Re:Ask HN: How do I land my first small-business client?
by tedyoung on Sunday July 05, 2015 @02:19PM
(#9834370)
It's all about fixing their problems and/or filling a need or desire. In other words, start with the "why": why does a company need your services? What problems do they have and how would you solve them?
When I go to your web page, it looks nice, but put yourself in my shoes, I'm a small company. Why would I care about "sustainable software development"? I'm a small biz, and when I hear "software development", I think of a barrel of cash being thrown out the window.
Consulting is really no different from product development: you have to be finding the pain, talking to people about their pain, and then you can mention how you might be able to solve that pain. As an example: "Has your company's systems been hacked? If you think the answer is no, think again. 83% [made up] of all companies have been hacked and don't even know it. We can do a basic security audit for you for [free/fixed-price] and if we can help you fix it, there's no charge."
Good luck and if you'd like to chat about Docker, let me know -- I'm working on a Docker sideline, but I try to focus on the pains it solves, e.g., the "it works on my machine" problem rather than, "hey, Docker here!" ;).
When I go to your web page, it looks nice, but put yourself in my shoes, I'm a small company. Why would I care about "sustainable software development"? I'm a small biz, and when I hear "software development", I think of a barrel of cash being thrown out the window.
Consulting is really no different from product development: you have to be finding the pain, talking to people about their pain, and then you can mention how you might be able to solve that pain. As an example: "Has your company's systems been hacked? If you think the answer is no, think again. 83% [made up] of all companies have been hacked and don't even know it. We can do a basic security audit for you for [free/fixed-price] and if we can help you fix it, there's no charge."
Good luck and if you'd like to chat about Docker, let me know -- I'm working on a Docker sideline, but I try to focus on the pains it solves, e.g., the "it works on my machine" problem rather than, "hey, Docker here!" ;).