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Melvyn Tan

Building a one-person, $1M, all digital business

Workflow

I am obsessed about productivity,

Which is why I’m constantly experimenting with workflows and tools to help me save time.

Ironically, this can be extremely time-consuming.

Which is why I’m sharing this with you so you can save time.

Digital Ambition

Step 1: Start with the problem

There’s never a better time than now to pursue your digital ambition.

Whether an idea turns into a project depends on one thing: what problem does it solve.

Start by brainstorming a list of keywords based on the problem using Google Keyword Planner. Based on the search volume of those keywords, you can determine whether people are searching for a solution to the problem.

Once you know there’s sufficient demand, you then need to make a list of questions people are asking. For this, I use Quora and Twitter.

As I have a following on LinkedIn, I would reach out to my connections and ask about their experience with the problem. I learned how to ask better questions via these two books: The Mom Test and Ask.

I typically direct my connections to fill out their answers via an Airtable form. Doing this gives me the ability to create a database of all the answers.

Armed with these information, I then use Facebook Audience Insights to give me information about my potential customers. Information such as likes and behavior. This gives me useful insights when creating content that resonate with them.

Step 2: Build a minimum viable website

The next step involves creating a minimum viable website (“MVW”) to start building an audience.

Looking for a domain name can be fun as well as frustrating. I use NameCheap because they are cheap (pun intended). Once I find a domain name I like, I then host it on my personal nameservers.

If you need both domain name and hosting, head over here for a special promo.

These are the parts that make up a MVW:

Now, I am ready to start sharing content on social media to drive traffic to the MVW. The main aim here is to determine if my potential customers would be interested to take up my minimum viable product (“MVP”).

Step 3: Build a minimum viable audience using videos

I love videos. Making them, that is.

With that level of passion, I’ve become Asia’s first LinkedIn Video Evangelist. 😎

As a demonstration of my passion, I simulcast a daily LIVE Stream daily show on YouTube and Facebook with this setup:

Step 4: Repurposing videos into other formats and products

If you are new to this, I highly recommend learning the basics of building an audience.

Step 5: Build a minimum viable product

MVP is defined as, via Technopedia:

A minimum viable product is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters.

My version of an MVP is called Catalytic Course. You can read more about it and get a copy of the mind map (made with MindNode) here.

With a Catalytic Course, I’m able to get my potential customers to try out my solution. It is also designed to help them get results.

I use Thinkific as the Learning Management System to host all my Catalytic Courses.

Daily Routine

In 2013, I was suffering from anxiety attacks and depression. This led me to design a daily routine that helped me maintain my mental well-being.

I choose to be GREAT and use it as a framework for my daily routine. I keep a daily record of it using Airtable Notion.

God-first

I start the day by reading the Bible and this book. This includes picking a verse and then allowing the verse to guide me through the day. I record this daily using iA Writer.

Relationships

The only thing God wants from us is a relationship with Him. To me, relationship (with the people who matter) is what’s most essential to me. My aim is to build positive memories with my family. To build this, I record one positive memory every day.

Emotions

The quality of your life is the quality of your feelings. As someone who is depressed, I’ve learned to recognize that my thoughts are not me. The daily routine of recording how I feel has allowed me to identify the recurring patterns that contribute to both my best and worst moments.

Another aspects of emotions is physical workout. I do some form of workout daily. For that, I use the Nike Run Club app on my Apple Watch Nike (Series 5 – GPS + Cellular) and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

My current pair of shoes is the Nike Joyride Dual Run in Track Red/White/Photon Dust/White

Achievements

My achievements are based on two criteria—income and impact. Reason being, I get into trouble every time I set a goal based on income alone. These days, I’m setting my goals based on impact first as the income part will take care of itself.

I use the OKR methodology to help me stay on track. With each objective, I keep to a minimal number of key results. To help me chunk the key results into projects, I first draw them into visual maps.

Wanting to stay paperless and ubiquitous, I draw with the Apple Pencil using GoodNotes 5 Notability on my 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd Generation).

I then convert the projects into action items using Things 3. I love the app so much I have the version for iOS, iPadOS, as well as MacOS.

Talents

This Parable is central to my belief. My life’s purpose is to help others multiply their talents. I use this as a criterion to evaluate the worthiness of any projects. I’m learning to keep better documentation of all my projects using iA Writer (Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows) Notion.

I am currently reading this book on Stoicism.

I also believe talent is something you build up over time. Which is why reading is part of my daily routine. I’ve began to love the touch of a physical book, though most of my books are on the Kindle.

Suggestions?

Send me a message if you have other suggestions or if you have something to recommend or pitch.

Submit a form.

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Last update: Jul 31, 2020