The $10 Startup

[Ivan]

So, after having 2 websites fail (I was getting 100% info seeker traffic, not buyer traffic. Lesson learned) and making some bad decisions with my life and my money, I'm down to $5k net worth :bgh:

I've decided to start a small web development business to pay my bills while I fry bigger fish.

The need: Helping starting musicians "get their name out there" by building basic websites and helping them build a brand (if you can call it that) through social media. I suspect that this is a real need but I'm starting this super cheap project to make sure there are paying customers.

Initial marketing plan:
1) Spend the $5 left on my school print card to print 50 flyers and post them in music departments of colleges in my area. Spend $5 in gas to visit the 4 big colleges within 30 minutes of my house (gotta love California).
2) Phone up music stores and offer them 20% commission to let me post flyers in the store, and let people know about my service (free).
3) Offer a student discount so I can get my service listed on the many student discount sites out there. Win for me and win for them (free).
4) Hit up forums and blogs where the target market resides - in a non-spammy way, of course (free)

Cool resources I've used:
- downloaded a free texting+calling app for my phone that gives me a different phone number. That way, I don't have to put my real phone number on the flyers but still get calls on the same phone.
- Wordpress blog: free with the .wordpress domain. If people start visiting the site or calling, my first step will be to get a real domain name.
- free QR code generator: I've put QR codes on my flyers to see if people actually use them. Scanning the code will take them to my website. The site also provides free tracking.

Again, my primary objective at this point is to see if people will pay what I'm asking (between $100 and $600 depending on the service). If there's no response from college musicians, I might start cold-emailing Youtube folks who have a decent amount of views but a crappy web presence outside of Youtube.


Just thought I'd throw this out there in case some other starving kid was looking for an idea to steal :smxB: Total money invested: $0 so far, will be $10 or so by the end of tomorrow.

Also, speed me please! I've been itching to see what magical wonders are in the private forum :smx4:

Ivan

 

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[2KidsinUT]

Could save the $5.00 for flyers by printing them yourself or having a friend do it. Web development is a great way to make quick cash in any decent city. Can be easily expanded to many other niches in the college crowd (don't forget online ads in student related websites... many colleges have them)... and local businesses in your surrounding area.

 

[coffeerefill]

Speaking as someone who works in a music club and has to look up bands all day on the internet, I have to say:

Musicians are pretty broke, for the most part, and many of them are fairly web savvy and can build free myspace, facebook, and reverbnation profile pages that come up in the top 3 or 4 spots on a google search (if they don't already have a website).

How are you going to compete with free, how are you planning to make money, and how are you going to help them get more exposure than these huge sites?

And most music stores have some sort of bulletin board that anyone can post on for free, but it rarely gets looked at.

I know I sound negative, but I do similar stuff for my job and I'm trying help you find a real need to fill, not one you hope will be there.

 

[BostonH]

CENTS

Need - looks like there might be a need, but maybe not from a monied demographic
Entry - $10 is very low entry, and some of your competitors/clients might be able to do it free
Control - seems to pass this
Scale - scale is iffy here... if you get many clients, you will have to hire to go around and post things
Time - at the onset, it looks like this is going to take a lot of your time. Moving forward, how will you leverage your advantage (maybe your contact development, agreements with businesses, etc??) to make sure your employees can't just go off on their own?

 

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[Ivan]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input!

Speaking as someone who works in a music club and has to look up bands all day on the internet, I have to say:

Musicians are pretty broke, for the most part, and many of them are fairly web savvy and can build free myspace, facebook, and reverbnation profile pages that come up in the top 3 or 4 spots on a google search (if they don't already have a website).

I agree, but not all. I got this idea when a singer I know asked me to handle the "online stuff" so she could focus on making music. I'm sure there are more out there. Again, this is why I'm only spending $10 on startup costs: to see if the market responds. If it doesn't, I move on.

CENTS

Need - looks like there might be a need, but maybe not from a monied demographic
Entry - $10 is very low entry, and some of your competitors/clients might be able to do it free
Control - seems to pass this
Scale - scale is iffy here... if you get many clients, you will have to hire to go around and post things
Time - at the onset, it looks like this is going to take a lot of your time. Moving forward, how will you leverage your advantage (maybe your contact development, agreements with businesses, etc??) to make sure your employees can't just go off on their own?

I realize it doesn't scale, but it isn't really meant to be a "fastlane" business. Only doing this to pay the bills while I look for other opportunities. My real passion is the B2B world, where customers are logical and understand value.

I appreciate you guys playing devil's advocate. It helps me see things from another perspective. I've learned that taking criticism properly is one of the most valuable skills in life. Smart people take it into account while idiots get pissed off and disregard it.

 

[dknise]

Again, my primary objective at this point is to see if people will pay what I'm asking (between $100 and $600 depending on the service). If there's no response from college musicians, I might start cold-emailing Youtube folks who have a decent amount of views but a crappy web presence outside of Youtube.

A YouTube presence is free, as well as the other's mentioned with having a myspace or some of the other social networking sites. As you are broke in college, chances are everyone else is broke too! I don't think it's likely that a college student will be able to pay between $100 to $600 and will opt for the free option of YouTube, MySpace, or another free online service.

Just thought I'd throw this out there in case some other starving kid was looking for an idea to steal :smxB: Total money invested: $0 so far, will be $10 or so by the end of tomorrow.

Total Investment = Time/hour worth ($0) * numHours (?) + $10.
The total investment is only $10 if you consider your time worthless.

Also, speed me please! I've been itching to see what magical wonders are in the private forum :smx4:

Requires a paid membership.


Also, may I ask what and why you are attending college? Is your college paid for? or are you on student loans? ps sell blood plasma I totally did that!

 

[coffeerefill]

If you've already got a client, awesome.

You could charge bands with several members $100 and they could all split the fee up (as bands do) to make it more appealing to them.

Another idea: depending on how big your town is you could start a website that showcases and lists events and concerts. Ticketfly is a free cms for this type of site and you could become an affiliate for ticketmaster to make some commissions. SEO and promote the heck out of it. Charge local venues a monthly fee to have their shows featured prominently on your front page. Grow the site in to a local community entertainment/events tastemaker site.

If you want to know how I do all of this stuff for the place I work for PM me.

 

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[Ivan]

Also, may I ask what and why you are attending college? Is your college paid for? or are you on student loans? ps sell blood plasma I totally did that!

I'm in college for an engineering degree (halfway done). Financial aid paid for it.

I realize that the resources are free. The whole point is that some people would rather outsource the technical stuff. All of the stuff in MJ's book (besides personal examples) can be found for free online, but the book still sells. It's a convenience thing. We'll see what the musicians themselves say shortly.

I'm not betting the farm on this business. I just need some quick cashflow so I can get back into flipping cars.

I wish you guys well in your endeavors as well. Rock on

 

[dknise]

I'm in college for an engineering degree (halfway done). Financial aid paid for it.

Sweet, debt free is the way to go.

I realize that the resources are free. The whole point is that some people would rather outsource the technical stuff. All of the stuff in MJ's book (besides personal examples) can be found for free online, but the book still sells. It's a convenience thing. We'll see what the musicians themselves say shortly.

Ya, I agree that it doesn't hurt to just put it out there. I also probably sound like the exact person I used to hate haha. I used to ask some pretty crazy questions... and usually ended up getting even more crazier answers.

I wish you guys well in your endeavors as well. Rock on

You too man! Goodluck!