How To Start A Bots As A Service Business

Updated: January 18th, 2023

How To Start A Bots As A Service Business

Are you looking to start a bots as a service business?

If you talk to any entrepreneur, getting started is one of the hardest parts of launching your own business.

There are many things to consider, such as:

  • Validating your business idea
  • Setting up your business structure
  • Launch ideas for your business
  • Determining your marketing strategy
  • And much more!

In this detailed guide, we lay out all the steps to help you get started and run your business successfully.

market size
$431M
starting costs
$16.8K
gross margin
83%
time to build
360 days
pros & cons
37 Pros & Cons

πŸ’‘ Introduction To Starting A Bots As A Service Business

Is Starting A Bots As A Service Business Right For You?

There are many factors to consider when starting a bots as a service business.

We put together the main pros and cons for you here:

Pros of starting a bots as a service business

β€’ Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

β€’ Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

β€’ Rewarding work

Starting a bots as a service business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

β€’ Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

β€’ Traffic to your website

A bots as a service business gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

β€’ No overhead costs

To get your bots as a service business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

β€’ High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

β€’ High margins

The gross margins for your bots as a service business are typically around 83%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

β€’ Control of workload

With starting a bots as a service business, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you.

β€’ Unlimited income potential

With starting a bots as a service business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

β€’ You are your own boss!

With starting a bots as a service business, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

β€’ Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

β€’ Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

β€’ Simple business model

A bots as a service business has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

β€’ Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

β€’ You get to do something you truly love

With starting a bots as a service business, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

β€’ You can work from anywhere!

Not only can you start your bots as a service business from home, you can also run your business from anywhere in the world. This is the entrepreneur dream.

β€’ Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for bots as a service business is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

β€’ Various different ways to make money

With starting a bots as a service business, there is not just one business model to choose from. This field is amazing in that there are various different ways to make money. Although this may complicate things, it's great to have different options and sources of revenue.

β€’ Make money while you sleep

The advantage of starting a bots as a service business is that you have the ability to have passive income and make money while you sleep. This is the dream for many entrepreneurs.

β€’ Results and revenue happen quickly!

Unlike other businesses, it can be relatively quick to start seeing results and revenue. As long as you follow all the steps to validate your idea before launch, you are likely to see quick results and ROI.

Cons of starting a bots as a service business

β€’ Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your bots as a service business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

β€’ Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

β€’ Longer Sales Process

A bots as a service business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

β€’ Security Issues

With any Saas business, data loss and security issues may arise throughout your process of building your product. It's critical that you understand exactly what you're responsible for and how to avoid potential issues down the road.

β€’ Isolation

Often times, as a bots as a service business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

β€’ Taxes

As a bots as a service business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

β€’ No safety net

Typically, as a bots as a service business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

β€’ Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

β€’ You may need to charge sales tax

If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article

β€’ Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

β€’ Complex development process.

The development process for a bots as a service business can be quite complex, which may cause delays and challenges when launching and growing your product.

β€’ Complex maintenance

Your bots as a service business will require a long-term investment due to the need for updates, bug fixes, and security vulnerabilities. It's important that you (or someone on your team) stays on top of this at all times.

β€’ Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone!

Although this is exciting for some entrepreneurs, it can be a big challenge for others! You may find yourself in uncomfortable social and business situations, jumping into tasks and responsibilities you aren't familiar with, and pushing yourself as far as you can go!

β€’ You might struggle financially (at first)!

If you bootstrap your business or choose not to pay yourself (or pay yourself less than you were making at your corporate job), this can be financially taxing. It's important to adjust your lifestyle and set a plan for yourself so you don't find yourself in a stressful situation.

β€’ Minimal physical activity

A big part of starting a bots as a service business is sitting at a desk for the majority of the day starting at your computer. Some may enjoy this, but others may struggle with sitting for the majority of your day without much physical activity.

β€’ The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a bots as a service business. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

Players

Big Players

Small Players

Search Interest

Let's take a look at the search trends for bots service over the last year:

How To Name Your Bots As A Service Business

It's important to find a catchy name for your bots as a service business so that you can stand out in your space.

Here are some general tips to consider when naming your bots as a service business

  • Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
  • Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
  • Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
  • As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!

Why is naming your bots as a service business so important?

The name of your business will forever play a role in:

  • Your customers first impression
  • Your businesses identity
  • The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
  • If you're memorable or not

It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your bots as a service business.

You can search domain availability here:

Find a domain starting at $0.88

powered by Namecheap

Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.

It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.

As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.

