I wouldn't do this because your customers are cheap idiots who don't realize they're cheap idiots.
I personally don't think the small amount of money you make is worth the headaches you will face. I think you'll have better luck targeting small businesses as "outsourced IT" help than targeting home users.
I mostly agree. The single most important thing you have to do when starting a company (esp. without funding) is to choose the right customers.
How efficiently can you reach them? How well can you turn these leads into customers? What is their willingness and ability to pay, i.e. how much would your service be worth to them (e.g. in otherwise lost productivity)?
The last point kills a lot of consumer market segments for smart small business startups, because the ratio of customer acquisition costs and overhead to revenue is too crappy, aka profitability sucks, aka you're in the red too long and growth/scalability are limited.
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My own two cents:
I wouldn't do this because your customers are cheap idiots who don't realize they're cheap idiots.
I personally don't think the small amount of money you make is worth the headaches you will face. I think you'll have better luck targeting small businesses as "outsourced IT" help than targeting home users.
Good luck to you though, regardless.
I mostly agree. The single most important thing you have to do when starting a company (esp. without funding) is to choose the right customers.
How efficiently can you reach them? How well can you turn these leads into customers? What is their willingness and ability to pay, i.e. how much would your service be worth to them (e.g. in otherwise lost productivity)?
The last point kills a lot of consumer market segments for smart small business startups, because the ratio of customer acquisition costs and overhead to revenue is too crappy, aka profitability sucks, aka you're in the red too long and growth/scalability are limited.
Good luck!
You've given me some things to think about and I appreciate it.
Thanks!