Getting to Ramen profitability without distribution
Hi fellow Indies,
Here is the recipe I followed to reach Ramen profitability for my SaaS app CarrierWave. This is coming from the perspective of a developer without distribution.
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Multiple attempts: Forget about hitting a home run on your first at bat. Be a student. You may have to create many SaaS apps before one gets traction.
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Work backwards from a target: Want MRR of certain amount? Solve a problem that costs 10x that. 10:1 is a good ratio of price-to-value, people will buy without too much concern.
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Be problem-oriented: If you start with a solution, it's easy to build things that have no distribution. The ability to locate a problem proves you have at least some access to distribution.
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Stick with B2B: B2C requires stronger marketing skills. It's a pickier buyer at lower price point.
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Build with customers: Make sure you have at least one interested customer from day one of your build. Launch with MRR. No interested customer? Find a different idea.
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Avoid MRR myths: If you've been an employee or freelancer, your employer/client has already confirmed your work is worth MRR. Getting $100/month, in many ways is an easier sale than thousands per month.
Disclaimer: I'm no expert, just sharing what I've learned so far
Good tips Josh, thanks!
Great tips! Would you mind clarifying on "avoid MRR myths"? I'm not sure I understand what that list item says -- my interpretation is "don't pin all your hopes and dreams on a certain level of revenue" but the last bit about "easier sale" makes me think I don't understand
Sorry, I probably should have clarified more.
I meant that MRR is typically seen as a mythical thing that is super hard to achieve. Though that is partially true, it is also false. MRR is just a way to price. It's a way to share the cost of a system amongst the users.
Anyone doing freelancing or has been an employee, has confirmed their work to be worth thousands of dollars. So a $10 or $100 monthly plan in many ways is an easier sale, it's much less than thousands of dollars.
I hope that clarifies it a bit :)