Here's some inspiration for naming your bots as a service business:

  • Zombies Trading Co check availability
  • Robots Trading Co check availability
  • Bad Beasties check availability
  • Bad Botts check availability
  • Malware Place check availability
  • Ant Trojans Spot check availability
  • Most Captcha Trading Co check availability
  • SubcutaneousBots check availability
  • Few Malware check availability
  • Best Bats check availability
  • Several Malware Co check availability
  • The Surf check availability
  • Trojans Spot check availability
  • The Best Monsters check availability
  • Nasal Zombies Collective check availability
  • Multiple Malware check availability
  • Captcha Spot check availability
  • Malware Co check availability
  • Best Boots check availability
  • Most Monsters Group check availability
  • The Malicious check availability
  • Stomach Monsters Spot check availability
  • The Popular check availability
  • StomachBots check availability
  • Small Monsters Pro check availability
  • Tiny check availability
  • Sheep Robotics Pro check availability
  • The Tiny check availability
  • Most Malware check availability
  • Intelligent Zombies Trading Co check availability
  • Sheep Spambot Group check availability
  • Best Bee Larkspur check availability
  • Screws Spot check availability
  • The Few Zombies check availability
  • Nasal check availability
  • Few Zombies check availability
  • Small check availability
  • Multiple Malware Collective check availability
  • The Intelligent Robotics check availability
  • Sheep Monsters Place check availability
  • Stomach Zombify Place check availability
  • Monsters Group check availability
  • The Individual Zombify check availability
  • Sheep check availability
  • Best Robotics Trading Co check availability
  • The Multiple Malware check availability
  • More Bolts Group check availability
  • Groove Malware Co check availability
  • The More Spambot check availability
  • Bad Browsers check availability
  • Surf Trojans Co check availability
  • The Groove Malware check availability
  • Groove Spambot check availability

How To Create A Slogan For Your Bots As A Service Business:

Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.

The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.

Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.

Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your bots as a service business:

1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words

A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.

2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different

There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:

  • Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
  • What problem do you solve?
  • How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
  • Do you make people more successful? How?

3. Be consistent

Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.

It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.

4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan

Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.

When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.

5. Consider your audience

When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.

It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.

6. Get feedback!

This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.

Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.

Here's some inspiration for coming up with a slogan for your bots as a service business:

  • Malicious Bots, Let's Get To Work
  • Most Lurkers Are What We Do
  • Commit Of The Trojans
  • Bots Only.
  • Bots With Study
  • Site Of The Robots
  • Come Fly The Friendly Bots.
  • Other Bots, Redefined
  • Biting The Hand That Feeds Bots.
  • I Can't Believe It's Not Bots.
  • Don't Hold Bots Back.
  • Bots - You See This Name, You Think Dirty.
  • Other And Afore
  • Commit Of The Robotics
  • A Leaner, Meaner Bots
  • Get More From Life With Bots.
  • Bots's Like Heaven.
  • You Need A Bots.
  • The Joy Of Bots.
  • Malicious Vulns Are What We Do
  • Large Trojans, Several Malware
  • Go Farther With Bots.
  • Bots With Person
  • Bots - Empowering People.
  • Why Can't Everything Orange Be Bots?
  • Bots - Now!
  • Lay Of The Spambot
  • Office Of The Robots
  • Bots Gets It Done On Time.
  • Bots Wins Again.
  • Unzip A Bots.
  • Bots - It Does A Body Good.
  • Most Applets Are What We Do
  • The Art Of Bots.
  • Other And Upper
  • What Can Bots Do For You?
  • Firstclass Bots!
  • Several And Treble
  • Everyone's Favourite Bots.
  • Bots With Content
  • Bots With Country
  • Jesus Loves Bots.
  • We're With The Bots.
  • Bet You Can't Eat Bots.
  • Few Minions Are What We Do
  • Cleans A Big, Big Bots For Less Than Half A Crown.
  • I Like The Bots In You.
  • From Same To Former
  • Have A Break. Have A Bots.
  • Large Malware, Large Spamming
  • Next To The Breast, Bots's The Best.

The Software Business Model

Tiered Pricing Model

You may want to consider having different pricing tiers to meet the needs of your customers.

With this model, there are typically 2 or more packages for a specific price that offer a fixed amount of features.

Each package should reflect the needs of the buyer persona - for example, a customer looking for a beginner package may have a very different use case than a customer looking for an enterprise package.

By offering different packages, you're able to target different audiences which will lead to increased conversions and revenue. Additionally, your chances of "upselling" existing customers are much higher as you have establisished trust with your customer and they're left wanting more once their use case evolves.

Per-User Model

Many bots as a service business businesses charge a fixed rate per user on the account (either monthly or yearly). This can be especially lucrative if you're targeting larger businesses where the user number will be much higher.

This model is not always preferred as it can be challenging to forecast revenue accurately when the user count within businesses is fluctuating constantly.

Flat Rate Model

If you decide to adopt a flat-rate model, this would mean that you offer only one price for every customer. All customers are treated equally and have access to the same amount of features.

This model is not as common as tiered pricing because it only meets the needs of one buyer persona and can limit growth and you're able to have multiple revenue streams.

Per Feature Model

This model charges customers based on the # of features they need. Customers add features "a-la-carte" which will determine the overall price of the product.

This can be a lucrative model, however, the number of different use-cases customers need can become overwhelming (making the sales process longer) and it can be challenging to find a price structure that works well.

The business model you choose depends entirely on your needs and goals as a company. To find what works well for you, you may want to consider testing several models and conducting market research to see what competition in the space is doing.

The Freemium Model

Offering free trials to your platform is a great way to gain exposure for your business and potentially get new customers!

Finding the right bots as a service business is a big deal for most people, so it can be important for customers to try a free version with limited features prior to making a big investment.

