business-plan, customer-developmentI am doing CAD software for a specific engineering field ( construction engineers). Even though I have not worked a single day in this field, but nonetheless I already have a well selling product, targeting a niche of this field.
I feel that my product and my service rendered to construction engineers have reached a limit because of my lack of hands-on experience.
In order to overcome this, I want to get some of the client’s job, to feel customer’s pain and invent better solutions for them ( do things that don’t scale). I don’t think my customers can articulate their pain points better than what my own experience can teach me.
Given that
Because of this, I am not even sure they would give me the jobs even if I want to work for free. How can I ask them for real life jobs?
Note: As my operation is a small one, I can’t afford to hire a domain expert.
Some of the best advice that I’ve received, which is admittedly difficult to practice, is: hire those who are better than you.
Plenty of people have founded successful companies in industries where they are not experts in. Obviously those who have what you don’t in terms of experience have an advantage so you must continue learning your craft as fast as you can. So in the mean time find the talent that you need. It isn’t necessarily financially expensive. Even in the beginning.
Also, I don’t buy your second point. You can potentially have many downsides: 1. losing your credibility and the client’s respect, 2. losing your revenue, 3. not getting any future business, and 4. getting sued. Make sure they understand that.
You may consider setting milestones in your contract so that they only pay on your performance. I am sure that will ease at least some of their concerns.
There are several approaches to getting “real world experience” -
Request an internship. These are specifically designed to be a cooperation between someone that is learning and a company that can potentially benefit from teaching that person. Sometimes these are paid, sometimes you do not get paid. But you gain experience. If you have a product that is selling, asking your clients if their companies have internships available should be easy.
Look for a partnership. Very few, if any, valuable ideas and companies ever come from a single person. Ask clients or colleagues that have the expertise you are looking for to join you and share in the profits. How you arrange ownership and profit sharing is usually negotiated on a case-by-case basis.
Look for an entry level job. These are jobs where the employer is specifically expecting you to have minimal experience. You probably won’t get an “ideal” job this way (working specifically on whatever you want), in fact you might be doing something very different from what you are thinking of doing right now. But, if it takes you 6 months or a year to get to a place of trust, it’s better to start doing that now rather than doing things that don’t work for the next six months - and then you decide this is an acceptable route.
Since you recognize that you have a lot to learn, it’s important to also recognize that you may not know which approach is the best one. You might not think a partnership will work, for example, until you start really looking for a good partner. So, these are just some options.
Since obtaining the domain knowledge can ultimately also help the Client:
Discuss with the Client the possibility of getting some work experience or internship, but tie it to a discount in the product for a specific period, or an extra licence/module for free.
You will need to be committed to the role, as your reputation/deal will be at stake
All content is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.