How I Built a New $1m Business in 12 Months

Introduction (0s)

• A new product was launched this year, generating $869,000 in sales over the last 7 months and is on track to reach over $1 million by the 12-month mark (6s).
• The product's success is unexpected, especially considering the creator's background as a doctor in the UK earning $50,000 a year (11s).
• This video will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how the product was built from scratch, covering the concept, name, audience validation, designs, and creation of educational material (26s).
• The video will also discuss the challenges faced, including negative feedback from the team and audience, refund requests from customers, and how to deal with these issues as an entrepreneur (42s).
• The goal of sharing this information is to provide context and inspiration for those interested in starting their own business or already running one (58s).
• The creator, Ali, has been doing online business for over 10 years and has built and sold multiple six-figure businesses, including one while working as a doctor (1m37s).
• Ali's current business generates seven figures a year in profit, and he aims to share his knowledge and experiences through this video series, called Business Class (1m49s).
• The Business Class series explores strategies to start and grow an online business, with the goal of achieving fun, fulfillment, flexibility, and financial freedom (1m30s).
• Ali invites viewers to subscribe to the channel and join his free email list for more behind-the-scenes content and tips (1m59s).

How Productivity Lab Started (2m9s)

• The idea for a new business started in October 2023 when a team member, Gareth, conducted market research to determine what to do with a productivity course (2m11s).
• The decision to release a productivity course was influenced by the fact that productivity is a key aspect of the business and the owner's personal brand, which is associated with the word "productivity" (2m30s).
• The owner's personal brand is considered to have longevity, as people are always interested in being more productive, and this interest is not limited to a specific time or demographic (3m24s).
• In contrast, previous brand associations, such as helping people get into med school or providing studying advice, were not considered to have long-term potential (3m43s).
• The owner's goal is to build a brand that can last for 10, 20, or 30 years, and they believe that productivity is a key aspect of achieving this goal (4m11s).
• Lifestyle brands are also not considered to have much longevity, as trends come and go, and the owner is focused on building a brand that can withstand changes in trends (4m28s).
• The owner's association with the word "productivity" was initially random, but it gained traction and became a key aspect of their personal brand (4m41s).
• The owner's audience began to associate them with productivity, asking questions about how they are so productive, and the owner started to lean into this aspect of their brand (4m54s).
• The business has been successful, with the YouTuber Academy generating significant revenue, but it's been a bit weird that the primary product wasn't related to productivity, despite being known as the "productivity guy" (5m8s).
• In 2020, a course on helping people start YouTube channels was created, which became a massive success, generating $300,000 in sales for the first cohort, more money than the doctor's salary of $50,000 (5m32s).
• The pandemic in 2021 led to a boom in live cohorts, and the YouTuber Academy helped take the business from $1 million a year to $4 million a year in revenue, a 4X growth (5m55s).
• For years, there's been a need to build a productivity product, and a course about productivity was being worked on, but market research led to the idea of creating a community instead (6m29s).
• The idea of a community was inspired by the trend of community platforms like Circle, Mighty Networks, and others, and the potential value it could add to people (6m51s).
• Gareth made the case for building a $300 productivity course attached to a productivity community, which was initially called Productivity Club (7m10s).
