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Zlatko Bijelic

What has been the most challenging part of starting a business (service or product)?

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I know that everyone is hit with challenges in their journey of building a business, but what's the one thing that you seem to be stuck on? I'd love to help in any way I can to help you move forward. Open discussion :)

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Richard Gao
The directly hardest part is actually building the product for me. It requires quite an extensive knowledge of programming and runs on AWS so it can get finicky at times. For indirect difficulties, it's experiencing many minor unseen setbacks that take a long time to resolve, which drags out the launch date. I actually wrote a short blog post about this and how I overcame it: https://www.indiehackers.com/pro... For the record, I'm currently developing an AI API for devs building AI apps, if you've got the time, you can check out my twitter @TheRealEtch. I'm building in public so you'll see how I overcame many of the issues described.
Zlatko Bijelic
@therealetch @richard_gao2 Lovely Richard. Good luck with the project and AI is a big topic of conversation, I hope to see you crush my man.
Richard Gao
@therealetch @zbijelic Good luck to you as well! What did you feel was the hardest part of building your business?
Zlatko Bijelic
@therealetch @richard_gao2 thank you. For me it was understanding how to delegate, I was taking on too much and being controlling. I needed to step away from that and understand that it can't all depend on me. That's tough as a founder.
Slava Nikitenko
I am making an online hotel booking platform based on the WEB 2.0 principle. We will be a direct competitor to booking and airbnb. We solve the problem of high commissions for hoteliers, delayed payments to hoteliers and the pain that torments hoteliers - price parity. You understand that we do not have a one-page site and I started doing it 5 years ago - completely from scratch. Now it is 70% ready, we have a team of programmers - 5 people. This path was not easy))) We do not use external funding at all. We need it and there is an offer for an early investor, but for now I personally do not finance it, and the team is working for the future. What do you think, will we survive)?
Zlatko Bijelic
@your_price_booking I wish I can tell you whether you will survive or not, but I don't have that magic wand unfortunately. If you survie, that's amazing and you can build something big. If you don't, you learn a lot and the next one will be much better. Keep going.
Slava Nikitenko
@zbijelic I would say the same!
Johannes Müller
for me personally it is the anxiety. Anxiety about if I will make money with my product because I need to pay my bills
Zlatko Bijelic
@hayerhans I believe that 90% of entrepreneurs go through that, it's tough. I've been at the low and at the high of that and the low feels lonely. I also think a good strategy is to take some of that pressure of by finding a job to pay bills and run a side business until you can make more than your salary and then go all in on your business. It might take longer, but worth the stress management.
GT
The hardest part is to always stay positive! There are some good and bad days, but the trick is to keep going, no matter what. One of the most underrated qualities for a founder is "grit", which is often overlooked by a lot of VCs.
Zlatko Bijelic
@gaurangt1 Agreed. People at jobs go through the same thing though, just keep that in mind. Grit is very underrated and non-entrepreneurs don't really grasp that concept the same way. You got this GT.
Joan Mateo Duarte 🚀
Learning on the go. Sometimes the key is to learn while you build. You don't always have the solution, but with time and a great team you are going to find one.
Zlatko Bijelic
@joanduarte this is the right attitude. You are not going to find solutions from day one. Entrepreneurship is all about finding creative ways to solve something. The long game.
Todd Hinson
One thing I've struggled with as a founder - and I realize that maybe this is more of a personal trait than anything, is being disappointed in how people around me show up for me. For example, friends and family members have started their own businesses or gotten new jobs, engaged, etc. and I am always the first to congratulate them and support them in any way I can. Then I founded my company and launched a few weeks ago and no one has really gone all out and shared my posts, helping me spread the word the way I have done for them in the past. I've come to realize that I can't really be upset at people for not matching my energy and I've taken a more proactive approach and flat out am like I need you to support me by: reposting, liking, sharing, etc. and so far that has seemed to work.
Zlatko Bijelic
Hey @todd_opertivo - I would actually do the following: Continue to support those people, authentically. There should be no stipulations just because they are friends or family. If you feel in your heart you want to support them, then do so, but don't do it because you feel like you should or have to. That's the wrong angle in my opinion. Also - people not supporting you, who gives a F***. There are 300+ million people on Twitter, and probably double that on LinkedIn. Share content, share your story, share your business, the right people will find you and share your posts. Don't force people to do anything, it's not authentic and it will come through in their post. As you grow on Social media, you will start to attract like-minded people. Connect with them through DM's and start putting together smaller POD's (engagement groups) to help each other grow (again authentically). Social media moves fast, people are doing 100 different things everyday, you can't expect them to catch your post every time you put something up on Twitter, LinkedIn, FB, IG, etc. Instead, post it to those engagement groups and ask for feedback and support that way. Your audience becomes theirs and theirs becomes yours. It's an effective way to stay on course, be authentic, and grow. I went from 900 followers to 5k in 5 months and launched 3 different products in that time while running 2 agencies. It's not easy, but the work starts to pay off. Let me know if you have any questions, reach out on Twitter. Cheers my man and good luck.
