Are You Ready?

Hello, child entrepreneurs! If you’ve been following our blog and taking the action steps from each post, then you’re ready for one of the final steps of launching your business. It’s time to go get your first customer.

 

Scott Donnell’s Preparing for Takeoff Checklist:

• You’ve established your Why, your passion for entrepreneurship.
• You’ve used the Sweet Spot technique to uncover a brilliant business idea.
• You’ve decided whether your strategy will be better, faster, or cheaper.
• You’ve reflected on which group of people specifically you want to market your product or service to.
• You’ve asked at least 10 potential customers what they would pay for your product or service in order to determine price.
• You’ve made a list of expenses and calculated your profit.
• You’ve created a prototype of your product or done a test run of your service.
• You’ve developed a pitch that explains what your product is, why it’s the best, and how much it is.

 

Have you checked all these boxes? It’s okay if you haven’t yet. These things take time. Once you’ve finished all of these items, you are ready for the most exciting part: making your first sale!

Blasting off in 3, 2, 1.

The More, The Merrier

What we’re about to do is absolutely essential. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy. I’m serious. Don’t just use a phone or tablet for this. I want you to be fully engaged for this exercise.

What is the name of the person that you want to go sell your first product to? Think about it for a minute. Write that name down at the top of your list. Maybe it’s a relative or close friend whose support you can count on. Maybe it’s a neighbor or parent’s coworker who’s expressed interest in your business. Write that name down.

Got it? Good. Now it’s time to expand that list. Finding customers is a numbers game. The more people you ask, the more customers you get. Not everybody wants it. Usually from what I’ve seen with the kid business owners I work with, it’s about one in four or one in five people you ask who are going to buy. That means you might get three or four nos to get every yes. Maybe they say, “Yes, I’ll buy from you,” or perhaps it’s, “No thank you, not right now.” Or they just don’t respond when you reach out. But you are looking for and celebrating the yesses.

Little failures are okay. They’re bound to happen. Every time someone says no, you say, “That’s okay. That’s one closer to my next customer.” It’s crazy to think everybody would want your product. There’s nothing in the world where everybody wants it. You’re not going to be able to sell to every single person. Think about it this way. If someone has 50 customers, they’ve probably had to talk to hundreds of people to get to that point.

You need a list of customers. A long list. We’re going to do an exercise right now called My Top 10. Still have your pen and paper? This is a fast-firing brainstorming session where you’re going to write down who you want to talk to first, second, third, fourth, your first 10 people to talk to. You’re going to either text them or call them and tell them about your product and give them your pitch to see if you can get your first few customers. I’m going to start the timer in my head, and you have one minute to write down your top 10. This is going to be your top 10 family and friends or neighbors or anyone that comes to mind that you want to try to get as your team. Who’s your team of people?

Parents, grandparents, write down their names. Who are some aunts and uncles or cousins you can talk to? Write them down. You can write way more than 10, by the way. If you write down 30 or 50, that’s great, so keep going. Who are some of your close family friends who would love to support you? What about classmates or parents’ coworkers or friends? Maybe your dentist or lawyer. The more, the better. Remember, it’s a numbers game.

Well, how’d you do? Did you get at least 10? Great job! A lot of these people are going to want to help you. They’re going to want to buy the product that you have. If it’s priced right and it’s made with love and passion and it’s made well, they are going to love it. Find those customers. Ask them if they want to buy. Get out there and make your first sale!