Bootstrapping SaaS

In this show I talk about how I am saving ~$1200 on yearly bank fees.

Also, I share some lessons on what I have learned so far running Claritask and having this podcast as well as some advice on if you should run a B2B or B2C product.

Another thing that has been going around lately is how much transparency is more than necessary? Does it do any good or it's just for high fives we get from our supporters

Other points:

• How I can't work well when working on two projects at once (Claritask and client work)
• Next improvements on Claritask
• How I work and my way of working to Basecamp

Thankful for EP20 supporters:

• ColdfeetStudios.com by Shawn Inman — Shawn is offering a 30-minute free consultation wanting to help with a pressing challenge (technical or not) that you are facing in your bootstrapped product/startup. Hurry up, his weekly slots are limited.
• Podboxer.com by Paul Metcalfe — Paul hand picks the best podcast episodes in founder stories, growth marketing, sales, funding and sends them your way every Monday and Tuesday in a quick easy to digest Newsletter. Sign up for free to get on Paul's bi-weekly newsletter.

In this episode I talk about how client work is making me more disciplined with Claritask. Also, how I am positioning Claritask more as a company and less like an indiehacker side-product, which is not. I will focus more on channels that have worked before, like Linkedin, Quora, and Medium.

Companies that I sell to are serious companies that want to work with a product which they feel will be around for a long time. Removing myself from Claritask will (hopefully) make it sound more as a serious contender to current apps out there and less about 1-person making something. Ego aside, Claritask doesn't need me for that.

Thankful for EP19 supporters:

• ColdfeetStudios.com by Shawn Inman — Shawn is offering a 30-minute free consultation wanting to help with a pressing challenge (technical or not) that you are facing in your bootstrapped product/startup. Hurry up, his weekly slots are limited.
• Podboxer.com by Paul Metcalfe — Paul hand picks the best podcast episodes in founder stories, growth marketing, sales, funding and sends them your way every Monday and Tuesday in a quick easy to digest Newsletter. Sign up for free to get on Paul's bi-weekly newsletter.

In this episode I talk about how client work is helping me keep the lights on with Claritask, but it's getting me away from it on daily basis, which I hate.

• Also, I talk about how I don't want money to be the measuring stick of my product, or self in general.
• I want to be more disciplined where I split my day in half in both client work and Claritask, which I haven't been able to do
• Talking about this podcast Supporters (not Sponsors)
• My current streams of revenue
• How Rocky has it wrong

Thankful for EP18 supporters:

• ColdfeetStudios.com by Shawn Inman — Shawn is offering a 30-minute free consultation wanting to help with a pressing challenge (technical or not) that you are facing in your bootstrapped product/startup. Hurry up, his weekly slots are limited.
• Podboxer.com by Paul Metcalfe — Paul hand picks the best podcast episodes in founder stories, growth marketing, sales, funding and sends them your way every Monday and Tuesday in a quick easy to digest Newsletter. Sign up for free to get on Paul's bi-weekly newsletter.

Louis Nichols was a cofounder of a VC backed startup that exited and now he consults startups and founders on sales and marketing.

In this Episode we go down into the basics of what Sales mean for a bootstrapped Saas and how to go about succeeding with it.

Some of the things we talked about were:

• The difference between Sales and Marketing for early stage bootstrapped startups
• How to go about finding leads
• Does it matter "who" is behind the product
• Justin Jackson's "The Myth of a Niche Market" https://justinjackson.ca/niche

Louis is currently running a course, with limited spots, on sales. For all the details visit: http://salesforfounders.com

This episode is sponsored by ColdFeed Studios. Shawn Inman, CFS founder, is offering a free 30-minute consultation for any founder who needs advice on how to move forward. Visit the website https://coldfeetstudios.com/ for details and signup for your free consultation spot.

Two big announcements:

• Next show (EP17) I will have a guest who I will announce a few days before the show. He is a sales marketer for B2B #Saas businesses
• I have new sponsors for the show starting EP17. One will be sponsoring for 6 weeks and the other for 3. They are both services and products made for us
• I will be taking off for a few days just to recharge.
• Doing things differently with consulting: working hourly vs fixed pricing
• New consultancy gig that will help me financially continue running Claritask
• What is bootstrapping? (to me)
• Talking about Philip's article: https://twitter.com/valsopi/status/1163569933894266888 and my response to it: https://twitter.com/valsopi/status/1163569943931170818 — on maybe there's no journey really (please, listen to the details of it)
• The tweet that resonated a lot with others
• Healthy habits (physically/mentally) as I go into September with Claritask on one side and the new consultancy gig on the side
• Don't follow Basecamp (or anyone else)
• It matters "Who" is making the product. How you can be the "who" behind the product

It's tricky, focusing on tire kickers and those who are not sure about using Claritask — because they require the most time to support (time that I do not have) and chances are will not convert. These are users who it's best to support when you have a larger team and have the time to wait/support until they convert.

Also, Claritask is not part of Baremetrics Open Startups, where you get to see everything that goes in and around Claritask's revenue, updated in real time — http://claritask.baremetrics.com

Toying with new ideas about Claritask homepage as well as new pricing (going a bit upmarket)

In this episode I go into detail on how I divide my tasks in Claritask (Features & Quickies). Also talk about latest in Claritask (features & new clients).

On Youtube: https://youtu.be/1A4cib0LkfU

There's a new client trialing Claritask with a 7-day trial, which I have introduced recently. Hopefully they convert to a paying client.

Also, if you want to sponsor this show I am starting at $20/month. Let me know at [email protected] if you are interested.

Capterra reviews are currently at 5 star, which I am very happy about: https://www.capterra.com/p/186826/Claritask/

In this episode I talk about how I am embracing the bootstrapping life more and more and how taking controlled risks and having more money in the bank is helping me make better decisions.

Please, fill out this 1 question survey on how I can make this show better for you (Google form) — https://bit.ly/2Mkuahb

I am also opening up this show to sponsorships where companies can advertise for as little as $20 per episode.

Other things I talk about is how I am working on a few small side projects for clients to bring a bit more money in while I focus on current active users who are in love with Claritask. Sales is another thing I have in mind, but product + current users is the main focus for the moment.

Also, how taking side projects in costing me more time than it's worth the cash that I am *NOT* getting.

Claritask is doing great with current clients, they are adding more people, new features are coming, existing ones are being improved upon.

New Claritask website is coming up, which will be mostly type/copywriting without many icons/photos and no salesy fluff. Will include user guides, case studies.

Going back to the original $50/month flat price offer.

Spoke to Corey Haines (https://twitter.com/coreyhainesco) of https://Baremetrics.com about things I can improve on Claritask.

Mentioned "Begin Again" as a quote that keeps me motivate, which I came across via Brian Wang (https://twitter.com/brianmwang/status/1125118085860450304)

The angel investment possibility I mentioned on EP10 didn't go through and glad it actually didn't. I can continue building Claritask on my own terms for my clients. Also a listener, Kevin Ratez from Germany https://twitter.com/KevinRaetz, helped me realize a few things and inspired me to give direct sales a real try. Thanks Kevin!

MRR at $150/month. Lost the first client. User base is growing from current clients adding more of their staff. Still struggling with leads, hence one last push for direct sales.