Once your customer reaches the limits of their free account, they're much more likely to invest in the premium version so they can gain access to all of the features your product offers.

There are a few different ways you can limit certain aspects of your product:

  • Usage quotas: Storage limits or limiting the number of times they can utilize a feature
  • Limited features: Only allowing your free user to utilize certain features vs all features - this is also a great way to upsell during the user's experience
  • Limited support: Customer support can be time-consuming, by limiting the level of support to free users this is a great incentive for them to upgrade (and will save you a lot of time and money)!

Here's an example of SEO website, Sanity Check offering a free version to their website:

article

Learn more about starting a bots as a service business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a bots as a service business?
-> Pros and cons of a bots as a service business

Need inspiration?

-> Other bots as a service business success stories
-> Examples of established bots as a service business

Other resources

🎬 How To Start A Bots As A Service Business

article

How Much Does It Cost To Start A Bots As A Service Business

If you are planning to start a bots as a service business, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.

We’ve outlined two common scenarios for β€œpre-opening” costs of starting a bots as a service business and outline the costs you should expect for each:

  • The estimated minimum starting cost = $12
  • The estimated maximum starting cost = $33,558
Startup Expenses: Average expenses incurred when starting a bots as a service business. Min Startup Costs: You plan to execute on your own. You’re able to work from home with minimal costs. Max Startup Costs: You have started with 1+ other team members.
Office Space Expenses
Rent: This refers to the office space you use for your business and give money to the landlord. To minimize costs, you may want to consider starting your business from home or renting an office in a coworking space. $0 $5,750
Utility Costs For Office Space: Utility costs are the expense for all the services you use in your office, including electricity, gas, fuels, telephone, water, sewerage, etc. $0 $1,150
WiFi & Internet: Whether you work from home or in an office space, WiFi is essential. Although the cost is minimal in most cases, it should be appropriately budgeted for each month! $0 $100
Total Office Space Expenses $0 (min) $7,000 (max)
App Creation Costs
App Development: App development is the process of creating software intended to run on a mobile device.In addition to coding, there are other elements to consider:- design- back end development- security- architecture- testingMany businesses hire an expert that has the technical knowledge to design and develop an app.Depending on the scope of your project, the cost can vary. Some business owners learn to code on their own to minimize these costs, and others, hire a developer to work for them part-time or full-time. $1,000 $20,000
Apple Developer Program: To submit your app to the app store, you will need to enroll in the apple developer program. This costs $99/year. $99 $99
Total App Creation Costs $1,099 (min) $20,099 (max)
Software Expenses
Design Programs & Software: These programs might include the Adobe family of design tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and others. This is typically a monthly subscription ranging from $10-$50/mo. $0 $50
Email marketing tool: If you plan to grow your email list and email marketing efforts, you may want to consider investing in an email marketing platform (ie. Klaviyo, MailChimp). We put together a detailed guide on all of the email marketing tools out there + the pricing models for each one here. $0 $100
IT Support: IT support installs and configures hardware and software and solves any technical issues that may arise.IT support can be used internally or for your customers experiencing issues with your product/service.There are a variety of tools and software you can use to help with any technical issues you or your customers are experiencing. This is a great option for businesses that do not have the means to hire a team of professionals. $150 $2,000
Accounting & Invoicing Software: It's important to have an accounting system and process in place to manage financials, reporting, planning and tax preparation. Here are the 30 best accounting tools for small businesses. $0 $50
CRM Software: CRM (customer relationship management) software system is used to track and analyze your company’s interactions with clients and prospects. Although this is not a necessary tool to have for your business, implementing this, in the beginning, may set your business up for success and save you valuable time. $12 $300
Project Management Software: You may want to consider using a project management and collaboration tool to organize your day-to-day. This can also be very beneficial if you have a larger team and want to keep track of everyones tasks and productivity. For a full list of project management tools, check out this full list here. $0 $25
Internal Communication Tool: If you plan to have multiple members on your team, you may want to consider an instant message tool such as Slack or Telegram. The cost is usually billed per month (approx $5/user/month) or there are freemium versions available on many platforms. $0 $20
Social Media Management Tools: If you plan to do social media marketing for your bots as a service business, you should consider investing in a social media automation or publishing tool. This will save you time and allow you to track performance and engagement for your posts. Here is a list of 28 best social media tools for your small business. $0 $50
File Hosting Service: It's important to make sure the information for your bots as a service business is stored and protected should something happen to your computer or hard drive. The cost for this is affordable and depends on how much data you need to store. To learn more about the different options and pricing on the market, check out this article. $0 $299
Total Software Expenses $162 (min) $2,894 (max)
Advertising & Marketing Costs
Business Cards: A bots as a service business involves quite a bit of customer interaction, whether that is attending tradeshows, sales calls or simply having face to face interaction with prospective clients. Business cards are a great way to stay front of mind with your clients. $0 $50
Customer Research & Surveys: Many bots as a service business's conduct industry and consumer research prior to starting their business. Often times, you need to pay for this data or hire a market research firm to help you in this process. $0 $300
Affiliate Marketing Commission & Fees: If you want to increase revenue for your bots as a service business, affiliate marketing is a great way to promote your product to a new audience. When determining affiliate commission rates you will offer, you will want to take into account the price and margin for your product to ensure affiliate marketing is worth it for your business. According to Monitor Backlinks, the average affiliate commission rate should be somewhere between 5% to 30%. To learn more about how to set commission rates, check out this article.. $0 $250
Influencer Marketing: Partnering with like-minded influencers is one of the most effective ways to grow your social media presence. Many small businesses simply gift a free item in exchange for an influencer post, or pay the influencer directly. $0 $750
Press: If your business and story is unique enough, press and media attention may come to you, but odds are, you may need to do your own outreach and budget for this. We put together a guide here that discusses different press opportunities (both free and paid). $0 $500
Google Ads: With Google Ads you have the ability to control how much you spend by simply setting a monthly budget cap. Additionally, with these ads you only pay for results, such as clicks to your website or phone calls! It's okay to start with a small budget at first and make changes accordingly if you see valuable returns. $0 $300
Facebook & Instagram Ads: With Facebook and Instagram ads, you set your budget and pay for the actions you want (whether that be impressions, conversions, etc).You can learn more about pricing based on your impressions here. $0 $350
Total Advertising & Marketing Costs $0 (min) $2,500 (max)
Website Costs
Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL and name of your website - this is how internet users find you and your website.Domain names are extremely important and should match your company name and brand. This makes it easier for customers to remember you and return to your website. $12 $200
Business Email Hosting Service: An email hosting runs a dedicated email server. Once you have your domain name, you can set up email accounts for each user on your team. The most common email hosts are G Suite and Microsoft 365 Suite. The number of email accounts you set up will determine the monthly cost breakdown. $1 $15
Total Website Costs $13 (min) $215 (max)
Training & Education Expenses
Professional Training: If you plan to have employees for your bots as a service business, training can be time consuming and take you away from growing your business. You may want to consider hiring a professional trainer to onboard your team and put together a training manual with all processes and procedures. $0 $850
Total Training & Education Expenses $0 (min) $850 (max)
Total Starting Costs $12 (min) $33,558 (max)

