Nuggets:

• Create a grassroots community before anything else.
• “Identify the minimum to get started and go from there.”
• How you start is not how you’re going to end up; allow space to grow.
• The best way to retain customers is by continually giving them value.
• Shape a community based on its own needs: keep track of your data, know who your customers are, make sure you know what they need, and charge accordingly.

Action Steps:

1. Perform a comprehensive market study to establish existing competition in your city and what’s missing from them in order to determine which specific services you would offer. 
2. Evaluate how many potential members there may be in your area and establish a minimum vital number of members.
3. Find the “Matt” in your city (someone who runs a maker space in your area) and meet with them to glean information about your potential market.
4. Build up a community (create a Facebook group, attend Meetup events, go to local farmers markets or festivals, in order to drum up interest. Potentially pre-sell memberships. Find those existing businesses who have the need that you can meet).
5. Consider running a Mastermind with a small core group in order to start building a grassroots community

Follow through on these action steps and email us your results at [email protected]. You'll get exclusive access to a private Facebook group of action takers and one listener will earn a free mentorship call with our guest, and potentially, a business partnership.

Links:

Sam Davidson

Starter Story Interview of Sam Davidson

Batch

Sam Davidson LinkedIn

Matt Verlinich LinkedIn

On The Rocks

Innovation Works

Sam Davidson has a passion for taking ideas and turning them into reality. His journey into entrepreneurship began over 13 years ago. In 2006, he cofounded Cool People Care, which connected people online in a world before Twitter and Instagram who wanted to make a difference with non-profit organizations who badly needed members, volunteers, donors, and supporters. More recently, in 2013, Davidson cofounded Batch, a gift and retail company whose unique offering allows customers and companies to experience a taste of iconic cities. Overseeing the company’s rapid and changing growth as CEO, Davidson has helped Batch cross the $1M annual revenue mark in less than two years. Batch is headquartered in Nashville with operations in Austin and offers gifts from iconic southern cities.  

Matt Verlinich has an MS in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Pennsylvania State University. He was the founding General Manager of TechShop Pittsburgh, and after helping dozens of individuals start their own businesses at TechShop, he decided it was time to try and build his own business. Matt then prototyped, developed, crowdfunded, mass produced and distributed On The Rocks to over 55 countries. On The Rocks is an ice mold system that allows consumers to make crystal clear ice cubes, spheres and diamonds at home. Now Matt is putting his diverse experience to work for Innovation Works as their Manufacturing Program Associate where he helps local entrepreneurs build scalable businesses by consulting and connecting them with appropriate manufacturing resources.

🎙️ Podcast hosting provided by Transistor. Want to start your own podcast? Get 15% off your first year by going to transistor.fm/run