From Teenager to Entrepreneur - The Launch of my First Business

[GamerGripz]

First off, I am going to try and keep this fairly short rather than typing up the book-long road up to now.

Im just an average 17 year old high schooler (16 when this all started up) with a passion for business and entrepreneurship, and due to my initiative and determination I am where I am now. About 13 months ago, me and my friend came up with an idea to increase grip to xbox controllers and help reduce hand sweat. We are competitive gamers, but to an extent and for fun and we as well as many other players have problems with sweaty hands and the discomfort of the bland xbox controller.

It has been a long long road, with multiple prototypes, manufactures, rubber materials, mold errors, name changes, and on and on. Well today, finally, our product has been released!

No sales yet (first 14 hours or so) :nonod: but we are marketing and working hard to get us up and out there.

If you want to check out our website and product, or maybe you are a gamer yourself , our website is ProGripz - Xbox 360 Controller Grips

Its crazy to see my idea transform into a company and a product, and from this venture I have gained tremendous amounts of knowledge and experience that will carry on out through my future as an entrepreneur.

 

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[sal]

Congrats! Putting it on Amazon?

 

[GamerGripz]

thanks man! not sure, havent really thought about that yet.

 

[Halffull]

This is a good idea ... methinks kickstarter might be a good marketing opportunity here.

 

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[GamerGripz]

well we already have all the needed funds so how could we use kickstarter as marketing?

as for amazon, I went to add it there but it requires a UPC code, which we do not have and costs like $750 to get.

 

[TheJonno]

Speed +

Great job on getting out there and starting something. Now, its time to make a sale.

 

[GamerGripz]

yeah ive been working all day trying to get the first sale, but no dice so far

we have some good marketing tactics but we arent tackling those ones quite yet

 

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[AgonI]

well we already have all the needed funds so how could we use kickstarter as marketing?

as for amazon, I went to add it there but it requires a UPC code, which we do not have and costs like $750 to get.

Buy UPC and EAN Numbers - Speedy Bar CodesSpeedy Bar Codes
I am not sure if these are legit but you might give it a try. I am pretty sure it won't cost you 750$. I had seen another website selling cheap upc codes but I can't remember it right now.

Amazon is exactly what you need to do because it will bring you free traffic. You can always jack up the price to cover the Amazon fee per sale if you really need to.

 

[GamerGripz]

well for $6.50 i might as well give it a go and see how it works out.

 

[AgonI]

well for $6.50 i might as well give it a go and see how it works out.

Also, I just looked at your website. I don't think you need a multiple pages website considering you have only one product. I think you should use a 'one-page' template with a Buy now button at the bottom of that page. I don't like the black background either, it's way too dark, I think if you switch it to white it will make the controller look more attractive. I personally would not buy from a website like yours. Just being honest here, good luck and good job on taking action!

 

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[oddball]

well we already have all the needed funds so how could we use kickstarter as marketing?

as for amazon, I went to add it there but it requires a UPC code, which we do not have and costs like $750 to get.

Look in Vigilantes thread "Addicted to Passive Income," in one of the first few pages he covered a cheap solution to this.

 

[Bruce]

Also, I just looked at your website. I don't think you need a multiple pages website considering you have only one product. I think you should use a 'one-page' template with a Buy now button at the bottom of that page. I don't like the black background either, it's way too dark, I think if you switch it to white it will make the controller look more attractive. I personally would not buy from a website like yours. Just being honest here, good luck and good job on taking action!

I like how it's multiple paged, even though he only has one product it's good to include information on separate pages (about product, contact etc). Those one page landing pages look kind of scammish to me. Multiple page websites usually require more money to pay a developer to create, makes me feel like the business spent a lot of time and effort on their website/product.

PS: Should try giving some away to popular youtube video game players, maybe they can give a review or a shout out during one of their videos.

 

[InLikeFlint]

Congratulations on starting up your business!

I am also a 16 year old with an interest in entrepreneurship!

One thing I noticed about your site is that for the sale it says $8.99 crossed out and then the sale price is still $8.99, not sure if it's a huge issue, but just thought I would let you know!

Good luck with your business!

 

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[GamerGripz]

Yes, they are originally $10.99 but our site was still charging $10.99 when I put the sale price at $8.99 so I had to make the original 8.99 as well.