Raising Money For Your Bots As A Service Business

Here are the most common ways to raise money for your bots as a service business:

Bootstrapping

You may not need funding for your bots as a service business.

In fact, many entrepreneurs take this approach when starting their own business, whether they have a little amount of cash or a substantial amount to get started.

So what exactly does the term "bootstrapping" mean?

This method essentially refers to self-funding your businesswithout external help or capital and reinvesting your earnings back into the business**

Bootstrapping means building your company from the ground up with your own, or your loved ones, personal savings and reinvesting all earnings back into the business

Here are some tips to consider when bootstrapping your business:

  • Use your savings as your capital - one of the best ways to bootstrap your business is to collect your savings and use them as startup capital. This will also help you avoid using your personal or business credit cards when getting started.
  • Determine exactly how much capital you need and how much capital you have to get your business off the ground. Generally, when bootstrapping your business, you may want to consider starting a business that involves less startup capital.
  • Consider starting a business that will generate immediate returns so you can put money back into the business
  • Be as lean as possible - this refers to cutting down expenses as much as possible, such as payroll, fancy software tools, unnecessary travel, renting an office, etc
  • Consider outsourcing instead of hiring - in the beginning, you may not need to hire someone permanently to help run your business. It tends to be much less expensive to outsource work to a freelancer and hire someone permanently down the road!

Want to learn more about bootstrapping your business? Check out this article

Business Accelerator

Accelerators are organizations that offer a range of support and funding opportunities for startups.

Typically, this means they help enroll startups in programs that offer mentorship, office space, and resources to grow the business.

These programs are typically 3-4 months and involve intense education and mentorship - most importantly, the startups also offered capital and investment in return for equity.

Here are some of the most popular and well-known startup accelerators in the U.S:

Here are some tips on how to get into an accelerator program:

  • Have an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) in place
  • Make sure you have actual customers and an overview of how your business is doing (revenue, site traffic, growth metrics)
  • Build a team
  • Crush your interview - this is a critical piece in the process. Know your business and metrics inside out and most importantly, be able to portray what makes it so unique.

Crowdfunding

For your bots as a service business, a common way to raise money is through crowdfunding.

So, what does it mean to crowdfund your small business?

Crowdfunding refers to funding a project through many individual investors.

Here are some items to keep in mind when planning your campaign:

  • Sell more than just your product. Sell your passion, your vision, and your story.
  • Be real. Give your community honest details about your product.
  • Treat your audience as your friends (not just potential customers)
  • Put together a great presentation - it will attract people quicker.

To launch a successful crowdfunding campaign, you first need to select the type of crowdfunding platform to host your campaign.

Here are the most popular crowdfunding platforms to raise money on:

Kickstarter

Funding platform for creative projects.

Businesses using Kickstarter:

90 successful businesses are using Kickstarter ➜

Get Kickstarter ➜

Indiegogo

Crowdfunding platform for innovations in tech and design.