• Market research was conducted, and the idea of Productivity Club was born, with the goal of creating a community that adds value to people (7m23s).
• Great software and automation tools, like Make, have been crucial in growing the business, and are used to automate social media workflows and other tasks (7m39s).
• A business connects its apps with Notion to organize content, pulling in data from various social platforms and visualizing analytics in one place, providing a clear overview without manual input, using Make to automate the process (8m3s).
• The business uses Make to connect Instagram with Notion, utilizing Apify's Instagram scraper to collect up-to-date performance metrics for posted reels, including views, reach, and engagement, which are then automatically imported into the Notion database (8m3s).
• Make is also used to turn YouTube videos into written content for social media, websites, and LinkedIn, by connecting to Notion and ChatGPT to generate a new Notion card with a written version of the YouTube video, all happening 100% automatically (8m32s).
• This automation has saved the business and its team a lot of time, which can be redirected towards creating content or focusing on growing the business (8m51s).
• The business recommends using Make, which offers a free plan with 10,000 operations, and can be signed up for through a link in the video description (9m0s).
• The business chose to use Circle for its community product, rather than alternatives like School or Mighty Networks, after having chats with the CEOs of the latter two options (9m12s).
• Circle's Community Showcase was used to research and gather ideas for the business's productivity community, looking at existing communities and their features (9m30s).
• The business conducted market research and competitor analysis to determine the best approach for its productivity community, considering pricing and features (9m59s).
• The business used ChatGPT to generate ideas for its productivity community, including the Action Academy Clubhouse online space, and gathered feedback from team members on how to make the community engaging and fun (10m17s).
• The goal of the productivity community is to help people set targets, be accountable, and overcome obstacles, with features like challenges and weekly productivity exercises (10m42s).
• The goal was to create a community that is more emotional and encouraging, rather than just technical, with a focus on building a community that is inclusive and provides good vibes (11m0s).
• The community was initially going to be called "Clubhouse," but the name was later changed to "Productivity Lab" to be more inclusive and avoid excluding people who may not identify as productivity enthusiasts (11m20s).
• Amazon's approach to writing memos for new ideas and business ventures was adopted, which helps to clarify thinking and confront ideas in a clearer way (11m32s).
• A Notion page was created to organize various aspects of the business, including standard operating procedures, partners, affiliates, product roadmaps, surveys, feedback, marketing assets, and ideas (11m46s).
• The idea for Productivity Lab was conceived in October 2023, with the goal of creating a productivity community that offers a unique product and service (12m11s).
• Market research was conducted to analyze competitors, including Nest Labs, and to determine price points and offerings in the market (12m17s).
• A Figma board was used to brainstorm and design the product, with the goal of creating a clear and concise sales page that outlines the benefits of the product (12m47s).
• The initial idea for the product was to create a productivity club that helps people double their productivity and work-life balance (13m40s).
• Productivity Club is a community that helps individuals make meaningful progress towards their most important goals, while being more productive and achieving what matters to them, with the dream outcome of doubling productivity (13m46s).
• The concept of productivity involves using time in a way that is intentional, effective, and enjoyable (14m0s).
• The community aims to help individuals be more productive, achieve their goals, and do more of what matters to them, while also enjoying the journey and making progress towards their goals (13m43s).

