PTPA #013: Happy Holidays! 5 things I've learned this year about creating products

Thank you for reading, watching, messaging, and just being there in this crazy 2022.

In this last article of the year, I want to share with you 5 things I learned this year and how they helped me to create my own products and grow my audience.

I hope these personal lessons serve as a guide to make 2023 the year you create your own products!

But why should you think about creating your own Product in 2023?

• Creating your own product will give aspiring PMs the PM experience they need to apply to roles.
• Creating your own product will make you a better Product Manager - there's too much we take for granted in organizations.
• There's no better feeling than making your first $1 with a product you created.

Now, let's dive in.

Consume better content

In 2021, my Twitter timeline was full of memes, politics, fun videos, video games, and dogs.

Nothing wrong with it however, 90% of my time on these apps was to be entertained and getting distracted. And once you start scrolling… you get sucked into a vortex of eternal scrolling.

Social media apps can be considered a distraction from your personal goals... if you don't use them to learn.

In 2022, I switched to following more topics on solopreneurship, content creation, no-code building, startup tools, and course creation, including unfollowing some accounts from 2021.

I feel like I learned more in 2022 about creating my business, products, marketing, strategy, and writing than during my - absurdly expensive- MBA.

Take the time to think about what are you interested in and start searching for experts and creators in those topics.

Understand the 2 principles of solving a problem

I was very used to saying: "I don't have time to do X".

Then I learned that every problem you try to solve can be accomplished in 2 ways:

• Throw money at the problem
• Invest time to solve the problem

Many people often tell me that they have no money to invest in creating a product, hiring a team, or buying expensive software; for them, the great news is that you don't need money, just time.

Today, there are so many free tools to create websites, automation, no-code tools, content, and planning, that you don't even need be a software developer or invest a single cent to create your product.

I learned that it's not about "not having time". It is about choosing trade-offs.

• I stopped opening Instagram or Tiktok when I had a "downtime".
• I stopped watching so TV as much as I used to.
• I didn't go out every single weekend.
• I didn't buy every single new game.

I started having so much "free" time, that I invested it in creating content, websites, and 2 courses, enrolling 1,150+ students in 5 months!

"I don't have time" is another way to say that you prefer to spend your time doing other things. Just like when PMs create Products, our day-to-day is also about prioritization.

Listen more

I spent the first half of 2022 listening to people talk about their problems. In each conversation I wrote down:

• What stresses them out?
• What do they struggle with?
• Why are their problems not being solved?

The more time I spent listening to others, the more I started thinking:

• Can I solve their problems?
• Can I do it better/faster/easier than competitors?

Halfway through 2022, I had a list of my top 10 problems to solve - the first one being problems with PM interviews, which led to the creation of my course.

Now it’s a matter of either throwing money or time to solve the other problems.

If you want to get people (strangers) to talk with you about their problems you have to show that you can help them. How?

• Talk online about industries/topics you are interested in. You’ll attract an audience interested in those topics.

• Find people talking about those problems on places like LinkedIn and Twitter. Asking questions by responding to their posts is a good way to start.

Make your goal in 2023 to talk to at least 1 stranger each month to learn about their problems and struggles.

Find topics you are passionate about

In the time I have talked about Product Management I’ve seen waves of content creators come and go who also want to talk about Product Management. Most stop quickly.

Most aspiring PMs start creating content and stop shortly after because they believe that to get into PM they should talk about PM.

However, this doesn't work. Instead, they should talk about topics they are passionate about and even create products within those topics.

Most experienced PMs who also start talking about PM stop because they are passionate about their role, not about talking about it.

If your goal is to create content in 2023, find topics you are interested in and can sustain for a long time. Find topics you care about, don’t create content on topics just because everyone else is talking about it.

Be a Guide, not a Hero

If 2022 taught me something is that people want guides, not heroes.

For a long time, I asked myself: why do people follow me? Why do people recommend others to reach out to me? Why are YOU reading this?

The more time I spent listening to others the more I realized that everyone is the hero of their own story. These heroes - you - search for a guide (like Luke searches for Yoda) not for other heroes.

Once that “clicked”, I focused on guiding everyone around me, knowing that I’m not the hero in their story, but the guide that could help them achieve their goals.

What does this have to do with creating products?

The more time you spend helping others and spending your time making others successful, the more people you will attract.

Think about it for a moment, when was the last time you bought a product or service from a brand you don’t trust? Exactly.

It’s been an absolute thrill sharing these Newsletters with you!
I wish you all the best for the holidays and here’s to an incredible 2023 where your products thrive and your goals are reached!

See you next year!

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. The best digital products to get your next Product Manager offer:
   • The Product Interview Operating System for acing your interviews here. (1150+ students!)
   • Rock your PM resume with everything you need to get an interview here. (300+ students!)
2. Schedule a 1:1 session with me for Mock Interviews and Career Guidance here. 
3. Promote your brand/business to 8K+ Newsletter subscribers by sponsoring content.