Todd Hinson
@zbijelic Thanks Zlatko! Super helpful!
Abid Unnisa
I think its the product itself. I mean how much development is too much development? What if we dont have the requirement? I dont know, theres a lot to explore
Zlatko Bijelic
@abid_unnisa my rule of thumb is, start small. Build the first version, get feedback, and build from there. Don't have all the features from day 1.
Ghost Kitty
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Zlatko Bijelic
Hey @nickolas_mparalos - I completely get where you're coming from. I, myself, have always been an idea person, hiring developers, marketers, etc. Truly never felt that anyone in the marketing side was doing anything authentically. So in April 2022 I started writing online about entrepreneurship, my agency, and my products. I have been building things online since early 2011 across ecommerce, ios, and many other places. I always felt that I had a lot to share and alot to help people with, but imposter syndrome was kicking in. One day I just said F*** it, I am writing online and if someone reads it and gets value, great. If not, that's fine. Along with that, I am constantly building new SaaS products and running a service agency + coaching early-stage entrepreneurs through their struggles. At the beginning of this year I decided to turn it up a notch. I focused on building a personal brand through Twitter + LinkedIN and then I started a newsletter (because I started writing in April 2022) and also using my personal brand to market my products and businesses. One thing to realize is that this is a long game, not a short game. You're not going to make money from day 1, you might have to wait until day 200 or longer. The biggest piece is: consistency. You have to show up everyday, you have to put out some content, and you have to continue paving your own path. Don't compare yourself to other people and how many followers they have, the only thing that you should focus on is improving and continue to focus on what gives you energy. Through the right audience and the right followers, you start to build trust which brings customers. I am experiencing that right now through my social channels and my newsletter. Hopefully this gives you a bit of insight and confidence to keep kicking the can down the road and really focus on delivering value to other people first, and focus on customers second. Brand will always win in the long-term. Reach out on Twitter if you have any questions.
Ghost Kitty
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Zlatko Bijelic
Hey @nickolas_mparalos that's awesome to hear man. I appreciate that - it means a lot. Look forward to seeing you on the other side (Twitter hahaha). Have a great day and I am rooting for you.
Huy Ngo
To be honest that define the target customer and figure out their pain point, insight
Zlatko Bijelic
@huy_xuan How are you currently trying to solve for that?
Vijay Singh Khatri
@zlatko. These are my biggest challenges to starting a business. 📈 1. Great Team 2. Decision Maker 3. Good Product Manager 4. Resources 5. A Great Idea 6. Mentorship 7. Guidance 8. How to start and When to start? Mine is Resources. Thanks
Anshaj Goyal
Starting a business can be a challenging and complex process, and there are many different factors that can make it difficult. Some of the most common challenges that entrepreneurs face when starting a business include: Raising capital: Many businesses require a significant amount of capital to get started, and raising this capital can be difficult, especially for new and untested businesses. Entrepreneurs may need to seek funding from investors, banks, or other sources, and may need to put up personal assets as collateral. Developing a product or service: Creating a new product or service that is marketable and viable can be a significant challenge for entrepreneurs. This involves conducting market research, identifying customer needs, and developing a product or service that meets those needs in a unique and compelling way. Building a team: As a business grows, entrepreneurs will often need to bring on additional team members to help with various tasks and responsibilities. This can be challenging, as finding the right people with the right skills and personalities can be difficult, and managing and motivating a team can be a complex task. Dealing with competition: Every business faces competition, and entrepreneurs need to be prepared to compete with other businesses offering similar products or services. This can involve differentiating your business through unique features, pricing, or marketing strategies, and staying on top of industry trends and developments. Overall, starting a business can be a complex and challenging process, and entrepreneurs need to be prepared to overcome a wide range of obstacles in order to succeed.
Zlatko Bijelic
@anshaj_goyal I agree with majority of this, but I think developing a service or product by conducting a ton of research is overkill. I would say for anyone starting out focus on solving your own problems, build small, and expand. It's the only way to truly validate if there is market fit, let the market decide.