Start with a problem people already pay to solve
AI is leverage, not the offer. A useful offer might shorten content production, organize customer inquiries, or turn messy information into a repeatable workflow. Interview potential customers before paying for a stack of tools.
Choose a model
- Service: quickest feedback and often the shortest path to a first client.
- Productized service: a fixed scope and price after the workflow is proven.
- Digital product: more scalable, but distribution and validation usually take longer.
- Software: highest technical and support burden; validate manually first.
Keep a human in the quality loop
Review accuracy, rights, privacy, and tone. Never put confidential client information into a tool without appropriate terms and permission. Document what the workflow can and cannot do.
A weekend validation plan
- Choose one narrow customer and recurring problem.
- Create one before-and-after demonstration using safe sample data.
- Ask five potential customers whether the outcome is useful enough to pay for.