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Ask HN: Tips for Solopreneur?

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Re: Ask HN: Tips for Solopreneur?

#81
post #19

(Context — I run Buttondown ( http://buttondown.email/ ) as a solo founder, with a handful of contractors on support/documentation but no other W2s.) 1. You need to either a) have an answer for "what happens if you get hit by a bus?" or b) create a product for customers to whom that doesn't matter. In general, people really _like_ being able to chat with the founder directly (lean into that! it's a superpower!) but f…

Oh hey, I use buttondown. Love the service, no fluff. The only point of feedback I have is that the terminology around hosting from a domain vs sending from a domain was kind of confusing. Wasn't super clear how to set things up for a simple `newsletter@mysite.com` setup (I got there eventually)

Re: Ask HN: Tips for Solopreneur?

#82

Something that seems to be not well known by the general public: Landing a big contract with a big company early on can be very problematic. They have a history of screwing small companies. Small companies often seem to imagine this will solve all their problems. It seems to be the business equivalent of the fantasy of winning the lottery and then having it made in the shade. In reality, winning the lottery frequentl…

Landing big contracts as a small company - it's not all bad. They can bring in a lot of revenue, for not that much sales effort. And if you have good processes down, they can also be much easier to deliver on. At least in the US, contract law can be very fair, financing options to facilitate large contracts are plentiful, and most large businesses act in good faith. So it isn't so much landing a big contract is bad,…

How does “I want x feature for $y or I terminate the contract according to our terms” bring contract law into the equation. Most often you have a single person in the big org as your champion. If they leave, you leave.

There are many ways to be their bitch. Many, many ways.

Re: Ask HN: Tips for Solopreneur?

#83
You either need to:

1. Spend time getting good at marketing (read books, do the work, get feedback). 2. Spend money for an agency or consultant to do it. 3. Spend equity and/or profit sharing for a partner to do it.

No marketing is not an option.

At its simplest, marketing is nothing more than:

1. Repeat exposure to branding and messaging over time to build familiarity

2. Direct response (in-person or online messaging designed to produce some type of response, right now)

3. Positioning: your 'lane', the unique space you ocupy in the market, relative to competitors.

Clarify your value proposition(s) first, and then you'll need to determine how to make a simple presentation about your product.

I use the word 'presentation' more broadly to encompass any type of communication piece about your product.

Tip - study advertorials. They force you to create editorial content that relates to your product that is more story or customer-driven, and is often far more effective than regular ads highlighting features or benefits.

You can then drive paid media PPC/CPM traffic to your advertorials, and then hit them up with direct response retargeting / remarketing ads after pixelling them.

Be prepared that no one will respond during the first interaction or touchpoint. It requires many touchpoints to develop trust and familiarity.

If you're going to spend on ads, try to 'capture' them somehow - into a FB group, email list, etc where you can get in front of them for free the next time.

So, make friends with the concept of repeat exposure and advertorials, and get busy. Good luck!

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