A few points we talked about
Talk up your business
In the early days of starting a business, some entrepreneurs are embarrassed to talk about it because it’s not successful yet. It’s just a budding idea. But Robby told us how he brought in clients by talking up his business everywhere. Some of his early customers came from places like his church.
Entrepreneurship can be a better education than school
Starting a business early (even if it ends up failing) can be more educational than going to school. We’ve talked about this in past interviews, like this one with Jared Kim, who quit school before starting his current company.
Turn down business
Robby’s business took off after he decided to pare down his project list and focus. It took him a year to cut down his company’s commitment to work on 40+ projects.
Don’t underestimate contests
Robby uses contests to help draw users to his site. He said it’s an inexpensive promotion because the prizes, like the rings that he gives away on WhereToGetEngaged, are often given to him for free from suppliers who want exposure on his sites. And it works because he uses the contest deadline to create urgency for users who might otherwise procrastinate about registering.
Have a profit-oriented mindset
We talked about how many online entrepreneurs start out looking for “eyeballs,” with no concern for revenue. Then, many of those same founders struggle to keep their companies going because they didn’t build a revenue plan into their businesses.
Start small
WhereToGetEngaged started out as a directory for a single state. Then it expanded into other states. Then it started offering other services like social networking.
In our pre-interview Robby told me this is one of the most important points that he wants to communicate to anyone building a web business. Start small. Reduce your idea to its simplest, most-manageable version. Then build it up.
Listen to the full interview to hear a deeper discussion on this point.
Full program includes
– Get ideas about where to find your ideal business partner or co-founder.
– Learn how to take a big business idea and reduce it to something small enough to launch effectively and cheaply.
– MY FAVORITE PART: See how to build a profitable directory business. You’ll hear how Robby gives away listings to populate his directory. Then he brings in revenue by selling premium placements.
