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Description

Welcome back to the solo episode of the Dear Black CEO podcast with your host, Karl Sona!

In today’s solo episode, I will be talking about customer development, something that many entrepreneurs rarely talk about but is critical to overcoming the fear of risk especially in vetting out your business ideas. I will also be talking about a book that I recommend in learning about customer development and why that book has changed the game’s name for me.

Let’s listen and dig more about how to overcome the fear of risk and what is good customer development.

[00:01 – 04:44] Opening Segment

• Before we get into the episode today, I want you to know that you can gain the security, ownership, and time Freedom You Want by building a business around a solution that only you can provide. 
• • Head over to karlsona.com/giftassessment to download the free quiz that will help you figure out what you're uniquely qualified to do.
• I talk about the topic of today’s episode.
• • How to overcome and mitigate the fear of risk in vetting out your business ideas.
  • Customer development.

[04:45 – 09:40] Good Customer Development.

• What is customer development?
• • Take the time to understand what our potential customers want.
• The importance of sharing your idea with the world.
• Good customer development.
• Ways to get in the marketplace and find your potential customers.
• If you are a black business owner looking to grow your revenue, listen up. There is a major revenue-generating opportunity for you, and The Kas company is here to help you secure the bag. The Kas Company is a black-owned alliance agency specializing in finding and brokering partnerships between black-owned companies and big brands looking to diversify their supply chains.
• • See the link below to book your free consultation today.

[09:41 – 16:32] Five Steps To Get Ready To Launch A Business 

• I talk about my book recommendation to learn more about customer development.
• • Lean Customer Development: Building Products Your Customers Will Buy by Cindy Alvarez
• Five steps to get ready to launch a business
• • Hypotheses 
  • Find potential customers
  • Ask the right questions.
  • Understand the answers
  • Figure out what to build and how to keep making the small adjustments to get better 
• Have a better affinity and appreciation of the process
• Final words.

Tweetable Quotes:

“Good customer development is being willing to do the unsexy work and going out into the marketplace and talking to people that could be ideal customers and to understand whether or not your idea has legs.” – Karl Sona.

“Asking questions the right way is a very critical skill to have as an entrepreneur to define what the market wants objectively.” - Karl Sona.

“Being able to understand the verbal and nonverbal answers is the key to know what your potential customer wants .”- Karl Sona.

If you love the content, please be sure to subscribe below for more access to the empowering conversations of black CEOs and founders.

Let’s connect! Find me on LinkedIn, Instagram or check out my website http://karlsona.com/. And The Kas Company to find out more about my coaching program.

You don’t have to be anyone other than who you are to be a world-class CEO!