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MenuIs this idea validation or harmful, good practice or a off on the wrong foot?
Wanted to validate my photography niche idea so I called a bunch of photographers off google and asked them if the offer this kind of service...most said they had never done it before but could easily incorporate it into their workflow and talked prices and procedures.....perfect! I now validated the idea (still need to validate customer side) Was that sketchy... should I tell them that it was an idea and perhaps they would like to partner or will they be displeased to hear their potential customer is another photographer...I thought it seemed fair because they just gained knowledge of a potential new rev stream for themselves.
Answers
Could it be called Sketchy? Yes. Does everyone do it in every industry to get insider info on competitor pricing and presentation.... Pretty much.
With that said if any do present as people you would like to work with, then for sure let them know what you were doing, that they made the cut, and that you would be honored to work with them.
What exactly is your question? No you are not a terrible person.
I would love to share a quote that this reminded me of, "If Someone Offers You An Opportunity And You Are Not Sure You Can Do It, Say Yes - Then Learn How To Do It Late" - Richard Branson and my latest tweet :) https://twitter.com/AverageJoeVC.
You are doing everything right! You are not sketchy at all and the truth of the matter is, they likely receive a lot of these types of inquiries. What you are potentially doing for them is presenting them with additional business for their endeavors, almost like providing them with additional deal flow. If you can firm up exactly what your offering is, how it would be fulfilled, the costs associated with fulfilling it, and ultimately come up with a price for that offering, you can then go work on the customer side of the equation to match the customer with the provider who would fulfill the solution and essentially broker the deal. Looks like you may be building a Marketplace of some sort and I encourage you to keep on moving :). Good luck.
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How do I expand my network with people who are MORE influential than I am? I'm looking for tips and tricks to do this online (with LinkedIn, etc)
I've done a lot of work in this space (created the new art of conference network: Hashtags to handshakes). Here are a few thoughts for you: -get clear on you goal(s) and the type of people who can help you. -take inventory of what you have to offer(use this acronym Work history, Hobbies, Education, Network) -once you see the people you want to connect with, do the online research to see if you already have something or someone in common(LinkedIn). -read and comment on their content or something in their profile. -Invite them to 15min virtual coffee as an introduction call. (Be in a "how can I be of assistant mindset) -ask them two question during your virtual coffee (1. What are you working on that you're most passionate about? 2. What the biggest challenge?). Once you know someone's challenge you can find ways to be helpful. -Be patient. -let me know if you need more support ;)MA
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How do I find networking opportunities with entrepreneurs and influencers?
What your trying is one approach to finding investors. Here's another that in my experience is far more effective. I'd tap your network, and it's probably actually a lot bigger than you think! Linkedin is the perfect tool for this. Look for people you're connected to, that you trust, and that are suited to helping your business (ideally in your industry, or experienced in fundraising, etc) and that have a good network themselves (ideally they're connected to some investors you're interested in, but not required). Reach out to them, and let them know you're starting a venture, and are looking for their advice, and would love to treat them to a 30 min coffee meeting. People love to hear that others think they're awesome and they love to give advice which makes them feel awesome, and this is someone you know, so chances are they'll accept. Send this request to everyone relevant in your network. At the meeting, tell them about your venture, give them your pitch, hear their comments and heed their feedback, and ask them for 3 people in their network that would be great people to talk to. Get intros to those people, and repeat. If you do this diligently and listen well, your network will expand extremely quickly, and you'll be able to get introduced to literally anyone you want. This is how our founding team at Tachyus acquired our first customer within 1 month of starting, and having no experience or direct connections in our industry. I'm always down to chat in more detail if you're interested. Best of luck!FL
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What's the best way to validate a SaaS idea?
The best way to build an MVP is to distill the solution to the smaller unit of value to deliver something to a customer. Start small, time box it and focus on solving the problem at it's core even if it's ghetto (I call the best MVP's ghetto but useful). Here's an image that represents my thinking on this https://twitter.com/danmartell/status/516316632126586883DM
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What are the best ways to define and validate a new business concept?
Face to Face will always be better. The reason is because to get to the root of an issue or to what really drives a person, you need to ask WHY 5 times. Only then you can offer a solution that will be irresistible to your prospects. Let's try with an email survey. 1. What is your biggest struggle when you want to expand abroad? __________ 2. Why? __________ 3. Why? __________ 4. Why? __________ 5. Why? __________ You look like a freak, right? Now in a normal conversation, it would go something like: Oh, your biggest challenge is costs? Tell me more about it. Yes, i just don't have enough cash flow to open an office abroad. Where is your cash flow going instead? (that's a hidden why) It's going into our local activities. Why do you prefer spending money locally? Because we get more return on investment. etc etc.. I'm happy to jump on the phone to test this technique (it feels a bit awkward at the beginning but with some training it becomes natural). SerenaSD
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Are there any techniques when selling door to door, specifically a B2B model?
Im sure you'll will find many diff approaches but overall your main goal, once you contact, is to always be accessible, friendly and build relationships. Even if your relationships are thin, they are better quality leads for business than you simply walking into a business pitching your product. When pitching your product: Always focus in value, talk to your soon to be clients as if you deal with the issues first hand and this is how you solve them... Don't discuss pricing unless asked. Offer any help or guidance in selecting services even from the competition if they want.. Sell yourself as a rep from a company that is paid to help not sell... This approach works wonders if you can pull it off.. If you have less time during intros or pitching local retail shops you have to be more direct but still aim for a relationship than a quick sale before you move on next door. Learn a bit about their business like busiest hours, popular item or service...after your intro simply offer them more time when they are less busy with clientele to come back to talk about fuckng a certain issue (with a product you represent) :) Hope it helps a bit.HV
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