert? Want to be featured as an entrepreneur? Have feedback for us? Reach out at [mindyourbusiness@appsumo.com](. Until next time! Mind your business. âThe MYB Team Share the knowledge! Know a fellow creator who would benefit from valuable business insights? Forward this email to them! (If this was forwarded to you, [subscribe here](.) [YouTube](
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