Laura Good is the co-founder of StartupSac, whose mission is to
accelerate Sacramento’s startup and innovation ecosystem.
So you have an idea for a business. Maybe it’s a new boutique
that curates a unique collection of porcelain dolls. Or you want
to quit your job and turn your creative hobby into your
livelihood. Or maybe you have a tech startup idea that you’re
sure is going to disrupt an industry. What do you do next?
While these ideas may seem dissimilar, they all have something in
common — none will be successful without customers! And before
you build your business, you should validate that you’ve got
something that solves a problem people have, that your product or
service is something they want, and that they’d be willing to pay
for it. Also, you want to make sure that the number of people
that would be willing to pay for your service or product is large
enough to support your business.
When I talk to entrepreneurs, most of them make assumptions about
who needs their product or service. They think it’s a good idea
and a few friends or family members they talked to think it is as
well. Some have even already spent tons of their own money and/or
time building a business around their own assumptions. They’re
operating under the premise that “if you build it, they will
come.” This is a formula for failure.
“The Capital Region is bursting with resources and programs
that can guide you in the process of validating your business
idea.”Laura Good, co-founder, StartupSac
Of course you don’t want to fail! So what do you do? I’ve got
some good news — the Capital Region is bursting with resources
and programs that can guide you in the process of validating your
business idea. You can learn how to conduct interviews that will
help you discover whether or not people need your product or
service before you invest time and money into building or
developing it. And most of these resources are free!
Set yourself up for success with a specialized program or support
system
Organizations like the MetroBusiness Center, SCORE, the Small
Business Development Center, and the Women’s Business Center can
set you up with a one-on-one business advisor who can help you
with all aspects of launching a business. And then there are
programs and classes that can teach you specifically how to
validate your business idea before you invest too much time and
money into it.
The Lean Innovator Series, a program of the MetroBusiness Center
and the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entreprepreneurship at
Sac State, is one such program. This seven-week cohort program is
designed to help you test out your business idea with live
customers while you build it. It’s offered a couple times a year
and is free of charge. There’s an online application process
where you’ll need to give some thought to the problem your idea
solves, but most applicants are accepted.
Another program of the Carlsen Center is the Entrepreneurship
Toolkit Series. This five-week series guides participants through
hands-on activities to build an understanding of proven startup
tools and apply them to their own businesses. In it, you’ll learn
about problem-solution fit, product-market fit and design
thinking.
Seek out standalone workshops and DIY options
And if you don’t currently have time to commit to a multi-week
program, many standalone workshops and seminars are available.
Organizations like StartupSac and the Roseville Venture Lab, as
well as the organizations mentioned above that offer one-on-one
support, have monthly workshops that support
entrepreneurship. Look for topics such as “The Business Model
Canvas,” “Lean Startup,” “Startup Testing” and “Value
Proposition Design” to get you started.
If you’re a self-paced learner, there are books available that
can help you validate your idea early on in the process of
launching your business. I recommend Strategyzer’s “Value
Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers
Want,” which teaches you how to design, test and evolve your
business. The content is accessible and has lots of practical
examples. And if you want an easy guide to learning how to talk
to customers and learn if your business is a good idea, I
recommend “The Mom Test” by Rob Fitzpatrick.
Connect with fellow entrepreneurs
In addition to validating your business idea, I also recommend
joining the entrepreneur community in our region. It’s not an
official association — you join by participating in activities.
Hanging out with other entrepreneurs creates a two-way learning
pathway. You learn from each other by sharing your stories and
experiences. You don’t need to go it alone and you will be a
better business owner if you have made friends along the way with
others who are on the same journey.
One example is 1 Million Cups Sacramento, a weekly opportunity to
connect with other entrepreneurs. Every Wednesday morning, two
entrepreneurs present their early-stage companies to their peers
for advice and feedback. Some weeks the meetings are held in
person, others on Zoom. Drop in every week or just from time to
time to get connected with the community.
Startup Happy Hour is a monthly gathering of entrepreneurs. This
event, organized by StartupSac and the Carlsen Center, meets in
person at a local restaurant or bar. In this very social
gathering, an accomplished entrepreneur is invited to share about
their startup journey. Then the audience is invited to an “AMA”
(ask me anything) where they can learn more about how to be
successful.
No matter where you live in the Capital Region, there are people,
organizations and programs designed to assist you along your
entrepreneurial journey. All you have to do is reach out.
Laura Good is the co-founder of StartupSac, whose mission is
to accelerate Sacramento’s startup and innovation ecosystem by
informing, educating, empowering and connecting its startup
founders and innovators. You can learn more about what’s
happening in the Capital Region on the StartupSac.com website,
and by subscribing to the Sacramento Startup Digest, a free,
weekly email that rounds up the best events happening for
entrepreneurs in the region.
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