Page 95 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

market is already satisfied with the Solution—your solution must be
different or better. It’s significance, not size, that matters.
6. Ask others about the idea but make sure the people you ask are your
potential target market. Others may provide insignificant data and are
therefore biased and uninformed. Therefore, create a persona: the one
person who would benefit the most from your idea. Examine your whole
network—community, friends, family, social networks—and ask yourself
if any of these people match your persona. Take your idea to this person
and discuss it with him or her in detail. This will get you much more
relevant data than talking to just anyone.
7. Create an outline for what you are doing and show it to a subgroup of
your community. Ask them to test it for free in return for feedback and
confidentiality. As a bonus, the subgroup feels involved and will act as
evangelists. Giving builds trust and value and also gives you an
opportunity to offer the whole solution. Use a blog to build authority and
expertise on a subject. Leave comments on blogs where your target
audience hangs out.

KEEP COSTS LOW. By investing sweat equity instead of money in your project,
you’ll avoid going into debt and minimize the impact of failure if it doesn’t work
out. Jen and Omar started with a total budget of exactly $500. In another part of
Columbus, Ohio, Amy Turn Sharp runs a handcrafted toy company. Startup cost:
$300. Nicolas Luff in Vancouver, Canada, started with only $56.33, the cost of a
business license in 2000. In New York City, Michael Trainer started a
documentary business for $2,500, the cost of a camera—which he later sold for a
profit.

Most of these people are solopreneurs, running a light operation by design.
But larger businesses with multiple employees also opted to keep the initial costs
as low as possible. David Henzell, the agency founder in the United Kingdom
whom we met in Chapter 1, started his new partnership for $4,000. Scott Meyer
and a business partner, whom we’ll hear more about in Chapter 9, started a South
Dakota media firm with four employees for under $10,000. The point is that the
numbers may vary, but wherever possible, keep costs low.

GET THE FIRST SALE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. In Louisville, Kentucky, I talked with
Nick Gatens, who told me about a small photography project he was working on.
Nick worked full-time in information technology for someone else’s business