Concept (14m16s)

• When designing a product, it's essential to keep asking what the product is about and what its purpose is, to avoid losing focus and making mistakes (14m20s).
• The initial idea for a product was to "double your productivity," but this concept was deemed too vague and abstract, as it's hard to define what doubling productivity means for different individuals (15m6s).
• The team, including the general manager, Ang, thought that "double your productivity" was not a clear or tangible outcome, and it was challenging to understand what it would mean for various professionals, such as entrepreneurs or creators (15m12s).
• A better approach to designing products is to focus on the tangible outcome that people want, rather than a vague concept like "double your productivity" (16m10s).
• When building a product, it's helpful to think about the destination (the outcome people want), the start (the current situation), and the vehicle (the product or service that gets people to the destination) (16m24s).
• A more effective way to market a product is to focus on the destination (the outcome) rather than the vehicle (the product or service), as seen in package holidays where the emphasis is on the beach (the destination) rather than the flight (the vehicle) (16m45s).
• The goal of a business is not just to double productivity, but to use productivity as a vehicle to achieve specific goals such as achieving goals, having a fulfilled life, being happier, making more money, or growing a business (17m35s).
• The initial angle of selling a product was to "double your productivity," but it was later realized that the focus should be on selling the destination, not the vehicle, and the new angle became "achieve your goals" (18m6s).
• The Productivity Lab is a vehicle that helps people achieve their goals, and it was created to solve the problem of people struggling with execution, not just learning about productivity (18m13s).
• A mental model was developed that suggests achieving goals and being productive is 20% about knowledge and 80% about execution, and surveys showed that people struggle with taking action, not just learning about it (18m37s).
• This problem was also observed in the YouTuber Academy, where over 50% of students did not take any action after buying the course, and even in live cohorts, only 50% of students submitted the first assignment, and by the sixth week, only 15% of students were still participating (19m7s).
• The Productivity Lab aims to solve the problem of execution, which is a common pain point for many people who struggle to take action despite having enough knowledge (20m11s).
• The goal was to solve the problem of people struggling with productivity, and the solution was to create a system that helps people execute and implement their plans, rather than just consuming content about productivity (20m35s).
• The true secret to productivity is accountability, execution, and implementation, and the key is to help people actually do the things they know they should be doing (20m37s).
• The idea is that knowledge is no longer power, but rather the application of knowledge is what truly matters (20m55s).
• Productivity Club aims to solve the problem of people struggling with productivity by helping them execute and implement their plans (21m4s).
• The solution involves creating a three or four-step framework that helps people take action, with the first step being to set the goal (22m11s).
• Setting goals is a key thing, but many people struggle to know what they actually want, and may feel uncertain about their direction in life (22m23s).
• The idea is to help people figure out what their goals actually are through a Life Vision Workshop or a goal-setting workshop using the GPS framework (21m17s).
• One-on-one onboarding with a productivity coach is also part of the solution, to help people set their goals and create a plan (21m32s).
• The three-step process involves identifying the start point where people are struggling to take action, the destination where they are taking action, and the steps along the bridge that will get them there (21m52s).
• The second step in the process is to take action, but the text does not elaborate on what this step entails (22m52s).
• The idea of creating a productivity club was born out of the need to help people take action on their set goals, with the concept of Zoom co-working sessions being a key component, inspired by the success of similar sessions during the pandemic (23m2s).
• The productivity club would be built around the idea of Zoom co-working sessions, with multiple sessions per day, facilitated by the founder or a coach, to provide a supportive environment for members to work on their goals (23m51s).
• In addition to the co-working sessions, the club would also include a reflection component, such as a weekly review workshop, to help members reflect on their progress and plan for the next week (24m6s).
• The club's structure would be based on a four-step process: setting goals, taking action, reflecting on progress, and celebrating achievements, with the option to repeat the process (24m43s).
• A course element would be added to the club, teaching productivity skills, with the option of running it as a live cohort, allowing for interactive teaching and feedback (25m5s).
• The live cohort format was chosen due to the founder's preference for teaching live, with the ability to interact with students and provide real-time feedback (25m20s).
• Once the core pillars of the club were established, the focus shifted to determining the features that would be included, such as the co-working sessions, reflection workshops, and course element (25m40s).
• A framework for achieving goals involves setting goals, taking action, reflecting, and building a productivity system, which can lead to doubling productivity and achieving goals (25m44s).
• This process can be applied to any goal, and having conviction in the process is key to achieving success (26m6s).
• The development of a product took around one to two months, with a lot of back and forth, and it is believed that starting the process sooner would have been beneficial (26m14s).
• One of the mistakes made during the product development was trying to use a consistency approach, which is not ideal for building a new product from scratch (26m29s).
• Intensity is a better approach for building a new product, as it allows for faster development and release (26m50s).
• The book "Ready Fire Aim" by Michael Masterton emphasizes the importance of building new products quickly to achieve revenue growth (26m54s).
• The book's author argues that the key to growing revenue from $1 million to $10 million is to build new products and release them quickly, with the formula G = 0.8 * I * V^2, where G is growth, I is innovation, and V is velocity (27m36s).
• The formula suggests that 80% of growth between $1 million and $10 million in revenue comes from innovation and velocity squared (28m1s).
• Speed is crucial when it comes to creating new products, and the faster a product is developed, the better it tends to be (28m36s).
• Consistency can suck the energy out of the new product development process, making intensity a better approach (28m50s).

Name (32m5s)

