Mike HeapMike is an experienced Product Manager who focuses on all the “non-development” areas of My AskAI, from finance and customer success to product design, copywriting, testing and more.
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Jul 15, 2024 11:44 AM
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Jan 23, 2024
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7 Mindset Shifts I've Made Over the Last Year Building My AskAI
(Some were easier than others, and some are still a WIP)
1. Self-promotion is a Necessity
- You have to be the cheerleader for your products and business; if you aren't, then you can't expect anyone else to be.
- Don't be ashamed to share what you are working on or suggest your product as a solution to people's problems (if it fits). Just don't go OTT.
2. Identifying the 80/20 Activities
- If you want to keep things lean, you need to get good at identifying the tasks (or parts of a task) that will move the needle.
- Think: the hero section of a landing page, your product positioning, the hooks for your posts, or subject lines for your emails.
3. Don't Fall in Love
- One thing that will slow you down is if you wed yourself to an idea, product, or feature. The more ambivalent you are, the better.
- This will make it easier to drop features that aren't working for your product and kill products that don't bring you revenue.
4. Marketing is Not Slimy
- Marketing should not be a dirty word; it is the way you get your product, which helps people in some way, to them, so they can improve their life.
- Putting real effort and dedication into learning, experimenting, and improving on it, instead of treating it as an afterthought, is an eye-opener.
5. Default to Do
- When you are on your own or in a small team, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with the million tasks you could be doing.
- The best approach is to pick the tasks that will make the biggest impact and just get going. Don't over-analyze, don't over-prioritize, just do.
6. Failure to Optimism
- Each day I would think that the subscription we got would be our last, or that churn was the sign of something bigger.
- Things move slower than you think. You have more time to make decisions, and there is far more opportunity than you ever could imagine.
7. Talk to Users, All, the, Time
- Users are what will help you course correct; they will keep you honest, give you feedback, and provide testimonials.
- You shouldn't go a single week without talking to at least one.
