By Kelly Lawrence
Documenting and challenging assumptions is critical to the success of every business. Yet, many project teams don’t do it. Why?
According to Google:
an assumption is a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.
Some common objections:
If a piece of information is accepted as true, why challenge it?
It’s a waste of time.
We’re under pressure to deliver on time.
If you have said or heard a version of these excuses, please keep reading. We’ll use my first business as a case study. With the coming of Spring, I hope you find it festive yet thought provoking.
Assumption 1: Every Bunny Can Participate
My 10th birthday with my first two bunnies & grandmother. Yes, that is a Polaroid & bad 80’s hair.
I started my first business at the age of 10 with the purpose to breed and sell Mini Lop rabbits. It all started with a desire to show in 4-H and a wonderfully supportive mother who surprised me with two mixed breed bunnies for my birthday.
Upon 4-H registration, I discovered that in order to show, I needed a pure breed of rabbit. Our family loved our first two bunnies so they became pets. After researching rabbit breeds, I selected the Mini Lop. It was a newer breed, growing in popularity and commanding a premium price. I located a respected breeder and came home with my first Mini Lop named Thumper. I was set to show.
Or so I thought. Thumper had an imperfection versus the breed standard that both the breeder and I missed. Luckily, this land mine was discovered with enough time to correct it so I could still show.
Assumption 2: All Bunnies “Multiply Like Rabbits”
The breeder promised to make things right. He told me to come over right away and he would give me Thumper’s parents so I could show. Maybe I would like to start breeding Mini Lops and start my own business?
I was so excited! Much to my mother’s dismay, we left the breeder with Thumper and his parents bringing our bunny total to 5 and grand plans to start a Mini Lop business.
A 4-H Mini Lop rabbit show. I am 4th from the right with the award-winning bunny who helped me gain customers.
How hard could it be? $20 per baby, four to eight babies per litter, four to six litters per year per mama... With aspirations to make several thousand dollars while having fun, I was all-in. With the anticipated expansion, it was time to make an investment. I scraped together $300 for more bunny
housing.
It turns out the phrase “multiply like rabbits” did not apply to Mini Lops. It took several months to get the first litter and when the babies came, it was so cold they froze despite preparations. We kept trying and eventually got a healthy litter, but there were only three babies. Would this business ever be profitable?
Assumption 3: Catastrophic Events Are for Other Bunnies
Things were finally turning around. I had a few litters of reasonable size, all the cages were full and I had customers. I was finally going to turn a profit. Then tragedy struck. A predator came and killed Thumper. I was heart-broken and thanks to my wonderfully supportive family was quick to spend $1,500 to modify our barn to allow fresh air in while keeping predators out.
Lessons:
How might my first business have been impacted if I had written down my assumptions and spent the time up front to validate them? Could I have…
improved my sourcing?
better understood operating requirements?
prepared earlier for predators?
Absolutely. My first business never got out of the red, but the experience taught me valuable lessons: document your assumptions and do the research to challenge and validate them. I have since applied this philosophy to multi-million dollar R&D projects that have delivered significant results. Aside from the privilege of working with incredibly talented people, one reason for our success was a team willingness to document and challenge assumptions.
What assumptions will you challenge?
About Kelly Lawrence
Kelly Lawrence is the Founder and CEO of Lawrence Innovation. We bring over two decades of expertise in converting customer and market insights to growth. We’ve delivered results for B2B innovators around the world including Berkshire Hathaway’s Lubrizol & Fortune Brands’ Moen. We know how to identify profitable problems to solve, develop and communicate unique value propositions, and implement profitable business models that generate results.