• The name of a product is extremely important, and it started off as "Productivity Club" but was later changed after brainstorming with Greg Eisenberg, a friend and YouTube personality (32m6s).
• The brainstorming process involved coming up with a list of desired outcomes, such as having fun in work, being richer, making more money, and being happier, and then creating a list of potential names based on those outcomes (32m48s).
• Greg Eisenberg believed that the name is 90% of the value of a community, and the list of potential names included ideas such as "Hobbits Quest", "Man Adventure Squad", "Nirvana", and "Freedom Chasers" (33m8s).
• The list of potential names was extensive and included ideas such as "Focus Friends", "Athletes Brain", "Mind Leads", and "Intentional Intention" (33m22s).
• The team threw out many different potential naming ideas onto a Figma board, with the goal of coming up with something that captured the essence of the product (33m37s).
• The team considered names such as "Time Lords", "Prob Bros", "Focus Mates", and "Worker Bees", but ultimately decided against them (33m52s).
• One of the names that was considered was "Productivity Pirates", which was campaigned for by one team member, but was ultimately rejected by the rest of the team due to concerns about professionalism (34m10s).
• The team member who campaigned for "Productivity Pirates" created a potential logo and branding for the name, including a pirate icon and a ship logo (34m52s).
• Despite the rejection of "Productivity Pirates", the team member still thinks it's a cool name and would have been fun to use (34m25s).
• The idea for a Mastermind group was initially considered, with a potential name being "Creator's Cove" and a pirate-themed concept, but the team ultimately decided against it, and the idea of "Productivity Pirates" became a joke (35m33s).
• A tweet was posted asking for name ideas for the community, and someone suggested "Productivity Lab," for which they were rewarded with a $1,000 donation to a charity of their choice and the purchase of the domain name for $10,000 (35m47s).
• A designer had previously created icons for the YouTuber Academy, including a flask icon that was not used at the time, but was later reused for Productivity Lab (36m11s).
• The flask logo was paired with the circular font, also used by Loom and Spotify, and the branding ultimately became purple (37m19s).
• The name "Productivity Lab" was chosen, although it was not as fun as the initial "Productivity Pirates" idea, and the community was established (36m47s).
• Filming videos, such as this one, can be a long process, and it's essential to take breaks to avoid burnout and make the process more sustainable (37m48s).
• The video is a behind-the-scenes look, and the goal is not to heavily edit it for retention, but rather to provide value to the viewers (38m5s).
• The process of creating content can be hindered by self-criticism and the fear of what others might think, but it's essential to focus on creating and then editing later (38m30s).
• To overcome this, one can ask themselves what they would do if they didn't care about the money and were purely doing it for enjoyment and service (39m40s).
• This mindset helps in making decisions for the YouTube channel and business, and it's essential to remember that not everyone will care about a particular topic, and that's okay (40m6s).
• The idea for a new business was conceived in January or February 2024, and the branding for the upcoming course and community was tested on Instagram, with two potential names: Productivity Pirates and Productivity Lab (41m11s).
• The creator values behind-the-scenes content and wants to provide that to their audience, even if it doesn't get a lot of views, as they believe it has value and can be helpful to others (39m54s).
• The creator's goal is to create content that they would want to consume themselves, and they believe that this approach will ultimately lead to success and fulfillment (40m28s).
• A community for ambitious entrepreneurs, creators, and professionals was created to help double productivity, focus, and consistency, allowing members to do more while enjoying the journey, with the name "Productivity Lab" chosen from various suggestions such as "Dopamine Hut," "Climbers," "Productivity Dream Catchers," and "Productivity Hub" after 60% of the audience voted for it (42m8s).
• The community was built over the last couple of months, and a waitlist page was set up, where people could join the email list without knowing the price point, which was initially considered to be around $1,000 per year (42m25s).
• The decision was made to charge annually to collect the money upfront and get a commitment for a whole year from members, avoiding churn and the effort of onboarding people who might unsubscribe after a month (42m53s).
• However, this approach has its drawbacks, as it can lead to a large number of paying users who don't use the service but don't request a refund, and some members might request refunds if they find themselves not using it, particularly those who are more price-sensitive (44m15s).
• In retrospect, monthly pricing might have been a better option, as it would allow for a better sense of whether people are using the service, and it might have reduced the number of refund requests (43m19s).
• The decision to offer annual pricing for a membership product was made to encourage people to get value from it, but it may have missed an opportunity to gauge the product's effectiveness and iterate it more quickly (44m21s).
• Monthly pricing would have kept the team more honest about the product's value, as people would only pay for something they genuinely get value from, and would have provided better analytics and tracking (44m50s).
• The goal for the product in 2024 was not to make money, but to iterate it to a point where users were getting a lot of value from it, and the team was happy with it (45m7s).
• Offering annual pricing upfront may have limited the team's ability to see what would happen when people could cancel their membership monthly, and may have missed an opportunity to improve the product more quickly (45m21s).
• Allowing people to cancel their membership monthly would have provided valuable feedback and the opportunity to reach out to those who canceled to understand why (45m41s).
• Many people who run communities advised against offering monthly pricing due to the potential for high churn rates, suggesting that selling a course may be a more effective way to generate revenue (46m0s).
• Recurring revenue from memberships requires recurring work to fulfill and add value, which can be a lot of work and manpower (46m18s).
• Selling a course may be a more effective way to generate revenue, as it would have made as much money in a way easier way, and a self-paced course is a different vehicle from a membership product (46m41s).

