How to Validate a Business Idea With One Google Doc
To validate a business idea, sell it before you build it. Write one simple offer page covering who it's for, the transformation, what's included and the price, then send it personally to people who already know and trust you. If they buy, you have proof. If they don't, you get feedback before spending months building.
About a year ago, I got a WhatsApp message from Marissa, co-host of the Thrive retreat and former COO at Boss Babe.
She was about to launch her mastermind and invited me to become a founding member. She was offering it to a hand-picked group, she said, and there was a link to read more.
It was a link to a Google Doc.
It made me smile. I opened it, read what was included and checked the price. An hour later I replied: I'm in.
Almost a year later, I'm still in. Did I care it was a Google Doc? Not one bit.
Why simplicity wins when you validate a business idea
People overcomplicate creating and selling an offer. They spend months building a website. Then more months building (and overthinking) a curriculum. Then they keep tweaking the offer page until it looks perfect.
What they're not doing is validating the idea by selling it.
That gets expensive. When CB Insights analysed 101 startup post-mortems, 42% named "no market need" as a reason they failed, the top reason on the list. Your offer is smaller than a startup, but the trap is the same: building something before you know anyone will pay for it.
What you need on one page to sell before you build
To validate an offer idea, you need one page and a good dose of clarity on five things.
Your bigger picture. What you're building long term. It only matters to you, but it stops you launching offers that pull you off course.
Your ideal customer for this offer. Who it's for, and who it isn't.
The transformation and what's included. Where she'll be at the end, and what she gets along the way.
Your positioning, including price. Price is part of your positioning, not an afterthought.
Social proof. Evidence you can deliver the transformation. This is why starting with 1:1 work first helps so much.
Once those five are clear, you need a page that covers them and a link you can share.
That's exactly the order we work in inside The GYM membership. Clarity on the five points first. Then the offer page. Everything else comes later.
Pro tip: A Google Doc, a Notion page or a one-page site all work. The format doesn't matter. What matters is that a reader can answer "is this for me, what do I get, what does it cost, and why her?" within three minutes.
The offer audit: why this founding member offer sold
Marissa got a handful of founding members, and most of us are still in the group almost a year later. One Google Doc, shared with the right people, turned into monthly recurring revenue and a significant lifetime value.
So why did it work so well?
Trust. Everyone she invited had been at the Thrive retreat and seen her magic in real life. In Nielsen's 2021 Trust in Advertising study, 88% of people said they trust recommendations from people they know over every other channel. We buy from people we already know, like and trust.
Exclusivity. Being hand-picked made me feel special. And when you're chosen, you want to live up to it.
The room. The mentor matters, but so does who else is in it. I knew this group. Saying no meant watching it happen without me.
A founding member price. Marissa is expensive 1:1. Against that anchor, the founding price felt like a smart decision.
Research. She'd been in the room with us at the retreats. She knew advanced business owners wanted coaching, and also wanted to learn from others at the same level.
She validated and kept it simple. An offer idea and a Google Doc. No curriculum, no fancy website.
"What's the worst that can happen?" It's my mindset every time I launch an offer. If people say no, you still get feedback that your offer needs work.
The doc was the simple part. The trust, the research and the clarity came before it, and those take time to build. The room, the experience and the curriculum came after the idea was validated.
Pro tip: A founding member price only feels like a smart decision when there's an anchor next to it. Show what the offer or your 1:1 work normally costs, then the founding price. Without the anchor, a lower price just looks cheap.
The offer idea you keep coming back to
Is there an offer idea sitting in your head, waiting for the website, the curriculum, the perfect page, or your confidence?
You don't need any of that to find out if it sells. You need one page, and the right people to send it to.
Your first customers are most likely already in your contact list. I wrote about how to get your first clients from the people who already know you, and if you want to see how fast an idea can move once it's clear, read from idea to ready to launch in 8 hours.
Before you validate your business idea: the 5-mistake offer audit
Have an offer idea you want to test? Before you build anything else, run this quick audit. Be honest with yourself.
Are you overcomplicating your launch?
Are you overthinking your curriculum?
Are you building the content before you validate that people will buy from you?
Are you setting up complicated apps and tools before you validate?
Are you trying to sell to strangers before the people who already know, like and trust you?
Most likely, you don't need any of this yet. Keep it simple and validate first.
And if you want a second pair of eyes, that's what my Offer Diagnosis is for. In 40 minutes, you walk away with a plan to fix your offer and launch it.
Get the next Growth Letter
Every week I send one story like this one, the offer lesson inside it, and one thing to do about your own offer that week. Join the Growth Letters and get the next one in your inbox before it lands on the blog.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you validate a business idea without a website?
Write one page that explains who the offer is for, the transformation, what's included and the price, then send it personally to people who already know and trust you. A Google Doc is enough. If people buy, the idea is validated. If they don't, their questions show you what to fix.
What does "sell before you build" mean?
Selling before you build means getting paid commitments for an offer before you create the full program, curriculum or website. It proves there is demand, and your first buyers help shape what you build, so you don't spend months on content nobody asked for.
What should an offer page include?
An offer page needs five things: who the offer is for, the transformation it delivers, what's included, the price, and proof you can deliver the result, such as testimonials or client outcomes from your 1:1 work.
Who should you send a new offer to first?
Start with people who already know and trust you: past clients, former colleagues, your network and people who have seen your work in person. Recommendations from people we know are the most trusted source of information, so a personal invitation converts far better than a post to strangers.
What is a founding member offer?
A founding member offer invites a small, hand-picked group to join a new program first, usually at a lower price than it will cost later. It rewards early trust, fills the program before it is fully built, and gives you real feedback to shape it.
How do you know if your offer idea is validated?
Your offer idea is validated when people pay for it or commit to it, not when they say it sounds great. Compliments cost nothing. A sale, a deposit or a completed application is the evidence that counts.
