I hope you enjoyed our posts in January. My goal was to give you basic directions on the things you need to do if you are thinking of starting a business in 2018. But one view point is never enough to get a clear notion into any situation, that's why I want you to read the stories of 3 business owners who had no idea where to start from, yet they turned into a big success.
Andrea Thomas
1. Introduce yourself and your business.
I’m Andrea Thomas, an e-commerce strategist who helps online store owners reach more people, sell more products and make more money…profitably.
2. Did you always know you want to start a business? How did you come up with the idea of starting your business?
I wanted to start a business, just wasn’t quite sure what. The opportunity presented itself when my firstborn needed a solution for her itchy skin 2 months after she was born. When no solution was available, I created one. They worked so well for her, I knew other parents needed to get their hands on this one too.I became the mastermind behind the ScratchMeNot!
3. What was the first thing you did when you decided you will create a startup?
Research research research. I knew my daughter needed the ScratchMeNot but how many other people needed it? All of this as I was creating prototypes and testing! It was such a whirlwind of excitement as I prepared to make them available online.
4. Did you have the full support of your family and friends?
To be honest, my family and friends didn’t really understand what I was doing. They were supportive, especially my husband because he saw they were working for our daughter.
5. Did you doubt yourself and your idea?
Doubt? Yes, I was a new mom, just quit my full time job and was building a business from the ground up without help. But I began knowing my solution worked, it was just a matter of reaching the right customer.
6. What was the most difficult part to complete before launch?
Making sure they were the best quality for little ones who would be actively using them daily.
7. Were you 100% ready for the launch?
No, I never tried to be 100% ready, I was trying to get products on their little one’s hands asap! I kept working to get products in their hands, each day searching for other ways to get my products in front of their eyes.
8. How soon did success come after you launched your business?
When the first person ordered and emailed me to tell me they were working for their child and the relief they were getting, THIS was a success for me, one less child who was damaging their skin by intense scratching thanks to the ScratchMeNot. Then another parent told me it helped her little one stop pulling her hair and her hair was growing back in. Next thing you know, the reviews kept coming in.I hit sales in 2 week and has been consistently growing ever sense!
9. Your best piece of advice to any person who is thinking of starting a business in 2018?
Remember starting a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Consistency is key. If you want to see your products and sales flourish, pick a strategy and give yourself a timeframe to work it to see the results. Starting and stopping can kill your sales and momentum.
Visit Andrea's website: www.growmyonlineshop.com www.scratchmenot.com
Check her on Facebook:
Zacharia Grierson
1. Introduce yourself and your business.
My name is Zac, I’m 27 and been a self-empowered entrepreneur since I was 14, my company is DarkRhino Limited, we build software for marketplaces and gaps in the market.
2. Did you always know you want to start a business? How did you come up with the idea of starting your business?
I never really imagined working on my own business, it was purely out of needing to solve something that I found frustrating.
3. What was the first thing you did when you decided you will create a startup?
Build the product, the business side came second, I actually learnt the hard way how to keep it alive.
4. Did you have the full support of your family and friends?
Not really, my family didn’t understand computers so it bounced of them.
5. Did you doubt yourself and your idea?
No, I was very focused on it. I never doubted myself or the idea just the target audience.
6. What was the most difficult part to complete before launch?
Being happy with the product. Constant reviews make you want to finish one more thing.
7. Were you 100% ready for the launch?
Never was and still am not. Haha. It’s a constant moving target even after 2 years of being the leader of the market.
8. How soon did success come after you launched your business?
Straight away. It was like a fire that has no stopped since.
9. Your best piece of advice to any person who is thinking of starting a business in 2018?
Lock yourself in a room and begin. Don’t pay attention to negative views or doubts, no matter what it is, it will work if YOU are determined.
Visit Zac's website:
Connect on Social Media:
Ila Fit
1. Introduce yourself and your business.
Hi, I’m Ila. I’m a 21 years old student and recovery coach for women with overeating, binging and body image issues. I have suffered from eating disorders myself and I have always been a nerd, so when I realised I had a problem, I ran to the other thing that gave me relief apart from food: studying. I read books, talked to psychologists and psychiatrists, spent weeks in clinics, listened to podcasts, watched documentaries, analysed medical papers, literally dived into any source I could find to help myself. It was a long, tiring, painful, lonely process. I don't want anyone to ever feel like I did. I don't want anyone to feel lost and scared, torn between feeling like there is too much and not enough information out there.
2. Did you always know you want to start a business? How did you come up with the idea of starting your business? After having recovered, I started getting messages from the people on the Facebook communities I used to be part of, asking me to help them through the same process. I realised that all the knowledge I had accumulated was something I had to share. I needed to give others the opportunity to learn all this in a compassionate and loving environment, with the appropriate guidance and understanding.
And this is how my business was born. It is the support I would have wanted for myself when I realised that this could not be my life.
3. What was the first thing you did when you decided you will create a startup? At first, I didn’t even realise that this is where I was going with my career. I started offering support for free, but soon realised that it was not sustainable for me. So I created a series of pdfs, that I still offer for free, to help those who didn’t want a one to one relationship, while starting to charge for those who saw the value of what I was providing them.
4. Did you have the full support of your family and friends?
Initially it was scary, because most of the people I know didn’t know about my complicated relationship with food. When you binge or eat in secret and then feel so guilty about it that you don’t want to get out of the house, people can’t always tell from the outside. They might notice some weight gain, but they would assume it’s from too much partying, not from a self hate so profound that forces you to fill that void inside. I was afraid of being judged, but I was instead praised for what I was starting, and that meant the world to me.
5. Did you doubt yourself and your idea?
My biggest worry was about being judged as a vulture: when I started advertising my business I got several messages telling me that I shouldn’t ask for money and that if I did I was a greedy person. It took strength to keep trusting in my why: if I had to launch my business while also working to earn a living, I would not have been able to provide my clients with the support they deserved.
6. What was the most difficult part to complete before launch?
Honestly? Just doing it. Once I launched things started to simply flow smoothly and I started receiving feedback and adjusting my programs accordingly. So if you are scared: just start.
7. Were you 100% ready for the launch?
Absolutely not, I had the main material and an idea of where I wanted to lead it, but that was about it. Thanks to my first clients I was able to refine my material, create different kind of tools for different personalities and find out about the best ways to help each person.
8. How soon did success come after you launched your business?
The first month or so was pretty much crickets, but from the second month I started getting clients, that then started talking about me in their communities and that referred me to their friends, and soon I was booked for the following three months!
9. Your best piece of advice to any person who is thinking of starting a business in 2018? If you believe in it, do it. I don’t think that life has a meaning, I think that it can have the meaning you give to it. If you want to go through life just reacting to circumstances, that’s a choice. But if you want to actively create and take charge of the direction of your life, then it will truly be meaningful.
Join Ila's Facebook Group:
Comentários