Choose your next experiment.

A private, unvalidated educational exercise. No personality assessment, earnings prediction or demand guarantee. Print this page using your browser.

Which task would you most willingly work on for two focused hours? Finish one useful deliverable for a specific person. Turn a repeated task into instructions someone can follow. Build and test a rule that produces the same output reliably. Compare sources and make an unclear choice easier to evaluate. I’m not sure yet.

When someone describes a messy process, what do you usually want to do first? Fix the immediate problem they can clearly approve. Write the steps and decisions so the next person can repeat them. Find the repeated step that could be calculated or automated. Find the missing facts and compare the available choices. I’m not sure yet.

Which kind of finished sample would you be most comfortable showing a buyer? One completed before-and-after deliverable. An editable pack with instructions and a filled-in example. A small working demonstration with test cases. A sourced comparison with a clear selection method. I’m not sure yet.

Which type of revision are you most willing to repeat? Tighten the deliverable after one customer reviews it. Rewrite an instruction after someone misreads it. Investigate an edge case until the output is correct. Recheck an entry when the underlying facts change. I’m not sure yet.

Which evidence would you find most satisfying to collect? A buyer accepted the agreed result. Someone completed the task without needing my help. The same input reliably produced the correct output. A buyer made a better-informed decision with fewer searches. I’m not sure yet.

Which commercial tradeoff sounds most acceptable to test? A higher price for one fixed piece of work that takes my time. A lower price or reuse licence for the same well-explained files. A product fee with ongoing technical fixes and compatibility work. A fee for a dated reference, with separate future editions if useful. I’m not sure yet.

When you have solved something useful before, what part have you most wanted to keep? A repeatable way to deliver that result to the next client. The checklist or decision rules other people could use. The reusable calculation, script or little utility. The organized evidence and comparison criteria. I’m not sure yet.

Which activity would you still choose if no one saw your work until it was finished? Completing an agreed practical task. Making an instruction clear enough for a new user. Testing how a small system behaves in unusual cases. Following sources until an uncertain detail is resolved. I’m not sure yet.

How much time can you deliberately allocate to this experiment each week? Less than two hours. Two to four hours. Five to eight hours. Nine or more hours.

Which response pattern could you reasonably commit to for the next month? Two written response windows each week. Self-paced work, but no dependable customer-response window. I cannot commit to buyer-facing work yet.

How many people who might buy this kind of work could you reasonably ask about their current problem? Three or more. One or two. None yet.

What support are you willing to provide after a sale? File delivery, corrections and a short written explanation of the instructions. Basic help plus clearly limited questions about a deliverable. Basic help plus technical troubleshooting and compatibility fixes. I do not want any buyer-support responsibility yet.

What evidence can you show for the problem you want to solve? A relevant sample I can legally share, with sensitive details removed. Firsthand experience, but I still need to make a shareable sample. Interest, but no relevant experience or example yet.

Are you relying on a new idea to meet essential expenses in the next 30 days? Yes. No. Prefer not to answer.

What can you already demonstrate reliably?

Finishing a scoped task · explaining a process · testing code · checking sources · still learning

Read the result carefully

For the first eight questions, count each selection in order as Service, Workflow kit, Small tool or Research; unsure adds zero. Fewer than four substantive choices means exploration first. Show every route within one point of the highest tally as a close match. Scores are preference points out of eight, never probabilities.

Less than two hours, no dependable response windows or no support means a private sample first. A paid service requires at least five weekly hours and bounded support. A paid tool also requires technical skill and troubleshooting. Without buyer access, a shareable sample or demonstrated skill, prepare those before any paid offer. Do not rely on an untested idea for essential expenses this month.

My 7–14-day experiment

One buyer and existing problem

Chosen route and smallest sample

Time limit and spending cap

Days 1–2: define the question

Days 3–5: make a fictional sample

Days 6–9: observe private practice or real low-stakes use

Days 10–14: review evidence and decide

Evidence of willingness to pay

Continue only if…

Stop or change if…

Review date

Every sale creates responsibilities. Observe actual use and purchase decisions; compliments are not demand. One Small Venture 1.1 · Keep your completed worksheet private.