The one-week business experiment.

Day 1 — Choose one specific problem

Write a one-sentence description of the problem, the people who experience it, and how they currently deal with it. Avoid describing a feature. Describe an observable frustration.

Day 2 — Find five people who have the problem

Speak with people in the relevant situation. Ask about the last time the problem happened, what they did, and what it cost them in time, effort, or money. Do not pitch a hypothetical future product.

Day 3 — Map the current alternatives

Document how people solve the problem now, including manual workarounds, competitors, and simply doing nothing. A strong business idea must compete with all of these.

Day 4 — Create the smallest useful offer

Write a simple promise: who it helps, what result they get, when they get it, and what it costs. Deliver the first version manually if that is the fastest reliable option.

Day 5 — Put the offer in front of people

Share it with an appropriately targeted group or contact prospective customers individually. Make the next step specific. Track conversations and genuine commitments rather than impressions alone.

Day 6 — Deliver and observe

If someone accepts, deliver the promised result. Note where people are confused, what they value, and which parts are hard to repeat.

Day 7 — Make a decision

Summarize the evidence. Continue if customers have demonstrated meaningful demand; improve if the problem is clear but the offer is weak; change direction when evidence points elsewhere.

A simple experiment scorecard

• Who did you speak to?
• What problem did they demonstrate?
• How many committed to a meaningful next step?
• Did anyone pay, pre-order, or invest time?
• What will you change next week?

The goal is evidence, not certainty. Seven days cannot prove a business will succeed, but they can prevent you from spending weeks building on assumptions you have not tested.