You’ve probably heard of MVP, which stands for Minimum Viable Product. It is a product with enough features for early-adopter customers to use and provide feedback so you can improve the product before mass producing it.

Well, there is also a MVA, which stands for Minimum Viable Audience.

And like that, there are many Minimum Viable X (brand, segments, market, etc).

The idea is to start with a minimal version of whatever it is you are trying to create and test it with actual customers as soon as possible.

But starting a minimal business is a balancing act.

Too little development may allow competitors to imitate your product and may also establish a reputation for your business as a developer of unfinished products.

Too much development and you risk burning out before you ever make your product viable, let alone minimal.

Enter SLC

SLC stands for Simple, Lovable, and Complete.

SLC is about delivering the most value to customers with a simple set of completed features they love.

Take for example Google Docs (the document editor program from Google). It provides just a few of the features Microsoft Word provides. It’s a simple document editor. But the feature Google Docs has that customers love is the ability for multiple people to collaborate simultaneously on the document online (work from home anyone?).

What about SLCB?

That acronym I just made up.

It stands for Simple, Lovable, Complete Business. Could be pronounced “slick business.”

The idea is to provide small business entrepreneurs with a memorable approach to building and growing their business that focuses on delivering value.

I think SLC is appealing to enterprises because enterprises focus on scalability. However, small businesses could also benefit from SLC because small businesses focus on simplicity.

SLCM – the SLC version of the 5 pillars of marketing

The 5 pillars of marketing are People, Price, Promotion, Product, and Place.

The SLC version I’m proposing would be 3 Pillars: Audience, Product, and Offer.

Call it “slick marketing.”

SLC Audience

A small number of potential ideal customers (customers you’d love to work with).

SLC Product or Service

Develop a product or service that delivers the most value to customers with a simple set of completed features they love.

SLC Offer

Start with the highest value offer you can think of that can generate $10K to $50K in sales per month from all your customers.

SLCM Examples for Small Businesses

A kitchen cabinet reseller would need two customers per month to reach $50K/month.

SLC Audience	People in Miami, FL looking for affordable luxury kitchen cabinets online.
SLC Product	Italian modular kitchen cabinets MSRP $15K.
SLC Offer	$25K for kitchen cabinets fully installed within 4 weeks.

A chiropractor would need 50 patients per month to reach $25K/month.

SLC Audience	People in Miami Beach, FL experiencing chronic pain after an accident, injury or due to aging.
SLC Product	Therapeutic osteopathy services
SLC Offer	Full Body Evaluation, X-Rays, and 5 adjustments for $500 paid by insurance or worker’s comp, or payment plan.