That Smith

Believe it or not, ProGreeting is the result of a business plan not carefully thought out. We all make occasional mistakes when it comes to planning (some of them larger and more costly than others). This one happened to cost me $6.

The initial idea for ProGreeting was simple. At the time I worked for a company that leased office space to small businesses. There were a lot of businesses and owners that lacked the elementary professionalism other businesses have (small things that every business student learns or already knows), so my goal was simply to help them out.

I began ProGreeting during the summer before it even had a name. Several of my employer’s clients commended my professionalism and commented on compliments they received about my voice. (I spent a lot of time answering their phones.) When I was not assisting our clients I was helping their clients, and came to find that several of them had been using less than consumer-worthy greetings on their voice messages.

If you know me, you would already know I have worked in broadcasting in the past, so I offered to re-record the voice mail greetings of some of our clients at no cost. To others, I offered to do so for $5. I had several takers, and got back the money I spent on my initial investment, but unfortunately failed to consider two important questions.

1. What am I going to do with a website (progreeting.com) if I only have the time and ability to target a small, localized market?
2. What will happen to the business (and website) when I no longer work for the employer?

Many failed entrepreneurs I know once had big visions. Clearly I could have told myself, this will be the next big thing, and attempt to sell my service to the world, but that’s not what I wanted to accomplish. I saw a small need, knew of a solution, and charged myself with the task of starting a business that would generate at least $10 in revenue. Professional broadcasters charge hundreds of dollars for the same thing! Where I went wrong was promotion.

Not every business needs a website, and just because you have a website, it doesn’t mean you’re in business.

ProGreeting, or Chad’s Professional Voice Mail Greeting Recording Service (it wouldn’t have mattered what I called it), was growing just fine through word of mouth promotion. You use a website if you want to reach other locations, or promote your business in search engines, but I had no reason to. Plus, how many people in Wichita do you think search for professional voice greetings for small businesses? How many people even think they need such a service?

The people I dealt with didn’t even know they were giving potential clients an unprofessional impression, so the best way to sell my service was by talking to them. Then once I reach the point where everyone has a ProGreeting (yeah right), I could ask for referrals. No website needed, and an extra $6 in the bank.

The second thing I did wrong was I didn’t have an escape plan. I loved my job (working for the employer) but because of the income, I didn’t want to stay there forever. I started ProGreeting to cater to the needs of those specific clients, but had nothing up my sleeve for when I found a new job. I left that job a few months ago and have been sitting on the investment since.

My mistake was spending $6 on a domain for a business that didn’t need one. Because of it, I now have a new place to write about small businesses. Welcome to ProGreeting.