Businesses using Indiegogo:

34 successful businesses are using Indiegogo ➜

Get Indiegogo ➜

StartEngine

Crowdfunding platform that has helped more than 350 companies raise $175M+ from a community of over 250,000 prospective investors.

Businesses using StartEngine:

Get StartEngine ➜

Case Study

We connected with one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, Photobooth Supply Co, and asked founder, Brandon Wong to give us some insight on his strategy:

article

Product first, campaign second

So with all of those positive benefits of the platform figured out, we wanted to make sure we had the product itself in the right place before we launched.

We’ve been working on Salsa for a long time now and wouldn’t have felt comfortable revealing the ability to pay for it until we hit a very important milestone. We had a final prototype.

Doing all of the sourcing and actual production is secondaryβ€”there was absolutely no way we could have gone public without people being able to see real photos (and touch in person) a functioning prototype.

This meant that we had to do all of the development before we ever saw a cent.

Finding backers in the real world

We launched the product at our annual Booth Summit, which is a convention for photobooth owners to get together and learn from experts in the field. Launching a product in a receptive environment is generally considered to be a good idea. The same was definitely true for us!

We had a crowd of people who had just told us they were dedicated to growing their business… and we had the chance to offer them a way to do just that. I really can’t emphasize enough how important it is to make products that matter for people who will care about them.

This opportunity to see the product in real life was an essential component for our launch, but it might not be the same for you. I think it just shows how essential having a great prototype is. People love to touch and feel what they’re buying, if you’re talking about something physical… you should be able to show a prototype before you ask for money.

Building excitement with even the smallest backers.

We knew that we wanted to have a ton of incentives for early backers so that they’d be rewarded for taking a leap of faith on a new photobooth.

We’re obviously not making a whole lot of money on that first $1999 tier. But it enabled people to be part of something fun.

Every $1999 backer is always going to be able to say, not just that they got a great deal, but that they were one of the first to get on board. It means a lot more than a discount code expiringβ€”just look at how frustrated people are on Twitter when a limited stock of rewards is secretly gobbled up.

Kickstarter doesn’t reveal the names of backers, but it humanizes them. And it just adds to the fun of getting your own spot! Even for someone backing now, they’re able to say that they were an early adopter.

Delivering on our promise

One of the most common critiques of Kickstarter items is that they either never show up or that they take years. I wanted to make sure that our timeline was easy to deliver and also reasonable.

Nobody deserves to wait two years for your product after they pay for it. I felt like we needed to offer a much quicker turnaround than that. We launched on Black Friday 2018 with an estimated delivery of April 2019.

That’s under 6 months and much lower than the average Kickstarter! The most important thing is that we will be able to meet that timeline. You can’t go around promising delivery dates and missing them, this isn’t a consumer product.

Anytime you’re working with the events industry you have to be very transparent and up front about timelines. A bride who books a photobooth needs it to show up on her wedding day. It’s non-negotiable!

-  
Brandon Wong, on starting Photobooth Supply Co. ($500,000/month) full story ➜

VC Funding

VC funding is a traditional and long process, but an effective way to raise money for your business.

The term "VC funding" refers to venture capital firms investing in businesses in exchange for equity.

The VC's (venture capitalists) are an individual or small group investing in your business and typically require substantial ownership of the business, with the hope of seeing a return on their investment.

VC's are typically the best approach for businesses with high startup costs - where it would be very difficult to raise the money on your own or through a loan.

When deciding whether to take this approach, it's important that you have a few things in place first, and know what you're getting yourself into:

Determine if your business is ready

Having an idea is not enough to get VC funding.

Typically, VC's will check to make sure you have these things in place prior to closing any deal:

  • An MVP (Minimal Viable Product)
  • A founding team with all proper documents in place (articles of organization, business formation)
  • A validated idea with actual customers buying your product/service

Get everything in place and build a pitch deck

A VC individual or firm will be expecting a fine-tuned presentation that gives an overview of your business.

Here's what you should consider including in your pitch deck:

  • Management team, their previous experience + current roles in the business
  • Market challenge and solution
  • Company financials - including a P&L statement, cash flow statement, and projections
  • Company progress
  • Investment amount - how much do you need and why?

Research the right VC to fund your business

Research the types of VC investors out there and what niche they focus on.

Then, put together a list of target VC's you want to approach and your strategy around setting up meetings.

Be sure you have everything in place (as discussed above) before setting up any meeting!

Make sure the terms and expectations are right for your business

Committing to VC funding is a big deal and a decision that should not be made lightly.

Although the money and experience from VC's can help your business quickly grow, you are also giving away a stake in the company, and the money comes with strings attached.

Be sure you do your due diligence in finding the right investor - one that truly believes in the growth and success of your business.

What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Bots As A Service Business?

As a bots as a service business, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.

Let’s look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:

Resarch and Writing Skills

Research and writing skills are critical when starting a bots as a service business. Here's what this looks like:

  • Basic computer & technology skills (Microsoft office or Google sheets/docs knowledge, data input, and proficiency in typing)
  • Creativity & originality in your work and approach
  • Great communication skills and ability to meet deadlines
  • Understanding of SEO

Other skills that businesses find valuable include digital marketing skills, basic web design, and accounting abilities. Some employers may also look for a bots as a service business that has a bachelor's degree or formal education.