And yes there are a bunch of YouTube channels we will be sending our product out to.
We just need to get our product out to people to get more out there before people start buying them.

 

[jacob]

Great GamerGripz, as long as you have the determination to do all things in order to reach your goal. I believe that your dreams/goals in life wont come true if you don't make that first step to reach it.

 

[Halffull]

well we already have all the needed funds so how could we use kickstarter as marketing?

as for amazon, I went to add it there but it requires a UPC code, which we do not have and costs like $750 to get.

A lot of people (EG, Amanda Palmer), have the funds they need, but they utilize Kickstarter to get some free press and make people feel like they're part of something.

 

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[GamerGripz]

hmm so how would you suggest i go upon setting up an effective kickstarter campaign if we already have all the needed funds?

 

[Gold777]

hmm so how would you suggest i go upon setting up an effective kickstarter campaign if we already have all the needed funds?

I don't think you need Kickstarter.

What you need to do is a quick re-design, make the site look brighter and more appealing. It honestly doesn't look bad how it is now but it could look more "friendly" and "legit". There's a lot of things you could do as far as that.

I agree that you need less pages, and I like that you have a video/review/overview but that needs to be on the front page where everyone can see it right away. I think you could get a lot of attention from reddit.com/r/gaming from this, but I wouldn't suggest posting to it until you've did that redesign, and maybe even a new video if possible. If you could get a more professional video, with better lighting, possibly even a voice over and some better camera angles (yeah, definitely not as easy as it sounds) and maybe even a demonstration of playing with sweaty palms, that would be GOLDEN.

And THEN post it to Reddit? You're in business. But not only reddit, also try to look to sponsor some gamers who have popular YouTube Channels, try reaching out to them. Doesn't matter if they get only a few thousand views per video or a few hundred thousand if possible. Just reach out to them with a great pitch and a great offer, and see if you can make anything happen. This could possibly be advertised on MLG some day.

I love this product and I honestly think it has a ton of potential, but you seriously need to ramp up your marketing. Your business is NOTHING without sales, sales come from talking to individuals, groups, and just marketing in general. Market, market, market, get press releases if possible. But do NOT do any of this without first trying to perfect the ease of use and design of your site, it CAN be improved and I would suggest doing that first.

Lot of potential here, but the site can be improved, so can the videos. Invest in quality and you'll be able to sell in quantity. Instead of having a separate review page, have some comments/testimonials on the front page, just small short ones. Do what it takes, and strive for perfection. May I suggest prweb.com after you do some tweaks to the site/design itself, and get feedback, as much feedback as possible from gamers. Gamers have lots of gaming buddies and if you make friends with enough of them you'll be in business. Don't hesitate to make friends with a semi-popular gamer and then send some free grips over to them in return of promotions. It's all about the grind, and when you're just starting out, the grind is the only thing you should be worried about.

Find a way to stick out and find different and unique ways to approach your current problems.

 

[Gold777]

Oh yeah, and on your site on the product page it says:

$8.99 Original Price
$8.99 Sale Price
Xbox 360 Controller Grips - 20% DISCOUNT FOR LAUNCH AND CHRISTMAS DAY! LIMITED TIME ONLY!

May want to fix that...

 

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[GamerGripz]

Yes, there is an error with the sale price so I had to make the original price $8.99 as well, the true original price is $10.99.

As for the design of the site, we went for a dark feel, seeing as that would attract to gamers. I think once we add another banner (which we will design soon) with brighter colors rather than just black and white mainly it will add a better more friendly and bright feel.

We are very active in the competitive community and are friends with various players on all levels of the totem pole, so we are planning on sending them out to some top players, and very large youtube channels and such and let them do reviews and spread the word to friends and all. It has only been the first day and seeing that no one actually has the product to review or talk about yet will lead to a slow take off but we will start growing once we can just get some products out there.

Thanks for all the advice and marketing help, every little bit helps and is appreciated.

 

[Gold777]

Yes, there is an error with the sale price so I had to make the original price $8.99 as well, the true original price is $10.99.

As for the design of the site, we went for a dark feel, seeing as that would attract to gamers. I think once we add another banner (which we will design soon) with brighter colors rather than just black and white mainly it will add a better more friendly and bright feel.

