When you’re developing a strategy for a new idea, testing assumptions gives you the best chance to make course corrections early — and not waste time and money.

From the beginning, even before you undertake the effort to write a business plan or register your charity, you must list your leap of faith assumptions and test them to validate that the market will accept your idea.

When a person has an idea for a new product or service, the first step is not to define how they are going to implement their idea but to validate if the customer has a problem and more importantly, is willing to pay for a solution. Did you know that product-market fit is one of the most common reasons that businesses fail? Just because you think everyone will love and pay for or donate to your solution does not mean it is true.

The first question should not be “how do I implement my idea? but “what do I need to know in order to validate that the problem is real and that customers are willing to pay for or donate to my solution?”