My business seems to flop

[Credos]

Hi guys,

For half a year I've been busy building my own business. I joined courses on how to program, building websites with MVC in c# and it's been a very interesting journey. I tried to stay lean and agile, by adjusting my product to my customer’s needs. The responses were mostly neutral towards positive. I got inside about three major companies who listened to me and gave me feedback. Of those three I had one firm believer.

So today I had a meeting with my firm believer again, but now it seems they've kind of changed their minds and don't think it's for them. They believe that bigger companies would be interested in the product, but it's just not for them. They're still helping me ofcourse and giving me information that I can use to improve my product with.

The blow came in pretty hard and I'm feeling pretty down. I got accepted into an incubation program and my mentor there selected me because he believed in my idea, but at the moment, that's the only person really left except for myself who believes in it. Honest to God I think it's a great idea, it's just software that requires a community and that's ofcourse the hard part.

I'm starting to doubt myself on what I should do, stop pursuing this idea and get a normal job again, or continue on this road... The experience has been great and I've learned a lot so I'm totally not regretting anything, but perhaps it's time to go after something else when the people who should be enthousiastic about my idea, are not?

Any advice?
Thanks!

 

[Tictac]

If you are going to fold psychologically after one 'no', you need to go find a job working for someone not attempt to be an entrepreneur or small business guy.

Things aren't going to work out sometimes. If you aren't fiercely tenacious and persistent, you have no business trying to start a company. Doubt is part of it sometimes. But overcoming it is the bigger part.

You said yourself that this is the hard part. Are you up to it or not?

 

[grayclif]

Keep pushing bro.

 

[Bible_Belt]

PM backbreaker

 

[l_e_g_e_n_d]

I had went through seven years of 60-70 hour workweeks, loss of wife (due to my time constraints), two major lawsuits, insolvency, three offices, dozens of employees, thousands of rejections, and mountains of stress before I netted my first mil. If you fold after a handful of rejections, entrepreneurism just isn't your game.

 

[Glumix]

I have been working for a company that did some startups incubation related to software and web development.

What I can tell you is this :

- 3 to 5% of startups were actually successful
- as investors, by successful we meant they grew bigger every year and were valued for a few millions after a few years

- I have met some entrepreneurs 3 or 4 times, every time for different projects because the last one just failed
- those were the good ones, most of them finaly succeeded

- I have also met a LOT of entrepreneurs who were just a bunch of stupids knowing nothing about what they talked about, they sometimes had good ideas but were completely unable to realize them, but most of the time they just had awefuly bad ideas

- and a few of them just went back to the 9-5 jobs they hated before they became entrepreneur

- you can define what you mean by success and adapt the path to get there
- an idea is just a path to get there, but you can create 20 others to achieve what you mean by success
- if you get oneitis on an idea, it's bad, recreate the idea, rework it, turn it upside down or just dump it and create something else

But I would say, as already said above, push harder. If you enjoy what you do then you are already creating something. The fact that you got just a few people interested is a success. There are companies that just sucks ass and never get ANY positive feedback.

 

[ZTIME]

They believe that bigger companies would be interested in the product, but it's just not for them. They're still helping me ofcourse and giving me information that I can use to improvemy product with.

I guess I'm not understanding the problem. A company six months in the making with the opportunity to use the help of others who believe bigger companies would be more interested in your product........hmmmm??

Telling you to keep pushing forward would be ok advice and has already been given, but what does that mean, and can you actually do it.

Success doesn't fall into your lap. Success is a product of hard work and learning. It's the cumulative reward of grinding for endless hours to develop and produce the best product you can.

There must be a fire inside of you that forces you to push forward no matter how rough things get. Some have it, some don't.

Six months is a drop in the bucket. Step back and review what you've created. Truly look at it and ask yourself if it's worth your effort. If you can't sell yourself on your own product, how are you going to sell it to anyone else.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[NeoKortex]

This one Is inspiring: