There are a lot of tech startups in my area and I really like being around them, their world is very exciting to me. I don't want to be in a startup, but I want to start my own small service that supports them -- and my service gets paid for it.
However I'm only one person and I don't want to offer something overly complex or stressful because I will feel too scattered and it will derail me from starting.
I remember David Heinemeier Hansson saying that there is tons of business at the $30-300/month mark than at much higher levels and that feels really comfortable to me. I like how that sounds to service the Fortune 5,000,000.
Answer your own questions by talking to your target market.
They'll tell you.
If you won't do this now, what chance do you have to succeed? You'll have to talk to prospects if you want to make sales--do you think they'll just come to your door because you put up a shingle?
Ask your target market.
Sure, some will talk to you and some won't. Who cares about those who won't? Five conversations with your target market will give you enough correlation to tell you what direction to head in. Should take you a few days, tops.
This has to be done live, by phone or in person. Not by email--they'll never get answered.
If you're too chicken to do this now, you're not ready to get into your own business.
Now as to the other part of your question, which is the money.
Every one of us has a money tolerance. That's your level of what you believe is "a lot of money". Your customer has a different belief of that that figure is. You will block your own progress with that belief you so dearly and unconsciously hold... that say "$500 is a lot of money".
Many buyers, including myself, believe that if something has a low price, it can't be very good. We're interested in quality, not a low investment.
Work on your money tolerance.
It is NOT easier to make a low ticket sale than a high ticket sale. As a sales trainer, I used to say it was just as easy to make the high ticket sale as a low ticket sale...but from experience, I can now say it's actually easier to make the high ticket sale.
The buyer psychology is that the high ticket buyer has money...and they just give you some. They aren't anxious for the thing to work; they're not desperate.
The low ticket buyer is nervous, and is desperate for the solution to magically work right out of the gate. They probably have to steal money from somewhere else to pay for you, and that makes them even more desperate.
But the money tolerance thing is up to you. It's your belief more than anything that will determine your outcome. If you believe "$500 is a lot of money," you won't try to get the bigger ticket sales.
One big ticket sale can eliminate the need for dozens of low ticket sales. Think about all that time you need to invest in prospecting for, qualifying, and closing each customer: the time requirement is no different despite the price.
But you'll probably have to get some experience to figure this out for yourself.
You'll seek your own level. There's nothing wrong with low ticket sales; just be clear with yourself that this is the game you've chosen to play. And you could choose to play at any level.
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