The Idea
I've dabbled with the idea of running my own business since my teenage years. Although the idea sounds pretty cool and exciting, it has its own struggles and reality checks. Whether it's a tech startup, cafe, bakery, restaurant, or any other brick-and-mortar business, I've always wanted to eventually dive into entrepreneurship. Since a lot of my personal life revolves around problem solving and having a good outlook for opportunities, it felt more convincing to me to eventually head in that direction.
False Hopes
Reading about a handful of success stories like Facebook, Microsoft, Snapchat is misleading for a 16-year-old. The success story only speaks about half of the actual story: success. The struggle one goes through building something phenomenal is usually undermined or not acknowledged properly for the reader to understand.
Idea Incubation
I realized that in order to start a business, I need to learn how to run a business. The basics, the tips and tricks, and the downsides. There's a lot of books and videos I've gone through to understand what it means to start a business and run it efficiently.
To name a few: The Lean Startup, The Hard Things About Hard Things, The Mom Test, and my current read, Steal Like An Artist.
The one idea that was consistent in these books was learn by doing, not by sitting around. Hence, I wasn't going to sit around anymore.
Decision
I gathered up courage to finally put myself out there. It was time I put my money and my mouth where my skills are. I'm currently working on a few ideas I'd like to share with everyone on my new social media channel, where I will be creating content and start my business.
Whether it's a SaaS, a product, or a service, I have to get out there.
This is going to be IT for me.
Execution
I would have started with a B2B or B2C SaaS too, but for now I was going through some tiramisu phase. I've had some tiramisu here and there, and it never hit me the right way. So I decided to make tiramisu and loved the process of making it. The taste is so much better than what's available in the market. Everyone who has had my tiramisu loves it.
The Launch
Hence, I put up an ad hoping for leads. Anyone who'd pay me to make them tiramisu. But why would any random stranger do that? Because it's Valentine's week. Since Valentine's Day is in two days, a lot of people will panic buy last minute. And this is some wisdom I acquired at the jewelry shop at Avalon Mall yesterday.
My ad has been up for 10 days or so now, but I've barely got two DMs and no confirmed orders. A bit discouraging, but I wasn't going to give up. I revamped my ad and posted it again. And finally, yesterday I struck gold.
Hope
This time, a confirmed order. I was filled with excitement. My first ever confirmed order. It feels like a small step in the direction I want to go, but it's the right step. I gathered all of my ingredients to start making it, and I've made the best tiramisu I could sell.
Once I get the feedback from the customer regarding the tiramisu, I will share it here.
What I Learned?
- Your idea isn't worthless, but your first attempt at selling it probably is. Keep iterating based on market response.
- Use timing and trends as a boost, not as your entire business.
- Product quality, execution, and patience matter, and real proof will come from customer feedback.
- Progress often looks invisible until your first real customer appears. Keep taking those baby steps.
And that's all it is for today, folks. I'll see you in the next blog ✌️