Testing the Market

I think it's important to know what you are getting into before investing valuable time into a project. Often times, I find myself sticking with a project because I have put forth a lot of energy and I just want to see it succeed. It's hard to turn away from something you are highly invested in. I think this is how Alex and I felt when we first started our painting businesses. Neither of us knew how much work it would be until we were actually doing it...and had we known, we may not have taken it on. There's a slightly different spirit with this business...I feel like we need to make it work at all costs and failure is not an option, regardless of how hard you know you'll have to work to succeed.Today, I wanted to get a taste for what our business would be like in the short future and how it was percieved be our potential clients. I set up a meeting with a prominent restauranteur in the Miami area whom I thought would be interested in advertising via our service. My goal was to present the services we would potentially offer him and get some feedback from him.I knew he typically owned trendy youthful locals, and thought he could benefit from targeting our users directly. He basically loved the idea. We discussed what his goals were. He wanted to bring a dynamic energy to his businesses and encourage patrons to come in for food or drinks as often as possible. I encouraged him to consider promotions on certain days of the week and to send out coupons via our messages for discounts on days that business might normally be slow. We talked for maybe 2 or 3 hours and agreed to stay in touch. He said he loved the idea, but preferred to wait until we had a solid user base that could guarantee a significant contribution/benefit to his bottom line...but then again, I expected him to say that. There are very few people who are willing to join a project unless it's already up and going.At the very least, it's a push in the right direction and a boost in moral for the business. Let's make this happen!!!-Nick