What Direction Should I Take My Startup?

AAnonymous ·September 11, 2019 ·2 answers

I run a very successful law practice. I have a ton of clients and I am successful with a solid reputation. I got very inspired and motivated to start a career site and job-matching platform for attorneys. We have had many viral articles and the site works seamlessly (mobile-friendly, uses the top AI tech to match lawyers with the best jobs etc).

But now I realize that this online site is being drowned out by so many competitors. I just don’t know how to get law firms and legal recruiters motivated to post on my site. My site traffic also sucks despite some scattered blog posts that have had over twenty thousand views each. I have also put on networking events to promote the online site in New York and got dozens of corporate sponsors and hundreds of lawyers to attend. The last event netted me $35,000 bucks. My website is not profitable. My legal practice is very profitable and wants to grow.

I need help figuring out what to do next (focus on events….quit the job site…..focus on a different strategy to get the site more successful?)

2 answers from the community

AAnonymous· Sep 11, 2019

Marketplaces are notoriously hard to bootstrap because nobody wants to use a marketplace site that isn't already popular. This is why most of your competitors will fail within the next couple of years. They'll run out of money or motivation and quit.

It takes time to build traffic to a site. Years. Probably 5, maybe 10. This is going to be a marathon and you should adjust your expectations and pace yourself. Keep your startup lean. Continue writing viral articles. Publish testimonials from people who got great jobs through your site. Keep making small improvements here and there. As long as your traffic is growing -- albeit slowly -- you're on the right track. Keep your law practice your main focus for the next couple of years at least. When it's time to ditch your practice for your startup you'll know.

Good luck.

AAnonymous· Sep 12, 2019

It takes time for sure to build traffic but you might also be focusing on the wrong channels. There are more than one way to bring traffic. I recommend this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Startup-Achieve-Explosive-Customer/dp/1591848369

That might help you.

What Direction Should I Take My Startup?

2 answers from the community

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