Additionally, you may want to consider putting together a portfolio of past work and experience. This includes samples of writing/research pieces, from school projects to internship work to career experience.

Coding Skills

Here are some critical skills you will need to start your bots as a service business:

  • Language acquisition: Common languages include Java, Ruby, Python, HTML)
  • Creative thinking: Ability to develop innovative solutions and think outside the box
  • Analytical skills: Ability to troubleshoot issues quickly and efficiently
  • Attention to detail: Precise and detailed in the approach so that little to no errors arise
  • Calm & Collective: Critical that you are able to stay patient when challenges arise
  • Communication skills: The ability to explain your approach in a clear and concise way that all team members can understand.

To see more skills and qualities people look for in a bots as a service business, check out this article.

Design Skills

Whether you are the one designing the product or the decision-maker for the product, an eye for design is critical when starting a bots as a service business. Here's what this looks like:

  • Creative Thinking - the ability to develop or design different products or ideas
  • Visualization - being able to imagine or visualize how the product will look
  • Articulation - the ability to communicate what the design will look like and how it will be executed
  • Detail-oriented - paying close attention to all of the small pieces when designing or working on a project
  • Some technical skills - knowledge of the design software you are using to create the product or build prototypes.

Other skills that may be valuable to have when starting a bots as a service business include digital marketing skills, branding experience, and basic business knowledge.

Business Savvy Skills

When starting a bots as a service business, there are a few fundamental business skills you will want to learn in order to be successful:

  • Leadership and training skills: A great team starts with YOU. Make sure you have all company policies and training procedures in place prior to hiring your team
  • Decisive and self-confident: Over the course of your career, you will need decisions that could impact your business significantly. It's important you are able to think clearly and rationally about these decisions.
  • Ability to understand the financials: You don't need to be an accountant, but it is important that you are able to clearly understand and define metrics such as expenses, revenue, profit, margins, COGS, etc.
  • Strategic Thinking: Setting clear goals and benchmarks, identifying opportunities, risks. Ability to effectively communicate these insights to your team.

These are a few of many business savvy skills you should have (or work on) when starting a bots as a service business.

For a full list, check out this article here.

*Negotiation Skills

The ability to negotiate on behalf of your client will be an essential part of your every day job.

This is one of the most important qualities you can have when starting a bots as a service business, so it's important you practice and perfect these skills.

Here's what this looks like:

  • Ability to analyze all parts of the deal: your biggest power is to understand and analyze all parts of the deal for your client, choose when to walk away, and know to what lengths you can negotiate a deal.
  • Building rapport: This is key in the bots as a service business. You are much likely to reach an agreement and favorable terms if you spend just a few moments getting to know each other before talking about the deal at stake.
  • Be diplomatic: Being in control of any situation presented and showing intention with your words are key qualities for someone in this line of work. This includes asking good questions and listening actively.

Becoming a good negotiator does not happen overnight, but as long as you are persistent with practicing these skills and putting them into action, you will see growth day by day!

Customer Service Skills

Friendly communication with customers and the ability to address service issues is a critical part of the job.

Here are some customer service skills you may want to consider prior to starting a bots as a service business:

  • Professionalism: The way you act, present yourself, and respond to situations all leave an impression on your customer. It's important to stay professional at all times when handling customer requests or issues.
  • Problem-solving: When issues arise, it's important that you are able to think quick on your feet and address the situation with a calm and clear solution
  • Friendly-manner: This is an obvious one, but customers truly appreciate someone that can respond in a quick, efficient, and friendly manner.
  • Proficient in writing: These skills include the ability to write well-crafted emails, service tickets, and any other programs used by the business (ie. chat functions, SMS texting)

Advice For Starting A Bots As A Service Business

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a bots as a service business:

Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your bots as a service business.

Why?

Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.

For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.

You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:

  • Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
  • Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
  • Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
  • Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
  • Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
  • Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
  • Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
  • Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
  • Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.

Learn more about how to write a business plan here

Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need

There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.

Here are some factors you may want to consider:

  • Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
  • Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
  • Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
  • Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
  • Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.

Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in 2020 and what makes them so unique.

When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.

The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.

These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.

  • LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
  • S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
  • C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form 1120). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.

Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.

Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses ➜

Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.

How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?

Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).

But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.

There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:

1. Owner's Draw

Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.

At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.

As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.

This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you’re an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.

2. Salary

If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.

The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:

  • Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
  • Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
  • Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
  • Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
  • Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.

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To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.

How To Price Your Bots Service

One of the most challenging aspects to starting a bots as a service business is determining how much to charge for your bots service.

When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.

Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.

On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.

When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.

Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:

Understand your customer

It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:

  • Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
  • Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
  • Level of price sensitivity with your customer

All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.

Understand your costs

When pricing your bots service, it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your bots service so you can factor in a profit.

The actual cost of your bots service may include things like:

  • The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
  • Shipping + overhead fees
  • Rent
  • Operating costs to run your business

You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.

Create revenue goals

When determining the price of your bots service, you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your bots as a service business to make.

