I am stuck! How can I proceed with my project?
Two weeks ago I started working on a project along with my day job. It is a shared whiteboard application on which I would like to start a small business. Actually the main reason for this is to learn how to get from idea to launch.
So far I've created a value proposition one pager, hired a graphics designer on fiverr and bought a logo from him. I bought a domain too. I did some market research: I have a spreadsheet about the competition and their products. I've also spent the last week on coding the client side.
Btw there is a short demo video
And now I am stuck. I know what is missing from engineering point of view to have an MVP. I've already created a backlog for that, but I don't know how to move forward with the business and marketing. I don't want to spend all my time on coding, because that seems to be less important for the time being.
I have some vague ideas about the next steps. I am going to need a website. Yet I don't know if it is enough to buy some cheap Wordpress template or should I hire a firm to create a nice design for me.
I don't know if I should start an LLC now or should I wait. I have no idea if I need social media presence or not, and if yes which social media is important in my field.
Or should I hire a marketing/growth professional to help me out? I've seen people on fiverr offering marketing strategy plans.
If you have any suggestion, idea, or feedback, please share it, I'd appreciate it.
TL;DR Don't start an LLC. Don't worry about social media. Stop working on the product. Finish validating the need and then build a landing page.
I think you should spend a little more time on your idea. You say there are other similar products out there. Why would someone pick yours over theirs? Your first priority is knowing the answer to that question. One option is to try to find people who are using an existing product but have particular complaints. Maybe they have a use-case that none of the existing products are working for?
If you can find a group of people like that, then you have two things:
If you can talk to some of these people without creating a website or anything, then that would be ideal. If not, hopefully you can find forum posts or something to try to get inside their head.
Once you know who your target customer is, then you use something like a cheap Wordpress template for a landing page. Focus on the language. You want it to appeal to your particular target customer. Create mockups. Don't write any software. Have a "learn more" email address capture form on the landing page.
Once you've created the landing page, then you want to drive traffic to it. You can use ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc). If you really did see evidence of a cohesive group that had particular pain, you should already have other ideas of where to post this sort of thing. Forum posts, Reddit threads, etc. Your goal here is to determine whether there's an actual need.
Maybe a bunch of people give you their emails, demonstrating that there's a need for your product. Maybe no one does. Maybe some do.
This is hard. Harder than building a product. But it's more important.
Zak,
thanks for the very detailed response! Yes, validation is hard, especially to me, for two main reasons:
Anyway, I am going to try to validate first.
Thanks again!
I get it!
You can get a surprising amount done without talking to people on the phone (much).
When I was getting customers for my product I spent a bit of time calling people, but ended up switching to email. It was more efficient in some ways, but if I'm being honest it was partially for the same introverted reasons.
Good luck!