There is no product unless you first ship it!

Oct 12, 2013  • Career  • Business

Just as there is no business without something to sell; you do not have a product until you ship it.

What to ship? How to ship? When to ship? Where to ship?

There are many questions that need to be answered before shipping a product. However, one thing always remains true: A product only succeeds if you ship it.

It may be difficult to determine when/if/how/where your product fits. However, you can always reiterate and improve the product for the next release. Every product isn’t as great at version 1 as it will be at version 2, 3 or even 4 or 5!

The most important thing to look at when shipping that version 1 product is: Does this product provide greater value to a set of customers than what I’ll be charging for it?

If version 1 answers a resounding “YES!” to that question, then by all means get it shipped!

Of course version 2 will be more; have more. As will versions 3, 4 and so on. But there will never be a version 2 if version 1 doesn’t come first.

So by all means ship it; take that risk! For your product to succeed you must first ship it!