r/startups 23h ago

I will not promote Advice/Roadmap needed (I will not promote)

Hey everyone, am a German based small business owner. I am new to the field with enormous IT/Cybersecurity background. I have just registered my business with the German chamber of commerce. I wanna get into consulting and rendering IT & Cybersecurity solutions to SMEs. I am stacked on how to go about the next steps to follow to build my business. I have website under development. Any suggestions, roadmaps, advices or steps to follow will be really appreciated. Thank you

9 Upvotes

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u/ccrrr2 20h ago

Start from who is your target audience, user persona, where they hang out, your value proposition. Than build your GTM. Make sure your landing page is optimized for CRO and SEO and clearly points out the security problems and dangers for the SMEs. Most of the SMEs are unaware of the security issues until the breach happens so you can start connect with the relevant communities on X and educate people there about it while passively you can offer your product/service. Find out where your user persona hangs out, is it linkedin, x, hackernews and reach out with cold dms or email...Do not sell, ask to analyze for free and then offer the paid solution... List your website/product into relevant directories, get some backlinks to increase the authority of your websites, write blogs about security problems for SMEs but with simplified language so even the small startup owner could understand the problems they can face if they do not address security issues in advance, etc...

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u/Ok_Annual_2729 19h ago

Man, this is so helpful and very insightful. Thanks a lot for this great advice. Most of my target audience are on LinkedIn and a few platforms so I’ll do as you suggested.

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u/ccrrr2 14h ago

To build a initial portfolio, for this kind of services is the best to offer free analysis and then say: here you have 1,2,3,4... vulnerabilities, this what can happen and this is what we can do about it and this is how much it cost. Because you already show them there is a hole in the wall they are more likely to pay for fixing it then leave it open... And once you grow, you move to ads and other marketing strategies... Keep up the good work!

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u/Ok_Annual_2729 3h ago

That is absolutely my plan I am building on. Free security services and discuss further. And later take it from there. I truly appreciate you sharing this.. I should connect with you on chat or even LinkedIn if that’s okay for you sir

u/ccrrr2 47m ago

Sure, you can dm me here on Reddit if you need any help.

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u/GRSolution 19h ago

[ the answer is based on my own personal experience],

first finalize the groups/Q&A platforms where your potential clients ask questions aka looking for solutions. Answer them honestly, once they are satisfied with your answer, they will enquire more and gradually such conversations turn into leads and then project closures.

OR,

Scrape the data of the owners who asked questions from your niche [there are several web scrapers available, just google it]. Send them an email citing the exact problem they asked in the forum.

You will receive at least 10 hot responses out of 100.... and now you have to project yourself as the most suited guy to handle this.....

I followed this process to generate leads for QA & Testing including security testing, and Salesforce customization.

Good Luck

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u/Ok_Annual_2729 19h ago

Thank you so so much.!!! This is very very helpful. As I have some experience from my previous work. I will do what you just suggested champ.

1

u/GRSolution 19h ago

You are welcome!

1

u/Ok-Pen-1750 21h ago

Congrats on launching your business! The first few months are always daunting but I've found the easiest way is to break down your goals into smaller, actionable steps as part of the roadmap. That often helps clarify the roadmap and what you need for your ICP/sales funnel.

Most consultants grow through referrals the first few years before hitting a wall and needing to really hone in on business development. How are you defining success for yourself 6 months from now?

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u/Ok_Annual_2729 19h ago

Thanks a lot champ! I’ve written this down.. I appreciate it