We are very active in the competitive community and are friends with various players on all levels of the totem pole, so we are planning on sending them out to some top players, and very large youtube channels and such and let them do reviews and spread the word to friends and all. It has only been the first day and seeing that no one actually has the product to review or talk about yet will lead to a slow take off but we will start growing once we can just get some products out there.

Thanks for all the advice and marketing help, every little bit helps and is appreciated.

Yup, it almost NEVER goes as planned. It's ALWAYS a slow take off unless you pull some major strings as far as press goes. Like I said, it's truly a grind, but I believe you definitely have a good chance at seeing some success from this. Have you thought about putting it on eBay/Craigslist?

 

[1step]

well for $6.50 i might as well give it a go and see how it works out.

Theres a website where you can buy 10 upcs for 20$. They are actually rather cheap and you can use the additonal barcodes for future products or accesories.

Selling on amazon is easy, it is $40.00 a month and they take about 15% for their fees but its worth it. I think you could do well if you know how to promote using amazon.

nice looking website, good progress

 

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[GamerGripz]

I have already put it up on eBay, havent done criagslist, but I dont see why not so ill put it up on there tomorrow. I am going to go ahead and purchase a UPC tomorrow so I will have it all up on amazon for sale then too.

As for the website, I was able to embed a video on the front page so once we get some product review videos i will embed them to the homepage. My brother took a few photography classes so im going to see if he could help me get a good setup going for a video and will record one of me demonstrating the product and talking about its benefits and all tomorrow as well.

I am not familiar with Reddit at all but I am going to figure that all out and see if I can get some good exposure through there.

Is writing a press release something I should have professionally done? Or could is it something I could type that would work and be effective?

 

[The-J]

Speed++ for sticking to process. I still remember when you came on here with your idea and you've stuck with it for more than a year. That's impressive and I hope nothing but th best for you.

 

[TREP]

Nice business you have going there with an interesting product. The site's design looks decent to me. A dark theme definitely appeals more to gamers than a lighter colour scheme.

Are you aware of Kontrol Freek? They're doing very well. Try and see if you can learn anything from them; get an idea of how they're marketing their product(s).

You have the right idea with YouTube. Definitely jump into it and use it as a marketing tool. Make videos showcasing your product and get other people to do the same.

 

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[Gold777]

I am not familiar with Reddit at all but I am going to figure that all out and see if I can get some good exposure through there.

If you can do it right, do some research and try crafting a nice post, you can definitely get some decent exposure. I would recommend signing up now and contributing to Reddit first honestly though, or saying that you were a long time lurker. There was a site on there called Tubalr - A simple tool for enjoying music videos! that exploded when the guy made a post to r/music.

Tubalr.com Site Info

If you click "Reach" you can see the peak, he got thousands of Facebook likes within a matter of hours and Twitter followers as well.

Is writing a press release something I should have professionally done? Or could is it something I could type that would work and be effective?

Yes I would definitely recommend hiring a professional copywriter for press releases, it's worth it, they know what they're doing.

 

[GamerGripz]

been working hard on the marketing. Weve had over 450 views on the website since our launch, and no sales. Looks like we need to get our conversion rate up :/

 

[Mike39]

You'r website needs more work done, for instance when I click products (but not XBOX 360 Gripz), it doesn't do anything. Clicking products should bring me to an overview of all your available products which for now is only the xbox grip.

My second suggestion is as long as you have just one product, either make a landing page or display it on your home page. I should be able to see your product and click a buy now button on the first page I visit.

Why do you have a page of affiliates, are they not selling your product or what?

I hate when people sacrifice and take bad web design for a lower price, web design is not the place to skimp out on, especially if your product is primarily sold through your site.

Send out some samples to gamer's on youtube, hell even offer to pay them if they do a review

My .02

 

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[miked_d]

When are you going to have a PS3 grip?

 

[InLikeFlint]

You should try sending a free trial to some larger XBOX you tubers, I'm thinking Machinima, Lynx Warlord, PTG, etc etc...this could help because they could do a review of it and if they are using it, aspiring gamers wouldn't mind shelling out 11 bucks for it. You could offer them a few free versions to do a review of it in their video, and if they don't bite at that, sweeten it with links to their channels on your site, or just pay them a flat fee of a few hundred dollars