“Get a few customers first and then create your product”.
This is the most important advice I give to early stage entrepreneurs in this fast pace and ever changing start up ecosystem.
Many will feel I m crazy, but let me explain.
1) Loving your product / service is the worst thing any business can do for itself. If you love your product more than the intention to help your clients, you will not like any bad feedback and so changing the product altogether is impossible for such businesses. Better strategy would be to keep in mind from very start the whatever product we are creating, we are going to change it. Even if your product is good to start, you can always change it to make is better for your clients.
2) Start ups tend to get involved in creating business plans, 1 year projection, 5 year projects. Dude you can never predict any products future in today’s ecosystem like that. Clients psychology change, law change, technology change and heck, your maturity will change in the next five year. Dont waste you time in any such activities, GO TO WORK.
3) People think success comes if you do a business or job in the field of your PASSION. This is complete bull crap. Time and again I have seen that in which ever field you start finding success, you automatically develop some amount of passion in it. Just remember your past, you school or youth. You develop passion for subjects in which you get good marks, or you like the sports in which you get some success and were able to play good. Just think, if we are born blank, then how can passion be inherit, we see our parents do something, they teach us, we find success and then we develop passion.
4) Do not set yourself up to be a failure, start with small client base. Choose any problem they might be facing, any, and just help them solve it. Then you will come to know some problems in your solution, improve it, then you will find a cheaper way to solve the problem. adopt the cheaper way and improve further. This way initially pressure is very low as client base is small. You can also start with offering free service initially.
5) Very important: The more problems you solve, the more money you will make. If you are able to solve problem for a particular type of people, remember the same people might be having more than one problems to solve and thus you can increase you product or service offerings.
6) If you lose your focus any time and start selling your product without thinking if will solve a problem form your client, you will start loosing the game. If you product does not solve any problem, your client will not need it. And if you still try to sell them that crap, they will start ignoring you, stop picking you calls and stop talking to you.
Last but not the least mistakes start ups make: To solve a problem, you do not need an office and employees and front desk and website and 100 different stuff that you might allow yourself to buy and spend your angle money on. Start from 0. Start solving for FREE. Your first clients can be your parents, friends, brother, sister. Dont tell them that you are solving their problem as a business person, but you keep that in mind and then offer the same product to others outside your primary circle.
Beyond last: If you have any more question, ask. Dont be shy, be a hustler.