$0 - $1.5 million in 11 months(while working a 9 – 5)
Todd Garland@[email protected]
Background
Founder, BuySellAds.com Early employee at HubSpot Freelance web designer / developer Mindfire.com
We help aliens buy and sell ads online Acquired domain for $2,160 Sold our first ad February 2008 1 man show for first 8 months, nights and weekends $0 --> $1.5mm by end of 2008 (11 months) $0 spent on sales & marketing
The BAD News
The GOOD News
… it IS out there
Your Product
“Silver bullets don’t exist… unless you build your own – it’s called
your product.” via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #1
I’m relatively unsophisticated
DISCLAIMER
Testing
Amazon.comGoogle
MicrosoftPlaydom (Disney Interactive)
ZyngaeBay
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A/B_testing)
(http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html)
“Yes, it’s true that a team at Google couldn’t decide between two blues, so they’re testing 41 shades between each blue to see which one performs better. I had a recent debate over whether a border should be 3, 4 or 5 pixels wide, and was asked to prove my case.”
- Douglas Bowman
“Figure out what works for YOUR business.
Testing is useful, but instincts and intuition are more important”
via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #2
FEAR
6 Months
You overcome
fear by doing
“He who is afraid of making mistakes is afraid to succeed.” via @toddo’s dad
#MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #3
The dreaded 9 to 5
If you have a 9 to 5…
You have an EXTREMECompetitive Advantage
You become more efficient
Typical day…6am – 8am: work on BSA8am – 8:15: shower8:45-ish: arrive at HubSpot6pm: return home from HubSpot7pm: Dinner
Option A:
9pm – midnight: work on BSA
Option B:
Hang out with wife, pull the “fake sleep” move, and then work on BSA from ~ 11:30 – 2:30
Let’s break down the $1.5 million
125K / month4K / day
40 orders per day1 order every 36 minutes
It’s not easy,but you can build a REAL business
while working a 9 to 5
If users ask about your odd hours…
Just tell them you’re Australian
“Constraints breed creativity. Embrace
your constraints and use them to your advantage.”
via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #4
Family
Don’t work long hours
Work SMART hours
“Americans live to work, and
Europeans work to live”
That’s not healthy
“The first rule in any company
should be family first. Without family we have nothing.”
via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #5
AutomateEverything
AutomateEverything
AutomateEverything
AutomateEverything
AutomateEverything
Why are you in the software business?
No one-offs
“2 rules: Automate everything, and NO
one-offs. This is the key to scaling your revenue
per employee.” via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #6
How did we get our first users?
We Invited Them
People don’t like being sold to
Hi Joe,
I run a company called BuySellAds.com. I’d love to have your site included in our inventory. You would be in good company, and we’ll work really hard to help you sell more ads. Here’s an invite code if you are interested & thanks for your time:
http://buysellads.com/?invite=KJs87sH
Cheers,Todd
We focused on the non-consumers
“Don’t overlook the non-consumers. They
are waiting for the OPPORTUNITY to buy.” via @toddo
#MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #7
Invest inCustomer
Happiness & Good Vibes
Asynchronous Ad Code
“WOWing your customers has to be
authentic. It isn’t transactional. It’s a
way of life.” via @toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #8
Branding
Incredibly hard for small
companies to measure the
effects of branding efforts
It’s OK to invest in stuff
that’s not measurable
“Don’t underestimate the
value of branding.” via
@toddo #MicroConf
Potentially Insightful Tweet Bait #9
Momentum
Where are we today?
MAY 2011
average ads sales (in dollars) per day, month over month
FEB
2008
Where should we stop?
Should we try to grow forever?
What if you don’t have momentum?
“If you're not working on your best idea right now, you're
doing it wrong.”- David Heinemeier Hansson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDGHxO6N3Ms
(free t-shirts)
Questions?