I have completed my prototype and included it as part of my portfolio. I feel have done most of the preparation which was the part of the initial plan. Doing a design thinking exercise on my own, educating myself and producing UX deliverables has given me confidence in executing the design process.

Now, as I have gained confidence it is the right time to find the first customer. I woke up with great energy and did a business model canvas exercise. Here is my value proposition:

1. Helping startups to find a product-market fit.
2. Validating the business idea.
3. Creating multiple solutions for the same problem and testing them.

My customer segment is Business owners who are building on a new idea or any existing startup who is experimenting with an idea.

Since I have defined my target customer, I feel these are the things I should have absolute clarity on when I meet my target customer:

1. Explain the value proposition of the design process in a few sentences.
2. Why am I doing it?
3. Design process - What it takes, the duration of the design process. What is the right team? What are the deliverables of the design process?
4. Explaining failure as part of the design process.
5. What is the role of the UX designer?
6. What not to expect from UX designers?
7. Metrics of successful design engagement?
8. Cost?

Cost - I am caught in a chicken and egg problem. I have the skills but I have no experience. Why do people need an experienced person to execute a job?

Primarily, experience covers the risk? So the question is what are risks associated with a beginner doing the design exercise vs experienced UX designer?

1. A beginner will take more time/ Iterations - Can or can not be true.
2. Quality of deliverables - A beginner might not produce a high-quality deliverable.

There is a third point I wanted to write but I didn’t write which is “Complete failure”. I think this can not happen. The reason is the iterative nature of design thinking. If you fail you try another idea, you keep iterating unless you find success. The success of the design process is defined by many criteria which need to be measured. Since I will be working independently I need to define the metrics of success criteria and measure it during the test phase. This should be part of customer education.

As you see it is very hard to be objThis should be part of customer education.both of us bear 50% risk and it depends on the size of the engagement. I feel this is more of negotiation.

Next Steps.

1. Think like a business owner and keep adding questions.
2. Research on existing questions mentioned above.