VOICE ENTREPRENEUR with Ben Smith #21
<8 min listen by audio:
How to start a VOICE startup (in 5 easy steps):
1) Go look at what users need and want today. I look at the Dashbot rankings for smart, fast ideas. I also look at the Amazon Alexa store. Good ideas are generally finding what people want with a small new twist. Not as good ideas are completely original and unproven.
2) I start talking to people that use Amazon Alexa. I do this through LinkedIn and Facebook. I join groups on both platforms, and I talk to people who love Voice technology and Alexa devices. Find out what they want MOST. Keep asking people over and over what they need and want. This is fun. Get out there and mingle. Talk to people the way Uber and Lyft drivers strike up conversation.
3) I create some basic Facebook ads that advertise exactly what the people in #2 told me they want. I spend almost nothing on ads until I get a little bit of a response. Warning: don’t spend a lot of money. Just spend a few dollars here and there until you see people clicking.
4) I use a free page builder that requires NO coding to build an email signup page so I can ask people for their email address. When you can get 25 people to sign up for the email list you know you have something big. Don’t skip this step. You’ll be tempted to skip this step, trust me. But please don’t do it. Stay with it.
5) Go to Storyline (a free platform to build Alexa skills that requires no coding!) and build your first version of your skill. Try to build it in a few hours. Don’t get fancy. Instead, get something out.
And….LAUNCH! Keep talking to actual people (like in step #2) who need your solution. Keep talking to them over and over. When in doubt, keep talking to people about what they want. It’s your north star.
Note: I didn’t talk about raising money, coding, co-founders, accelerators, wordpress websites, incorporating, logos, or a pitch deck. You don’t need ANY of those things right now.
I know the temptation is to raise money, come up with fancy startup name, order business cards, and spend weeks building a pitch deck. Do not do any of these things. These things get in the way of running a business. A business is about selling your solution to people. Everything else supports that idea. So don’t be scared. Get out there and talk to people. If you keep talking, amazing things can happen.
I want to use what you build! so if you have questions, just EMAIL me, or tweet me at @benjaminsmith, and let me know. I want to hear how you do.
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