Design (52m2s)

• Productivity Lab is a community that offers various features, including a start page with a welcome video, an onboarding process, one-on-one onboarding calls with productivity coaches, and a productivity Catalyst quiz to help members identify areas for improvement (52m7s).
• The community has an elaborate design with different spaces, including an announcements section, and is working on a redesign for the graphics (52m49s).
• The community offers a tour, led by Kin or Gio, to help members understand the different spaces and their purposes (52m41s).
• The website is being redesigned, with a new design that will be launched soon, and will feature a similar style of branding as the AL abdal Academy (53m12s).
• The AL abdal Academy will have a free section, a Flagship course and Community for YouTubers, and a productivity lab, each with its own color scheme (54m7s).
• The productivity lab will have a new logo and design, and the community is being refreshed with new updates and features (54m22s).
• Gio, the community manager, posts updates about the community and membership, and the team has been iterating on the design and features over the last 6-7 months (54m27s).
• The community has a chat feature and introductions section, but the introductions are only available to members (54m53s).
• The website will feature a new design, with sections such as "how can I help you", "about me", "popular videos", "podcast", and more (53m27s).
• Productivity Lab is an area where people can set their goals and celebrate their wins, featuring Focus Lab, which are Zoom co-working sessions with various events that users can RSVP to and add to their calendar (54m56s).
• The events in Productivity Lab are led by productivity coaches and members, who are referred to as Alchemists, and users can join these sessions by RSVPing (55m21s).
• The platform used to build Productivity Lab is Circle, an all-in-one community platform for creators and entrepreneurs, which is preferred for its good design and vibe (55m48s).
• Productivity Lab has been using Circle since day one, four years ago, with their YouTuber Academy, and users can check out Circle using an affiliate link (55m58s).
• Productivity Lab is a Circle workspace with events, community engagement, and a course called the Life Productivity System that is baked into it (56m8s).
• The idea for the Life Productivity System course came from the realization that a structured curriculum was needed to help people be more productive and achieve their goals alongside the community (56m21s).
• The course is a structured curriculum that helps people be more productive and achieve their goals, and it was a good idea to offer it alongside the community (56m33s).

Process (56m34s)

