Written by Melanie Mossard
Many of us, at some point in life, may have the eager to kick start a startup that could give impact to the world but you don’t know what type of startup you should do and how to make it happen.
HERE ARE A FEW ADVICES:
1. IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITY AND PROBLEM
Identify a group of people you really want to help. OR Identify a problem that really affects you, and then think about the people affected by this problem.
2. GET CLOSER TO THEM AND THE PROBLEM
Ask them lots of questions about their current way of working, what are their challenges, what are their existing solutions and what is not working.
3. KNOW YOUR STRENGTH
Think about your own strengths and skills. If you don’t know, ask your colleagues/classmates/family/friends to tell you what are your top 3 skills and why they like working with you.
4. FIND A PARTNER
Find a partner, a co-founder, someone you trust, who has complementary skills with, or who you might have worked well with in the past or went to school with. This person must share the same passion for the problem as you and is willing to dedicate time and money!
5. GO BACK TO (2)
Go back together asking lots of questions to the people you want to help.
6. BRAINSTORMING AND LOOK AROUND
Brainstorm together some solutions. Look on the internet for inspiration, if there is anyone else in the world doing it already. Check if you can bring it to Cambodia adapting it to the local market. No need to reinvent the wheel!
7. BUDGET THIS! BUDGET THAT!
Set a small budget limit on how much of your own money you want to spend on trying to make this project works. But you will have to spend your own money! If you don’t want to put money on it, then who else will dare to do it? Well… only family, friends and fools! Forget about banks and investor at the starting stage!
8. PROTOTYPING
Start prototyping, making the first version of your product or service, based on the recommendations of your costumers. No need to worry that it is not perfect yet! All you need at this stage is something real for your target customers to test and give feedback. Only feedbacks made after your product is launched would be actually helpful!
9. GO BACK AND TALK (Again)
When you have the prototype, go back to talk to your potential customers, ask for feedback, and improve your products and keep doing and improving it!
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10. BRANDING!
Build your brand, make a Facebook page, update your LinkedIn profile! Make it exist to the public and show to them that you are actually, making it happen, step by step. There is no need to invest in a website straight away!
11. CUSTOMERS COME FIRST!
Keep talking to customers! Not to investors! (Investors will only come once you have a product people looooove! and are buying it)
12. CUSTOMERS COME FIRST! YES!
Keep talking to your customers! Always! They are the real reason that your startup is the thing that people need.
13. ASK!
Ask for help! If you don’t ask, no one will know that you are stuck!
Via GIPHY
14. BE WITH US!
Join a community of other entrepreneurs like Impact Hub, to get support from other like-minded people. Staying alone is so sad.
HOPE ALL THESE ADVICE ARE HELPFUL FOR YOU! AND REMEMBER:
“START SMALL, START NOW!
THIS IS MUCH BETTER THAN,
“START BIG, START LATER.”
Written by Melanie Mossard
