This should only take about 7 mins to read.

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Getting eyeballs on your SaaS product or Agency doesn't have to be an uphill battle.

This issue is focused on building your first product or agency. You can find a summary of an article about it and a sneak peek at the conversation I had about creating and managing a community. I’ve also included a recommendation for an app that helps with incorporating companies.

Go where the customers are when you build your first product or agency.

I have been reading a lot of tweets from people saying they want to build their first SaaS product or agency, but they don’t know where to start.

Starting a new SaaS product or agency is not easy (it also doesn’t have to be hard). My advice to people beginning to build on top of an existing ecosystem. It’s a lower barrier of entry to get your first few users or clients.

For SaaS products, try building specifically for one of the following:

• Shopify app store
• Slack App Marketplace
• Chrome Web Store (extensions)

The upside of building on one of these platforms is that you have organic distribution to thousands of potential users. Marketing is always one of the hardest things to crack when you build a product. Most people spend money on ads and are not guaranteed a return on investment (ROI). Then they have to go back to the drawing board to determine their next move and how they will get their first 5-10 users.

When you build on top of a platform, and you solve a problem for one customer, there is a highly likely chance that there are many more that have that same problem. Finding those additional customers becomes more accessible because they don’t have to do fancy integrations or customizations; they install and use it simultaneously. The feedback loop is (nearly) real-time.

Each platform wants its users to have the best experience; companies like Shopify, Slack, and Google won’t go out of their way to build every feature their customers request. Instead, they support those people building unique solutions for small groups of users by co-marketing or featuring apps at the top of their respective categories.

The snowball effect happens much quicker when happy customers are on the other side of your app. Customers find your product, love it, rave about it online, and drive organic traffic to your product.

I’ve seen this happen numerous times with Shopify apps, Chrome extensions, and Slack apps. I am one of those people; when I find a solution to my problem, I tell everyone that I can.

If you build a unique product that stands out amongst the crowd, you have the leverage to compete with the best. Sometimes a minor feature can be a game-changer for the end-user, and the word get’s around quickly.

As you get comfortable building on a specific platform, you start sharpening those skills, and you can get to market faster with your second, third, and maybe a fourth app. Some independent developers have built multi-million dollar companies around one ecosystem. It’s a positive-sum outcome for all parties involved.

In the early days of Tako Agency, we built an app for the Shopify ecosystem called Milestone Motivator (I know, not the best name). We submitted the app to Shopify; they liked how unique it was, they featured us, and we got our first 200+ users. We spent $0 on marketing and advertising. This scenario doesn’t happen every time, but if you build something valuable, you have an opportunity to be seen.

Now, what if you want to build an agency? My (strong) recommendation would be to pick one of these:

• Shopify clients.
• Webflow clients.
• Bubble clients.

Become the best at ONE of these. Crush it.

Starting my first agency in 2018, we didn’t niche down to one platform from the start. We supported clients across WordPress, Magento, and Shopify; after two months, we quickly pivoted to become a Shopify-only agency.

At that point, everything got easier:

• It was easier to hire contractors that are platform enthusiasts (and self-renowned experts).
• It was easier to standardize processes for clients and team members.
• It was easier to build expertise and give clients solutions without questioning if it was possible or not.
• Transferring knowledge from one client to another was easier when the same issue popped up.
• It was easier to close inbound leads because they came to you for the platform’s expertise.

Service businesses are difficult to run from a day-to-day perspective; multiple plates are constantly spinning. The goal is to be as efficient as possible while providing results for your clients and running a smooth operation.

Top of mind topic: procrastination.

I am proud to say that my number one skill in school was procrastinating with all my homework and projects. I always waited until the last minute to write a paper or do the math homework assigned weeks ago. One thing that I realized, procrastination pushed me to:

• Laser focus on one task.
• I went above and beyond to do the best work possible.
• It was fresh in my head the next day, so that I could talk about it without hesitation.

It never failed me hahaha!

3 tweets from the week.

Tweet 1: Talk about your ideas, don't keep it a secret. Absolutely love this tweet from Greg.

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Tweet 2: The bed I always needed, someone finally made it. Thank you.

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Tweet 3: One of my threads went absolutely bonkers. My intention was to help one person with their freelancer career on Upwork and then this happened:

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Podcast stuff:

The guest on the latest episode of my podcast was Jeb Banner, a serial entrepreneur. Most recently CEO of Boardable, a board management software company.

• Jeb has been an entrepreneur since the early 2000s. He has been creating all kinds of businesses, from eBay consignment to a creative agency to a non-profit dedicated to preserving Indiana music to a board management software company.
• In 2006, Jeb and his co-founder started SmallBox as a web development agency. After they also transitioned to marketing and branding. During that time, they were using their resources to explore other opportunities and create more stability for the company. It eventually led to the creation of Boardable.
• Boardable was special for Jeb. He was a board chair and personally dealt with the problem of not having software for managing boards. So he recognized the need for creating an affordable solution and decided to go for it.

We also touched on topics such as the importance of raising funds vs bootstrapping, marketing strategies to promote a business, etc. The episode is live now, so tune in to listen to the full conversation.

Check out the Podcast Episode

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One tool I like or use:

Tool of the week: Twemex

URL: https://twemex.app/​

Why Twemex is so awesome:

It's the best tool for Twitter, hands down.

The website explains it perfectly:

A browser extension for Twitter that automatically surfaces the most interesting ideas. It helps you spend less time mindlessly scrolling, and more time developing your thoughts.

Make sure you check it out and download it, it's 100% Free.

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That's a wrap for issue #16.

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Random question:​

What inspired you this week?

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Checkout some of my products here.

If you are interested in 1:1 business coaching, go here and see how I can help you.

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Follow me on Twitter​

Follow me on LinkedIn.

Listen to my podcast.