localcasestudy

Did you really just type this? haha

Well this thing is a cup, spectroscopic device, hydration tracker,and daily caloric planner, that integrates with your smartphone through bluetooth, while charging wirelessly.

Thanks man, really appreciate it. It's been a fun ride! You're absolutely right. I think, "will it scale" is often a fairly silly question when you think about it. Not every company has to become a billion dollar company to be successful. And while scaling geographically is great, one can create a model that goes deep instead of going wide, and for a local business this could mean totally dominating a city with multiple verticals. Either way, "will it scale" shouldn't be the question. "Will it sell?" is more important, especially for a boot-strapped company.

I have a startup, profitable. Would be interested in chatting further.

Value as I see it: Clients Book and pay online We show up on time We follow up after cleanings so clients rate the team We deliver wine with each cleaning We provide ridiculous customer service We have a 200% guarantee that we actually honor We simplify the price structure (cost is tied to number of bedrooms, that's it), no need to come out and do quotes

and more. It's a lot more than just, hey you make X, I'll charge X+$45 and we'll all be happy. I had to build entire systems around delivering top notch service to justify raising our pricing points and creating premium experiences for the client.

Yeah it's not easy.

Our teams do certain things well:

Cleaning, organizing, and having a nice friendly presence that makes clients want to have them back in their home over and over again.

I do certain things fairly well:

Managing web design (I feel like i have a fairly good eye), writing web copy, client acquisition (adwords, twitter), finding ways to adopt high-tech practices into low tech industries (I think we're the first cleaning company with an actual affiliate program), SEO, branding, and a few extra things I can't think of now.

I'm not great at any of these things, but I feel like I'm at least competent at many of them.

I don't have the skills they have. They don't have the skills I have. We both realize this and figured we could work together and benefit each other.

Wow this means a lot, thank you very much!

Sory to hear about your work situation. Hope something pans out if you decide to go back, but yeah in the meanwhile, it may be a good time to start something.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I tried to email you but didn't see the link to do it after I got to your profile (not sure if it's because I'm so new here or I'm just blind).

Please send me a message on the maid site and I'll respond right away.

There is no pre-selection.

The checkout takes place on one page.

The only elements that are extras are standard for the industry: inside the fridge, inside the oven, and inside the windows.

I don't need it, but thanks.

Thanks, if I duplicate it that would be crazy! We'll see, I'm excited!

Hi i'm only in a few months, none of this is a deal breaker. I've made mistakes along the way, but I think everything is fixable, luckily I'm not in year 6 or something lol

I have a full time job.

I will, this week. Luckily if I have to fix this I don't need to go that far back, I'm only in a couple months.

Yeah we'll see. I don't even know if I want to scale at all. Seriously if I could double current earnings within this year, quit my job, help my family, (use some extra money to diversify a bit) I'm good.

>Isn't the real message here that we shouldn't forget that many of us startup geeks can completely out-design and -SEO virtually any local service provider out there and that there might just be big money in doing so?

THAT'S IT! I don't think what I did was that difficult (I had luck along the way, and went over the top in some ways,yes) but at the end of the day, I think this is the main takeaway from this experiment.

<OP is excited now, but I have a feeling that in about a year or so, he'll be feeling a lot like Uncle A.

you could be right my man. I'm not looking at this through rose colored glasses at all. I'm a realistic ^ 2. Thanks.

Hi folks, OP from the reddit thread here. I'll answer questions. disclaimer: This is my first time posting here.

Disclaimer #2: I'm no expert.

Disclaimer #3: See Disclaimer #2 again. I just tried something and it took off. Will it work long term I have no idea. Where I am now is just the reality of where I am now. Have I made mistakes, you bet your life on that! Okay, I'll scroll through and try to respond to anything I can.