This process is simpler than you may think:

  1. Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
  2. Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
  3. Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
  4. Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell

This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.

Evaluate your competition

The last piece in determining how to price your bots service is by simply looking at your competition.

The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your bots service fits best in the marketplace.

All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your bots service, so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.

Gross Margin Calculator: How to Calculate The Gross Margin For Your Bots Service

Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.

The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand what is considered a healthy gross margin for your bots as a service business.

Calculate your gross margin and profit margin here.

Building an MVP (Minimal Viable Product)

When building a bots as a service business, it's critical that you first validate your product/service rather than rushing to build it right away.

This could save you months, if not years of building the wrong product/service.

If you're hoping to decrease any sort of risk that comes with launching your bots as a service business, designing a prototype can be a great way to de-risk your situation.

The point of your bots service prototype is that it doesn't have to be perfect.

In the beginning stages, it doesn't matter how rough V1 of your prototype is, it's more important to just get started and you can always refine from there based on feedback from your network and most importantly your customers.

How To Build A MVP

Here are several different ways of building a prototype/MVP:

  • Start by building a landing page to see if customers actually need your product and if they are willing to pay for it
  • Build a very basic version of your idea and ask for immediate feedback from potential customers
  • Present a problem and solution via Facebook/Instagram Ads and see what the response is like

Jackson Fregeau, founder of Quandri dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:

Case Study

Our initial few products were built through hard work, and at times, sthe heer force of will. It was just the two of us. I would handle the customer conversations, analyze business processes and build out the flowcharts. Then Jamieson would take those designs and develop digital workers out of them, test them, deploy and maintain them.

We had no idea what we were doing initially, but we did a lot of research and worked hard to ensure we delivered a good service. Those initial customers were essential to getting to where we needed even if they weren’t a great fit long term. Although, our second customer is still with us today.

It was hard work landing the first few, but once we had our first insurance customers on board we were able to leverage those case studies and relationships into more customers.

For us, and a lot of people building software products I think, what is important is finding a problem that is painful for customers. If you solve a really painful problem, then a lot of other things will fall into place because those people will be so happy that they no longer need to deal with that problem. It will open up other opportunities. We took time in the beginning to build solutions for lots of different problems and rnderstand the landscape of our customers before we decided to focus on specific products to build out in a scalable way.

-  
Jackson Fregeau, on starting Quandri ($27,000/month) full story ➜

How To Find The Right Developer For Your Bots As A Service Business

If you (or others on your team) don't have the necessary coding/design skills to build the product on your own, finding the right developer for your bots as a service business is a critical piece to bringing your idea to life.

Prior to hiring someone, you'll want to:

  • Have a very clear understanding of what your product (or MVP) will look like
  • Understand what the details of the user experience will look like (pages, how users sign up, backend administrative details, billing, reports etc). It may help to draw out the prototype and UX experience on a design platform such as Sketch
  • Understand what features you want to implement now and even those in the future
  • Understand the costs and time associated with hiring a developer and set a budget (more on that below)

Here are some ways you can find a developer:

Case Study

Arielle Frank, founder of Clout Collective talks about her experiences and lessons learned when hiring a developer as a non-technical founder:

My first attempt to find a developer was a massive failure. I was basically screaming to be taken advantage of with my lack of technical knowledge and a heart full of hope. I signed an extremely unfavorable contract with a developer based in Morocco who claimed to offer β€œdiscounted” development services in exchange for equity in the company. By β€œdiscounted” I mean that it would cost only $40K to build the MVP. At the time I had no frame of reference for whether or not this was normal and justified it to myself.

Luckily, after a lot more internet sleuthing, I found my current developer, Adeva. Working with Adeva was the opposite experience of my initial encounter in every way. At $8K, Adeva’s quote for my MVP was literally 1/5th the cost of the original developer! I decided to save money on a front-end designer for V1 by using a template and designing things where I could in Figma.

I was forced to figure out many of the details and features of the platform upfront since Adeva couldn’t give me a quote without detailed user stories.

When building out the prospective features, I tried to focus on the end result and work backward from there.

For example, the end goal was for a content creator to be able to read a review and know whether or not they want to collaborate with a specific brand. I used this goal to inform the questions I collected for the reviews and the best way to display this info. During this phase, I also relied heavily on my beta testers for feedback about which info would be the most useful for them.

It’s tempting to add a bunch of cool, slick features when you’re building your product, but my brilliant mentor encouraged me to focus on doing one thing extremely well.

article

-  
Wilson Hung, on starting ARPU (/month) full story ➜

πŸš€ How To Launch Your Bots As A Service Business

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Build A Website

Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).

  1. Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
  2. Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
  3. Make sure you choose the right theme and design
  4. Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)

To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.

Web Design

Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Launch Strategies For Your Bots As A Service Business

There are various different ways you can launch your bots as a service business successfully.

Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your bots as a service business.

