It’s tempting to jump straight into design mode. Logo. Website. Fonts. “Ooh, what if I called my premium clothing brand, Tee Haus”?
Pause.
Before you touch any of that, ask yourself: Does this solve a real problem for someone?
You don’t need everyone to love it. You just need a few people to care enough to pay. That’s your signal.
A good starting point is to dive onto the web and look for what’s broken. Spend time reading Amazon reviews, Reddit threads, TikTok comments. Chances are, people have been yelling into the void about what annoys them, what they wish existed, or what confuses them.
You’ll start to notice patterns and phrases like “I wish this came in a refillable option” or “everything smells too artificial”. That’s gold.
Once you’ve spotted something promising, test it in the lowest-lift way possible. You can:
- Build a waitlist page and share it on social
- Offer a presale to early customers
- Send a direct message to five people and ask them if they’d actually buy it
It doesn’t have to be polished, it just has to be real. Because the goal isn’t hype: it’s validation. Let me show you what that looks like in action.
Pick tools that grow with you, not against you
The biggest trap early founders fall into is tool overload. You hear about the tech stack that million-dollar brands are using and think, “Maybe I need that too?”.
You don’t.
Start lean, but smart, and focus on tools that:
- Solve the problem you are facing right now
- Can talk to each other (integrations matter more than you think)
- Won’t make you want to throw your laptop across the room
Let’s say you’re launching a direct-to-consumer skincare brand. You don’t need a custom-coded checkout flow or 18 backend apps.
But you do need:
- A clean, mobile-friendly storefront (like Shopify)
- A way to accept payments (Stripe, PayPal)
- A simple order manager that scales with you (like Order Desk)
- A way to email your early customers (like Kit)
Don’t over-complicate the beginning. You can always add more later.
Automate the boring stuff now (your future self will thank you)
Fulfillment isn’t often flashy. But it’s where early-stage stores win or lose.
If your process involves checking your inbox, copying addresses into spreadsheets, and manually updating stock, I hate to break it to you, but you’re building on chaos. And burnout is a few clicks away.
Instead, set up a simple system that handles the basics:
- Orders come in → route them to your supplier or warehouse
- Inventory updates across all your channels
- Customers get shipping info automatically
The point isn’t to go full robot, but to free yourself up to focus on growth instead of wasting time on tedious tasks.
Final thoughts: Don’t wait for perfect. Just start.
You will never feel 100% ready. That’s not a flaw, it’s the process.
There will always be one more thing to research. One more thing to tweak. But clarity comes from action. Feedback comes from real people interacting with your offer, not from thinking about it in isolation for six months.
That first product won’t be your final product. That first customer might be your cousin. That first version of your store will look cringey in a year… and that’s exactly how it should be.
Start anyway.
Try this out:
Pick one thing from this guide and take action. Just one.
→ Validate your idea by asking five people what they’d actually buy
→ Set up a basic Shopify store with one test product
→ Try automating one task with Order Desk (even if it’s just sending tracking emails)
Then come share it in the Order Desk Facebook Community. We love hearing what you’re building and offer advice or simply cheer you on!