• A co-working session was held in London in February 2024 with friends Sahel and Sam, who are also building their own businesses, to work on their respective projects and make the experience more enjoyable and productive (56m34s).
• Sahel is building an app called Fire Cut, a Premier Pro editing plugin that makes editing faster, while Sam is working on his Stoic Teacher Instagram account and a stoic weight loss program (56m56s).
• The co-working session was based on the philosophy that working with others who are also working on similar projects can increase productivity and make the experience more enjoyable (57m20s).
• A friend, Charlotte, and her colleague, Katie, a learning designer, were worked with to put together the curriculum for a course, which involved brainstorming and putting ideas onto Post-it notes (57m32s).
• The process of creating the curriculum involved figuring out the philosophy for productivity, combining ideas from a book with productivity systems, and simplifying the system to make it teachable (57m46s).
• The goal was to create a system that incorporates the principles of productivity with enjoyable and sustainable vibes, and to teach productivity from first principles (58m35s).
• Throughout the process, dozens of pages of notes were generated, and a massive mirror board was used to organize ideas and create a system that includes life vision, annual goals, quarterly quests, weeks, joyful days, and hours (58m44s).
• The system was designed to help learners progress and achieve their goals, with defined levels of progress and minimum requirements for learners to achieve along their journey (59m28s).
• The process of developing a new business involved creating a habit-forming system with measurable performance outcomes, rituals, connections, behaviors, and skills that needed to be practiced to achieve desired results (59m32s).
• The goal was to create an amazing learning experience for students, which led to brainstorming sessions with Post-it notes, diagrams, and discussions about the program's structure, including the number of weeks and whether it should be self-paced (59m46s).
• The initial idea was to include a GPS system in the course, but it ended up complicating things, so it was re-evaluated to focus on navigation, execution, vision, and action (1h0m16s).
• The importance of visual mental models was emphasized to help students understand the material, rather than just presenting walls of text and slides (1h0m44s).
• One iteration of the process involved creating a productivity system with a foundation, mindset, rituals, focused intentional hours, joyful days, ideal weeks, quarterly quests, annual goals, and a North Star life compass (1h1m0s).
• Another approach was the goal-plan system, which incorporated the GPS method and elements from a book, but it was also re-evaluated for clarity, usefulness, and memorability (1h1m16s).
• The development process involved constant iteration over time, with multiple meetings, real-life sessions, and Zoom calls, focusing on creating a clear and simple system (1h1m37s).
• A potential course structure was discussed, with a foundation, navigation, and execution, including elements like sleep, stress, diet, exercise, North Star, GPS, focus, energize, unblock, and sustain (1h1m56s).
• The idea of creating a pyramid diagram, similar to those used by Dan Co and IO eago Forte, was explored to visualize the productivity system and create a unique version (1h2m14s).
• A productivity score was proposed, combining the four pillars of productivity: foundation, mindset, rituals, and focused intentional hours (1h2m33s).
• The process of brainstorming and creating a new business involved a lot of work, including multiple drawings and iterations, and eventually landed on a boat analogy called "The Waters of Life" (1h2m44s).
• The goal-setting system was visualized as a compass, and the course created was initially complicated, but it was simplified through multiple versions and feedback from students (1h3m0s).
• The main feedback received was that the course was still too complicated, so further simplification was necessary (1h3m16s).
• The initial visuals for the course were created in Figma, and the team worked on combining analog and digital elements to create a unique visual identity (1h3m32s).
• The course material included a focused hour framework, which consisted of align, organize, focused, recharge, and reflect components (1h4m6s).
• The team experimented with different visual representations of the life productivity system, including a boat metaphor, a compass, and a pentagon or pentagram (1h5m0s).
• The team used a diagram from Tim Urban as inspiration and adapted it to create a simple and easy-to-visualize productivity system (1h5m20s).
• The productivity system was taught through a framework that included direction, momentum, skills, and core components (1h5m26s).
• Alternative ways of visualizing the productivity system were also explored, including focused hours, joyful days, balanced weeks, and life vision (1h5m40s).
• The life productivity system is composed of four main components: system, skills, yourself, and space, with the system further broken down into life Compass, annual goals, quarterly quests, balanced weeks, joyful days, and focused hours (1h6m6s).
• The initial system was considered too complicated for people with limited time, including entrepreneurs, 9-to-5 professionals, and parents, who wanted to pursue side hustles but couldn't dedicate hours to the course material (1h6m56s).
• The system has undergone further simplification to make it more accessible to a wider audience, acknowledging that the creator's initial version of "simple" may not align with most people's expectations (1h7m26s).
• The course was initially delivered as a four-week live cohort in May 2024, with the creator enjoying the interactive aspect of live sessions and using a specific setup to engage with participants (1h7m35s).
• The course was launched through a quarterly alignment workshop, which was free and attracted over 10,000 registrations, with plans to continue offering similar workshops every quarter (1h8m7s).
• The quarterly planning workshops are designed to help participants reflect on the past three months and set quarterly quests for the next three months, with an option to join the productivity lab at the end of the workshop (1h8m22s).

Response (1h8m30s)

