This is how I accidentally started a comment war on Nextdoor with my first business failure.
The Idea:
My idea was to sell a discount card that would offer customers discounts at local businesses in my home town, like ice cream shops and cafes. My intention was to provide value to the customer by offering them discounts that would make the card pay itself off in a matter of purchases, while also supplying local businesses with new customers. My instinct before I even got started was that there would already be a million people selling something similar, but a quick google search made it seem like I didn't really have any competition. So, I got to work.
The Setup:
First, I decided that I needed a landing page. So, I spun up a basic design on Canva, before realizing that I needed a way to accept payments. I applied for a new checking account with my bank, and I started setting up my Stripe account. Setting up Stripe was a serious uphill battle, as my product wasn't for sale and they kept requesting information about my product which didn't yet exist. Once I got it set up to the point where I could link to a checkout screen, I finished up my landing page. Here's the link, its nothing fancy: Local Discounts
With my landing page set up, I had somewhere to direct customers, and I could accept payments. To make a discount card business, I would need to have some cards custom made, and buy a bulk order from some online manufacturer. I would then need to start calling up local businesses in order to get them to sign up and be a part of the discount program. That would be a lot of work, so I first wanted to validate my idea before investing time and money into the setup.
Validating The Idea:
I decided that the best thing to do would be to make a post on a social media platform, in order to collect emails for potential leads. I made a basic google form, and I was ready to start building my email list. First I made a business account on Nextdoor, but I got absolutely no engagement on my post. I decided that I should just make the post on my personal account, in order to add some personality to the post. This was what I posted:
The post has been up all day, it has 349 views, and my google form has 0 responses. So much for the email list. My post, on the other hand, got a lot more action. I was going to be Karen's next meal. Almost immediately after I put up the post, she pounced. Here is the entire conversation:
She accused me of running a self-fundraiser! I guess that's one way to put it... Then, this random guy comes to the rescue and calls out Karen. We need more people like this guy in the world.
The Bottom Line:
While my first project isn't really picking up steam, I'd say it was a learning experience, and I will carry on blocking out the HOA haters. It was my first time making a landing page, my first time using Stripe, my first post on Nextdoor, and my first time setting up an email list. I'm going to leave the post up until the end of the day, but if I've still got zero emails on my list I think I'll move on to another idea. It was worth a shot! I'm glad I made the effort to make sure anyone was interested before I started doing the heavy lifting.
The Idea:
My idea was to sell a discount card that would offer customers discounts at local businesses in my home town, like ice cream shops and cafes. My intention was to provide value to the customer by offering them discounts that would make the card pay itself off in a matter of purchases, while also supplying local businesses with new customers. My instinct before I even got started was that there would already be a million people selling something similar, but a quick google search made it seem like I didn't really have any competition. So, I got to work.
The Setup:
First, I decided that I needed a landing page. So, I spun up a basic design on Canva, before realizing that I needed a way to accept payments. I applied for a new checking account with my bank, and I started setting up my Stripe account. Setting up Stripe was a serious uphill battle, as my product wasn't for sale and they kept requesting information about my product which didn't yet exist. Once I got it set up to the point where I could link to a checkout screen, I finished up my landing page. Here's the link, its nothing fancy: Local Discounts
With my landing page set up, I had somewhere to direct customers, and I could accept payments. To make a discount card business, I would need to have some cards custom made, and buy a bulk order from some online manufacturer. I would then need to start calling up local businesses in order to get them to sign up and be a part of the discount program. That would be a lot of work, so I first wanted to validate my idea before investing time and money into the setup.
Validating The Idea:
I decided that the best thing to do would be to make a post on a social media platform, in order to collect emails for potential leads. I made a basic google form, and I was ready to start building my email list. First I made a business account on Nextdoor, but I got absolutely no engagement on my post. I decided that I should just make the post on my personal account, in order to add some personality to the post. This was what I posted:
The post has been up all day, it has 349 views, and my google form has 0 responses. So much for the email list. My post, on the other hand, got a lot more action. I was going to be Karen's next meal. Almost immediately after I put up the post, she pounced. Here is the entire conversation:
She accused me of running a self-fundraiser! I guess that's one way to put it... Then, this random guy comes to the rescue and calls out Karen. We need more people like this guy in the world.
The Bottom Line:
While my first project isn't really picking up steam, I'd say it was a learning experience, and I will carry on blocking out the HOA haters. It was my first time making a landing page, my first time using Stripe, my first post on Nextdoor, and my first time setting up an email list. I'm going to leave the post up until the end of the day, but if I've still got zero emails on my list I think I'll move on to another idea. It was worth a shot! I'm glad I made the effort to make sure anyone was interested before I started doing the heavy lifting.
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