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- Jan 17, 2023
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This post is for anyone who wants to ignore Control in CENTS in their Fastlane business, like I did.
I've been in my fastlane for several months now and have/had a few hurdles to overcome. A few skillset hurdles, but above all a lot of mental hurdles. Procrastination, self-doubt, lack of skillset, etc. But the fact is that I released a product some time ago that was very well received by my target group. It is software to support professional digital marketers with data-driven decisions. Specifically, it is a Chrome Extension. The user base is constantly growing and my proof of concept is there. Yay! =)
My approach: Using micro SaaS products to solve problems for small TAMs and replicate this process. Until I'm finally UNSCRIPTED . I know that this approach also has its weaknesses, but I like to diversify here. Unfortunately, I don't necessarily diversify very intelligently, as will become clear below.
It was clear to me from the start that I would be investing a lot of time into something, even though it wasn't really under my control and I was building my house on someone else's property. Something that, as we all know, can go very wrong very quickly.
Now I set about making the product more profitable by developing what my users want from me: Feature X, Y, Z. From a technical point of view, the implementation wasn't exactly easy. If I hadn't developed it myself, I probably would have had to pay someone else several thousand dollars to do it. It took me some time, but I knew that implementing this feedback would lead to me converting from a profitable but very low-income venture to a very lucrative product. A dream, especially since the input this time no longer comes from me, but from paying customers. At the end of the day, all they ask of me is to take their money to solve their problems. Problems that come from only a few users, but affect almost all users. A feedback loop that you could only wish for.
That all sounds very well and good so far, but what is the problem?
The problem is that I received a very unpleasant email this morning:
The email is in German, but all it says is “Unfortunately, your last submitted article was rejected. You can find out more about this below."
Unfortunately, the reasons for the rejection are so strong that even if I change my entire source code and the logic behind it, I cannot implement my new features. I don't play by Google's rules, and Google makes me feel that too.
What does that mean specifically for me:
1. I spent a lot of time developing something that I can't reuse anywhere else (it uses 100% Chrome API and I can't use that logic/functionality in a standalone web app). The features are therefore completely free.
2. My product stays as it is and my users have to do without the desired features (even though this would improve the product incredibly and enable the product to create even more added value for my users)
3. The journey ends here
How do I feel personally?
I'm a little annoyed at my stupidity. I would say that there is no book that I have read more often than TMF . I know the meaning of CENTS inside and out. Above all, I am aware of the importance of control. In this case, I was absolutely aware that control over my own business was important, but I was still so irresponsible and ignored the importance of it. I have a wonderful ENTS business in front of me. But unfortunately it is precisely the missing C that ensures that the journey will end here.
My learnings:
• Don't build on other people's properties anymore
• Looking back, the effort required to create a Chrome Extension was at least as great, if not greater, than the effort I would have had if I had developed a standalone web app over which I would have full control. It was an initial misconception to think that the development effort would be lower due to the limited functionality of the Chrome Extension. Of course, this cannot be generalized.
• Just because you have a distribution channel available (Chrome Web Store) doesn't mean that customers will come on their own. I also have the effort of customer acquisition, customer support, marketing, iteration based on customer feedback, ...
What's next?
I was still able to learn a few things and remain loyal to the SaaS business. I will use the existing customer base and create a new product based on it that will solve the users' problems. This time, of course, a product where I no longer have to worry about whether a third-party company will give me permission to implement feature X or Y.
I've been in my fastlane for several months now and have/had a few hurdles to overcome. A few skillset hurdles, but above all a lot of mental hurdles. Procrastination, self-doubt, lack of skillset, etc. But the fact is that I released a product some time ago that was very well received by my target group. It is software to support professional digital marketers with data-driven decisions. Specifically, it is a Chrome Extension. The user base is constantly growing and my proof of concept is there. Yay! =)
My approach: Using micro SaaS products to solve problems for small TAMs and replicate this process. Until I'm finally UNSCRIPTED . I know that this approach also has its weaknesses, but I like to diversify here. Unfortunately, I don't necessarily diversify very intelligently, as will become clear below.
It was clear to me from the start that I would be investing a lot of time into something, even though it wasn't really under my control and I was building my house on someone else's property. Something that, as we all know, can go very wrong very quickly.
Now I set about making the product more profitable by developing what my users want from me: Feature X, Y, Z. From a technical point of view, the implementation wasn't exactly easy. If I hadn't developed it myself, I probably would have had to pay someone else several thousand dollars to do it. It took me some time, but I knew that implementing this feedback would lead to me converting from a profitable but very low-income venture to a very lucrative product. A dream, especially since the input this time no longer comes from me, but from paying customers. At the end of the day, all they ask of me is to take their money to solve their problems. Problems that come from only a few users, but affect almost all users. A feedback loop that you could only wish for.
That all sounds very well and good so far, but what is the problem?
The problem is that I received a very unpleasant email this morning:
The email is in German, but all it says is “Unfortunately, your last submitted article was rejected. You can find out more about this below."
Unfortunately, the reasons for the rejection are so strong that even if I change my entire source code and the logic behind it, I cannot implement my new features. I don't play by Google's rules, and Google makes me feel that too.
What does that mean specifically for me:
1. I spent a lot of time developing something that I can't reuse anywhere else (it uses 100% Chrome API and I can't use that logic/functionality in a standalone web app). The features are therefore completely free.
2. My product stays as it is and my users have to do without the desired features (even though this would improve the product incredibly and enable the product to create even more added value for my users)
3. The journey ends here
How do I feel personally?
I'm a little annoyed at my stupidity. I would say that there is no book that I have read more often than TMF . I know the meaning of CENTS inside and out. Above all, I am aware of the importance of control. In this case, I was absolutely aware that control over my own business was important, but I was still so irresponsible and ignored the importance of it. I have a wonderful ENTS business in front of me. But unfortunately it is precisely the missing C that ensures that the journey will end here.
My learnings:
• Don't build on other people's properties anymore
• Looking back, the effort required to create a Chrome Extension was at least as great, if not greater, than the effort I would have had if I had developed a standalone web app over which I would have full control. It was an initial misconception to think that the development effort would be lower due to the limited functionality of the Chrome Extension. Of course, this cannot be generalized.
• Just because you have a distribution channel available (Chrome Web Store) doesn't mean that customers will come on their own. I also have the effort of customer acquisition, customer support, marketing, iteration based on customer feedback, ...
What's next?
I was still able to learn a few things and remain loyal to the SaaS business. I will use the existing customer base and create a new product based on it that will solve the users' problems. This time, of course, a product where I no longer have to worry about whether a third-party company will give me permission to implement feature X or Y.
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