I'm taking a new approach to this whole entrepreneurship thing and ACTUALLY attempting to follow the advice given to me by this forum. Namely, focusing on the creation of value.
In light of that... here is the plan:
1. Identify a genuine problem electrical contractors have that they would be willing to pay money to solve.
2. Develop an effective solution to that problem (obviously this is easier said than done) I am hoping I am able to leverage existing skills but ultimately I will do whatever is needed to solve the problem.
3. Sell that solution for a fair price and collect feedback.
4. Improve. Sell more. Improve. Sell more.
No business cards. No courses. No action faking. Just a guy trying to solve a problem.
So here's what I've done so far in pursuit of this plan...
1) Posted to Reddit and electrician forums essentially asking contractors what their greatest challenges are. When I get someone in my target demo who is willing to have a full conversation, I put them on a spreadsheet. The end goal is to have 20-30 interviews over the phone with predetermined questions aimed at identifying common pain points as well as what contractors would be willing to pay to solve them.
"But why would they talk to you?"
Good point. Most won't. But if I talk to 200 frustrated people... and I open with "would you be willing to complain to me?"
Some are going to bite. And that's what I've found thus far.
The people I've messaged and those who have responded to my posts have listed the following issues...
- Chaotic operations (sailing in a tsunami)
- Existing payroll calculators suck
- Cash flow problems
- It's difficult to get paid (on time)
- It's difficult to find good help in some places
- scheduling nightmares
- wasting time on estimates
My thoughts for how to proceed are simply to try and initiate some phone interviews in order to collect more data. I know I'm good on the phone and this is as good a time as any to leverage that skill.
I am not under the impression that I'm going to get a multi-million dollar idea from a phonecall and launch a company in a week... but I believe shifting my focus to the problems of others is a good start.
Any and all feedback is appreciated! Ideas for next steps, or whatever you feel inclined to share.
Thank you all!
In light of that... here is the plan:
1. Identify a genuine problem electrical contractors have that they would be willing to pay money to solve.
2. Develop an effective solution to that problem (obviously this is easier said than done) I am hoping I am able to leverage existing skills but ultimately I will do whatever is needed to solve the problem.
3. Sell that solution for a fair price and collect feedback.
4. Improve. Sell more. Improve. Sell more.
No business cards. No courses. No action faking. Just a guy trying to solve a problem.
So here's what I've done so far in pursuit of this plan...
1) Posted to Reddit and electrician forums essentially asking contractors what their greatest challenges are. When I get someone in my target demo who is willing to have a full conversation, I put them on a spreadsheet. The end goal is to have 20-30 interviews over the phone with predetermined questions aimed at identifying common pain points as well as what contractors would be willing to pay to solve them.
"But why would they talk to you?"
Good point. Most won't. But if I talk to 200 frustrated people... and I open with "would you be willing to complain to me?"
Some are going to bite. And that's what I've found thus far.
The people I've messaged and those who have responded to my posts have listed the following issues...
- Chaotic operations (sailing in a tsunami)
- Existing payroll calculators suck
- Cash flow problems
- It's difficult to get paid (on time)
- It's difficult to find good help in some places
- scheduling nightmares
- wasting time on estimates
My thoughts for how to proceed are simply to try and initiate some phone interviews in order to collect more data. I know I'm good on the phone and this is as good a time as any to leverage that skill.
I am not under the impression that I'm going to get a multi-million dollar idea from a phonecall and launch a company in a week... but I believe shifting my focus to the problems of others is a good start.
Any and all feedback is appreciated! Ideas for next steps, or whatever you feel inclined to share.
Thank you all!
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