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Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

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Re: Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

#11

Post by phlcastro »

gee_totes wrote: post #4

What would you do with your entire day working for the company? Coding? Marketing? So if 10 customers can't pay your costs, could 20? Could 30? I would focus on getting to the number of customers that can make the business break even, then quit (as it seems you're a little hesitant to jump in right now) [from here on, I'm assuming the SaaS is related to VetWork] If you can't quit your day job b/c of financial reasons…

By now we need to focus on marketing and sales. Yes, our customers loves the product and are motivated to recommend our product. We did some experiences with Google Ads and others and the result was good (I guess...). But the problem was exactly after that... After find some leads to sell I didn't have enough time to call them and progress with the sales.

I like the strategy of wait to have enough customers to break-even. Actually a dozen of it can cover all expenses. The problem is if I quit my job and start to work on my own business. By now I'm too expensive for it.

So in your opinion, I should contract someone to help with marketing and sales and wait until the business can cover everything? This way I can set some targets like I would do if it was me...

Re: Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

#12

Post by phlcastro »

6thSigma wrote: post #8

I quit my job about a month ago. Here is a blog post I wrote about my reasonings. http://aaron.posthaven.com/the-entrepreneur-itch-why-i-quit-...

Great post! I wish you the best. I have to say I'm at the same stage, but still not sure if I should wait a little bit more and achieve a minimal viable business.

Re: Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

#14

Post by gee_totes »

phlcastro wrote: post #11
gee_totes wrote: post #4

What would you do with your entire day working for the company? Coding? Marketing? So if 10 customers can't pay your costs, could 20? Could 30? I would focus on getting to the number of customers that can make the business break even, then quit (as it seems you're a little hesitant to jump in right now) [from here on, I'm assuming the SaaS is related to VetWork] If you can't quit your day job b/c of financial reasons…

By now we need to focus on marketing and sales. Yes, our customers loves the product and are motivated to recommend our product. We did some experiences with Google Ads and others and the result was good (I guess...). But the problem was exactly after that... After find some leads to sell I didn't have enough time to call them and progress with the sales. I like the strategy of wait to have enough customers to break-…

Sorry for the late reply, but I think you should contract someone to to marketing/sales. I would first take a look at the market, and then develop some lead generation ideas (ad words is good, getting a booth at one of these vet conferences is another) and work the the person you contact to generate leads. The the marketing person could take over and close the sale.

Re: Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

#15

Post by michaelpinto »

phlcastro wrote: post #9
michaelpinto wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's an approach: Put a number and a deadline on everything; this way you have a metric to hit rather than dealing with emotions. So for example: Can you at least equal your current monthly income in X months? Make that a comfortable number so you don't run out of savings and have enough time to get a new job. I would also have a metric on the burn rate of the company even if the overhead is low. Keep in mind you'l…

I did something similar to it, calculated hom much time I would need to achieve the breakeven, marketing and media budget... But at the end is just a excel spreadsheet. I was wondering if I should establish a indicator (like growth rate, revenue, etc) and just after achieve this number take the decision. Or maybe contract someone to do this sales and marketing stuff and wait until the company makes money.

Don't over think it — try and keep it simple: At first it's sink or swim — then worry about gold medals.
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