Building your first business doesn't need to be hard.
This should only take about 7 mins to read.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of doing business coaching with some up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Two of the three are looking to build a SaaS product but are stuck figuring out where to start and what tech stack to use. Their ideas (for a first product) are a bit vague, and they think too big. I am not a dream killer by any means, but trying to build the next Facebook is probably not the best use of time when you are just getting started.
So I broke down the steps to start something low-risk to get their feet wet.
3 components:
1. Ideas
Most of my ideas stem from problems that I have or problems that I notice other people have. I am fortunate enough to have a service agency where we work with clients, and their problems become our problems, and we solve them. I recommend keeping a notebook or your Apple notes app close to you at all times. When you have a problem, write it down.
What was the problem?
What was I doing when I ran into that problem?
What solution do I need to solve that?
How does this problem affect me on a daily basis?
Keep track of those questions and keep going back to your notepad. Tally up the number of times you run into that same issue. If it’s more than three times, you have a problem that needs to be solved.
Here is an example:
One of my recent problems was keeping specific project and client information in one place. A central hub. We use so many tools:
Slack
Asana
Zendesk
Hubspot
Stripe
Qwilr
And there is client and project information scattered all around. It’s organized, but it’s not in one single place where I can get a pulse on a project. What did I do? I created thymeline.co.
Thymeline is a chrome extension + web app that lets you quickly capture and save important information into a TIMELINE view.
It saves the timestamp, date, URL, and any information you highlight on a website or tool. Extremely useful.
2. Rough outline:
Break down your idea into a few smaller pieces, such as:
Overview:
The general idea and the solution it provides.
Where did the idea originate from, and why is it relevant?
User journey:
How does the user interact with the app? How easy is it?
Visualize this and put it on paper so you can see it yourself. You will find some gaps you can fill while you draw this out.
Find potential users:
Figure out who your customers are.
My example above with Thymeline.co is primarily geared towards project managers. This is the demographic that I am after at the moment.
Reach out to those people, get their feedback and give them a free version of the product to use. They deserve it.
3. Building:
Most of these first-time apps should be built with no code for the sake of time, money, and upfront investment. The chances of your first app being a big success are low but not impossible. If your app or service takes off and it’s built on no code, you have a good problem on your hands. Don’t underestimate how powerful and scalable the no-code tools are.
Focus on a simple build, a simple app, and a simple solution. Solve your own problem.