• Productivity Lab was launched and gained 500 sign-ups within 48 hours, with 615 sales and $458,000 in revenue, reaching $50,000 in monthly recurring revenue, and had 27 refund requests (1h8m30s).
• The lab had 8,400 worth of refunds due to some people changing their minds after signing up (1h8m48s).
• A second round of the lab was launched in June or July, gaining 300 more students, and a third round gained 200 students, totaling around 1,000 people in the Productivity Lab (1h9m5s).
• Some people in the lab are getting value from it, with solid testimonials, but others are not, resulting in a significant number of refund requests (1h9m17s).
• The Productivity Lab was launched without being entirely sure what the final product would be, which is common when launching a new product (1h9m36s).
• To address this uncertainty, a very liberal refund policy, called the "ludicrous money back guarantee," was implemented, allowing for a full refund at any point, even 11 months later (1h10m10s).
• This refund policy is more generous than typical pro-rata refunds and is referred to as the "help early sleep at night money back guarantee," which was inspired by an Instagram ad from One Peak Creative (1h10m44s).
• The goal of this refund policy is to prioritize customer satisfaction and avoid losing sleep over unhappy customers, as the business owner values their reputation and customer opinions (1h11m10s).
• A ludicrous money-back guarantee is offered, where customers can get a full refund if they don't like the product, with the only question asked being what could be improved, to reduce the risk for new customers and help the team feel better about releasing a product (1h11m26s).
• This approach is based on the "ready, fire, aim" principle, where the team prepares thoroughly, releases the product, and then iterates and improves it based on customer feedback (1h12m15s).
• The team gathers feedback through various means, including onboarding calls, student support calls, emails, physical meetups, and feedback surveys, to improve the product iteratively over time (1h12m42s).
• Refund requests provide valuable data, such as issues with the onboarding process, which can lead to significant improvements, like a complete revamp of the onboarding experience (1h13m57s).
• The ludicrous money-back guarantee has three main benefits: it lowers the risk for customers, helps the team feel better about releasing a product, and provides valuable feedback to improve the product (1h13m7s).
• The Productivity Lab program has received feedback from users, with some finding the weekly reviews and community spaces valuable, but others feeling overwhelmed by the program's content and timing, which may not be compatible with their lifestyle (1h14m11s).
• Over half of the refund requests for the program are due to the timing not working out for the users, and some users feel overwhelmed by the amount of content to explore, which can be time-consuming to understand (1h14m28s).
• Some users have requested more engagement from Ali, the creator of the program, in the community, with some users wanting more interaction with him (1h14m52s).
• The feedback has highlighted the need to simplify and improve the onboarding experience for new users, making it feel less overwhelming, as people are busy and may not have time to fully engage with the content (1h15m7s).
• The creator has acknowledged that overwhelm is a common reason for people to cancel memberships and is working to address this issue by making the program feel less overwhelming (1h15m38s).
• In response to the feedback, the creator is considering increasing engagement with the community, such as through monthly Q&A sessions or workshops, but is hesitant to commit to hosting sessions every week (1h15m50s).
• The creator plans to release a more expensive mastermind program in 2025, which will offer more direct access to him, but the current program is designed to provide value through its content rather than just access to the creator (1h16m10s).
• The business owner has a team to handle tasks such as hosting sessions and engaging with the community, allowing them to focus on high-leverage activities like creating content and products (1h16m53s).
• The owner's time is stretched, and they cannot engage with people in the community as much as they would like, which is why they have coaches and productivity coaches to help with that (1h17m2s).
• The owner loves engaging with people in real life, such as during Q&A sessions and workshops, but they have to prioritize their time and focus on creating content and products (1h17m15s).
• The owner receives a large number of emails and cannot reply to all of them, as it would be a full-time job, which is why they have to set clear expectations on the sales page and FAQ section of their products (1h17m26s).
• Some customers request refunds because they expected more access to the business owner, but the sales page and FAQ section clearly state that access is limited (1h17m39s).
• One customer requested a refund because the course did not provide the expected results, and the current method of joining life cohorts did not work for them (1h17m57s).
• Another customer requested a refund because the course did not work for their lifestyle, and they thought the videos were too fast and not applicable to their situation as a working mom (1h18m15s).
• Some customers find the community spaces overwhelming and anxiety-inducing, and they prefer self-paced learning with one-on-one support (1h18m36s).
• Most refund requests are due to customers not having the time to engage with the product, but some are due to the customer already being familiar with the material and not finding it useful (1h18m52s).
• One customer, who has been into productivity for 40 years, requested a refund because they did not learn anything new from the course (1h19m0s).
• Refund requests can be taken personally, but it's essential to reframe this mindset, as the goal of offering a money-back guarantee is to make it easy for people to get refunds if they're not satisfied with the product (1h19m26s).
• The product has improved significantly over the last six months due to feedback from customers who have asked for refunds, as it helps identify areas that need improvement (1h20m11s).
• Refunds are a valuable tool for entrepreneurs and creators, as they allow customers to try a product risk-free and provide an opportunity to gather feedback and improve the product (1h20m25s).
• Offering an unlimited, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee can help build trust with customers and encourage them to try a product (1h20m28s).
• It's essential to balance the offer and expectations in the mind of the audience when building a product, and refunds can help identify areas where these two aspects are out of balance (1h22m0s).
• Refund requests can provide valuable feedback, such as identifying issues with the product's accessibility, time zones, or the pace of teaching, which can be used to make improvements (1h21m43s).
• It's crucial to feel the emotion of a refund request but not overcorrect the product based on one person's feedback; instead, look for patterns and make adjustments accordingly (1h21m33s).
• Automating the refund process and having a team handle operations and finance can help make the process smoother and more efficient (1h21m27s).