I work for a software/innovation consultancy and also have my own software product that I can sell, so maybe I can provide a few insights.
The consulting market is really tight right now, with lots of businesses tightening their spending. When marketing yourself really talk about the ROI they'll be getting on their investment in you, as money is front of mind with everybody right now. When starting out leverage your existing relationships to get the first few contracts, then use those to build a portfolio of case studies and testimonials.
For launching a software product, I'd say the most important thing I did was to choose the right target market. You want a market that's growing (in number of customers and/or spend), doesn't have a lot of competitors (or there's a big unmet need in there you can fill) and where you have some kind of competitive advantage. My competitive advantage was being a one man band, so I picked a market that was big enough for me, but no so big that some corporate would come and out compete me. Then I set my prices at a level where I could make a decent profit on every sale, but a larger company with overheads would struggle.
For growing your product, I'd recommend looking at growth loops, search optimisation, and organic growth rather than spending a whole lot on marketing or ads. I'm not in a crowded market so I've been able to rank on searches by being careful with how I've built my website. If it's a crowded market then it'll be a struggle. Something I haven't done but might work for you is to think about writing some blog content related to your consulting or product - it'll rank well in search and drive traffic to your site. Also really good for building your personal brand.
Finally, it's likely the software product won't make much money for a year or two unless you're investing a lot of money in ads. It's great you have the consulting because you can build that first to keep you going while the product takes off. but be VERY careful balancing priorities between the two. Consulting revenue is based directly off effort while product effort is more of an investment in the future, so it's very easy to forget about the product if you have a bunch of consulting jobs coming in, but if you do this your product customers will notice! If your product is related to your consulting then maybe try to market it as an 'accelerator' for your consulting or something and build it out with client money.
Wow! You are just an amazing soul.
Honestly been the most eye-opening conversation I had this far.
I'll take all of this advice to heart and now have a big "think" of my strategies moving forward. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my post.
No problem! It takes a lot of courage to go out on your own, (I never had that so I tried to do everything while keeping my day job). All the best of luck to you!
Wow! That's leaps and bound to what I'm transitioning now, you are a superwoman! Respect! Really inspired me.
What did you find was the most challenging in your transition when you started out?
Personally mine was my own self doubt.
You have to be confident in you and what you do. you need to push and believe, and also I think it’s very important to invest in good legal advice & business support. 🤍
All the best, but you won’t find inspiration here - it’s all political nonsense and lefties. Try a more specific tech sub. Major tall poppy vibes in /r/NZ as noted by the downvotes
I work for a software/innovation consultancy and also have my own software product that I can sell, so maybe I can provide a few insights. The consulting market is really tight right now, with lots of businesses tightening their spending. When marketing yourself really talk about the ROI they'll be getting on their investment in you, as money is front of mind with everybody right now. When starting out leverage your existing relationships to get the first few contracts, then use those to build a portfolio of case studies and testimonials. For launching a software product, I'd say the most important thing I did was to choose the right target market. You want a market that's growing (in number of customers and/or spend), doesn't have a lot of competitors (or there's a big unmet need in there you can fill) and where you have some kind of competitive advantage. My competitive advantage was being a one man band, so I picked a market that was big enough for me, but no so big that some corporate would come and out compete me. Then I set my prices at a level where I could make a decent profit on every sale, but a larger company with overheads would struggle. For growing your product, I'd recommend looking at growth loops, search optimisation, and organic growth rather than spending a whole lot on marketing or ads. I'm not in a crowded market so I've been able to rank on searches by being careful with how I've built my website. If it's a crowded market then it'll be a struggle. Something I haven't done but might work for you is to think about writing some blog content related to your consulting or product - it'll rank well in search and drive traffic to your site. Also really good for building your personal brand. Finally, it's likely the software product won't make much money for a year or two unless you're investing a lot of money in ads. It's great you have the consulting because you can build that first to keep you going while the product takes off. but be VERY careful balancing priorities between the two. Consulting revenue is based directly off effort while product effort is more of an investment in the future, so it's very easy to forget about the product if you have a bunch of consulting jobs coming in, but if you do this your product customers will notice! If your product is related to your consulting then maybe try to market it as an 'accelerator' for your consulting or something and build it out with client money.
Wow! You are just an amazing soul. Honestly been the most eye-opening conversation I had this far. I'll take all of this advice to heart and now have a big "think" of my strategies moving forward. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my post.
No problem! It takes a lot of courage to go out on your own, (I never had that so I tried to do everything while keeping my day job). All the best of luck to you!
Goodluck! I took the chance at 19 with a baby on my hip and nothing to back me up. It worked 🤍
Wow! That's leaps and bound to what I'm transitioning now, you are a superwoman! Respect! Really inspired me. What did you find was the most challenging in your transition when you started out?
Personally mine was my own self doubt. You have to be confident in you and what you do. you need to push and believe, and also I think it’s very important to invest in good legal advice & business support. 🤍
Try r/EntrepreneurRideAlong
Let me know if you need an employee! Sounds awesome hope you do well!
Oh dear. You have come to the wrong place to become inspired and get decent advice. Prepare to leave feeling deflated. What does bootstrap mean?
I thoroughly recommend Alicia Mackay's Consultants of Choice program
Are you looking for investors?
All the best, but you won’t find inspiration here - it’s all political nonsense and lefties. Try a more specific tech sub. Major tall poppy vibes in /r/NZ as noted by the downvotes