sales, young-entrepreneursI turn 15 in a few months. I’m a programmer with a bit of experience and I have a “simple” idea that I think would target small businesses. I’ve been looking around and haven’t found anything that compares to what I’m doing, advertisements for web development firms that would do the same thing.
I still need to do a bit more research on the market for such a tool before I start, but I don’t want to directly dive into the code if there isn’t a chance for me to sell this and I’m not sure how I would promote such a product–I would have to directly sell it to them.
How would one go about even trying to promote this at my age? I will have a really tough time trying to sell this, but really would like to gain face-to-face experience with companies.
I understand that I probably am way underestimating the amount of work needed to do something like this (most startups fail), but I am not here for the money, I’m here for the experience.
Very similar to, but not slightly different context: https://startups.stackexchange.com/q/64. Clarification: I seem to be a bit younger than the OP for that question and my idea is to work directly with businesses, not with general consumers.
I like this question a lot because you have identified a fundamental business truth: sales are your lifeblood. It isn’t just young entrepreneurs that have trouble with sales – it’s a challenge for almost all businesses and especially startups.
The fact that you’re asking this question shows good insight. So many startups fail because they assume “if we build it they will come buy it,” only to realize that sales are far more difficult than they anticipated.
There is no easy solution for how to sell. You need to dig up customers. Treat every lead like a diamond in the rough. Polish it into a sale. Find people that will pay for your product or service any way you can. Learn what sales techniques work and learn what doesn’t work. You’re mining for diamonds.
The “doing” of your business – writing code, making widgets, providing some service, etc. – that’s a given and you need to be REALLY good at that. Being the expert is the easy part. I’m not saying the work is easy. It’s easy because you are an expert and that’s why people should pay you.
The hard part is going to be sales, and that’s the way it should be. If your product is awesome and people out there will benefit from using it, you’ll find a way to get it in their hands. Over time, it’ll get easier, but sales will probably be your number one concern when running your business.
As for your youth, that’s just another aspect of the overall challenge of making sales. You’ll have to find a way to get customers, either by digging up leads yourself, advertising, enlisting the help of others, anything you can think of.
Do you or your family know anyone who owns his or her own business or works in sales? Talk to them about their process and ask for advice. Finding a mentor is often a valuable first step.
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