  • Build hype with a landing page: you can effectively do this through waiting lists, discounts, countdown timer etc
  • Create a teaser video: even just a 30 second video is a great way to exposure for your bots as a service business, and possibly even go viral
  • Reach out to influencers: The right influencer for your product has the ability to reach your audience with just one post, and because of their loyal following, this could lead to a big return for you.
  • Get Press: Whether you plan a PR stunt or get exposure through a popular news outlet, this is a great way to attract initial customers
  • Launch on popular sites: A great way to get buzz about your bots as a service business is to submit your launch to popular startup sites.

Here are a few popular sites to launch on:

Learn more about how to launch your business successfully ➜ here

Jackson Fregeau, founder of Quandri dives deep into the process of launching the business:

Case Study

Well, we wrote our business plan, built our initial website, and got our first customer in three weeks when Jamieson came to visit me in Vancouver. We both stayed in my 500-square-foot apartment (along with my girlfriend), ate Tacofino burritos (anyone from the Canadian West Coast will recognize this institution), and created what would become the first iteration of Quandri.

We had an initial website we put together ourselves in SquareSpace. It wasn’t much, but gave us something to point people to and gave context about what we did. It was enough for people to give us a second look, which is all we needed at the start.

Our first few customers came from a combination of outbound and referrals in our existing professional network. It was hard work landing the first few, but once we had our first insurance customers on board we were able to leverage those case studies and relationships into more customers. Providing an amazing service, and a great deal, to these initial customers, paid off in spades (and still does today). For outbound, we found LinkedIn to be a great source.

We ran all of the initial costs on credit cards. One of the benefits of being a software business is that you just need a computer and internet connection to get started, the rest is just labor. Sweat equity. It was rust hustling to learn as much as we could and find meaningful problems to solve.

The biggest lesson I learned from starting was to just do it. I had wanted to, and dreamt of, starting a business for so long but was waiting for the right idea or time. But what you find out once you start, is that whatever that initial thing is will be so different from where you end up. And we are still so early, where we are now compared to where we’ll be in two years will be very different again. But by the process of getting started, you are out there in the world, learning, failing, and getting important feedback. It’s the process of iterating that gets you to where you need to be, but you can’t iterate if you’re not aoing anything. The hardest part rs starting, but as it builds it takes on ma omentum of its own.

It takes so much work to do, and sometimes you will be working 16 or 18 hours a day to make it happen. But it is worth it to push yourself and see what you can accomplish.

-  
Jackson Fregeau, on starting Quandri ($27,000/month) full story ➜

🌱 How To Grow Your Bots As A Service Business

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πŸƒπŸΌβ€β™€οΈ How To Run Your Bots As A Service Business

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How To Retain Customers For Your Bots As A Service Business

Retaining customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your bots as a service business.

Oftentimes, it's easy to find yourself focusing on generating new customers, vs retaining your current ones.

Look at it this way - you are 60-70% more likely to sell a new product to an existing customer than you are a new customer.

That's not to say that finding new customers and revenue streams is not important, however, the easiest (and most inexpensive) source of new revenue is right there in front of you.

Here are some ways you can retain customers for your bots as a service business:

  • Responding to comments on social media
  • Send discounts (or freebies) to loyal customers
  • Provide valuable content, for free
  • Write a hand written thank you note
  • Provide awesome customer service and build relationships with customers

To find out more tips and tricks on retaining customers, check out this article ➜ here

Jackson Fregeau, founder of Quandri dives deep into the process of attracting and retaining customers:

Case Study

For us, the number one thing has been providing an amazing service that solves a big problem. If you’re doing this, it’s hard to imagine not retaining your customers - barring a major change in the overall market. Paul Graham always says β€œbe so good they can’t ignore you” which I feel applies in a small way to how we got to where we are now. That may sound conceited, but we just focused on doing great work and providing great customer service, and then when we got the opportunity to get in front of big-name customers, they recognized this and introduced us to others.

We owe a lot of our small success to date to our early customers who took a chance on us and then went out of their way to make significant referrals to other customers and work with us to prepare joint marketing materials. We really can’t thank them enough. But, they wouldn’t have done this had we not delivered in a big way to solve their problem.

Beyond referrals, we redo our website with a real designer which made a big difference in our credibility online. Building our customer case studies, having testimonials on our website, and working with people of influence in our industry were the keys to our initial 10 customers.

Since then, it’s reen referrals and word of mouth that have led to the vast majority of our growth. Our existing customers drive most of our future customers through direct referrals we ask for, and from conversations, they have with other brokerages which causes them to reach out and come inbound to us.

I wish I could say there was a more advanced strategy here, but it’s really that we’re solving a very painful problem for our customers that they let others know about it. As we’re now growing the team we are starting to invest in other channels, mainly conferences, as brokers enjoy conferences and spend a lot of time at them.

-  
Jackson Fregeau, on starting Quandri ($27,000/month) full story ➜

Diversify Your Product Line

Adding new products to your business is a great way to expand into new markets and grow your business.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

Here are some reasons you may want to considering adding/diversifying your product

  • Meeting the needs of your customers
  • Establish yourself as a top provider in your industry and stay ahead of the game with competition
  • Resistance to downturns/trends fading
  • Create new revenue streams

Resources

We put together the best resources on the internet to help you start your bots as a service business.

Tools

Books

Web Resources

Videos

Case Studies

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.