A SaaS Business
A SaaS Business is subscription as a service. SaaS is how many online companies are now formatting their business products. The principle is not new. Even while growing up, I signed up to receive a special monthly surprise box with makeup samples. This was an excellent example of a subscription. I paid a monthly fee and received a product. I could cancel at any time, but it created a recurring revenue model. Now we see subscription offers for most everything we see online, from Microsoft, to licensing videos to membership sites.
Dorna Moini started a unique SaaS business that is used for the legal profession. Some of this article is based upon the interview I had with her for the Women at Halftime Podcast. Her company at Documate.org began as she discovered a problem that needed a solution. As an attorney, she did some pro-bono work representing many domestic violence victims in trial and appellate proceedings. She found there weren’t enough attorneys that could take on these cases, especially with the amount of paperwork involved. So she cofounded a platform that bridged the gap for the legal and tech industries to streamline the paperwork.
The principles Dorna used in her business apply to most every business, especially for startups. We will cover four steps in this article: Solve a unique problem, expand your network, start small and think big and finally, use technology to grow.
Solve a Unique Problem
There are many people who have no access to legal services as it’s too expensive. This is a big problem for those who need help. Dorna found that 86% of the population didn’t have their civil legal needs met. The average person could afford a $25/hour attorney, yet most were $350/hour. The problem the attorneys faced was the large amount of paperwork involved, especially for pro bono cases. They only had so much time and so many billable hours they could give. So a SaaS business was born to bridge this gap.
This is a great principle for any business. Is there a gap you can fill? What the cloud-based Documate does is provide the routine legal documents needed that cuts down 90% of the hours spent to generate documents. They also guarantee 100% accuracy and security for completed documents across your organization. Their SaaS membership model creates a standard subscription monthly fee with three different levels.
Each level has certain features, whether lite or standard. It’s the same type of membership model I’ve set up for Learn Music Again and Hero Mountain Summit. Both are SaaS business models and solve a problem. One, for music and the other for helping people move ahead in their life and business. I use Digital Access Pass, a WordPress plugin, as my software. In this way, I don’t have to actually develop the software I use. I’m just renting it yearly for my own programs.
Expand Your Network
Your network is extremely valuable and finding new clients and contacts may be easier than you think if you first access your current contacts. Referral is by far the best marketing tool and even if you’re starting to work in a new field, there are probably some current connections you can access.
Finding new clients is one of the big challenges for many entrepreneurs and you can throw a lot of money at marketing with not a lot of R.O.I. Of course, there are marketing companies that will make huge promises, but if you can’t afford one of those pricey options, start where you are. Who are you already working with and who do they know? I have a good friend and colleague who makes a personal phone call to every one of her contacts and agents yearly. It pays off for her. She works constantly. She also refers others which in turn creates even more business for her.
Dorna had already been working in the legal field. Before starting her business, she had assembled a wide net of contacts as she represented cases in multiple jury trials, administrative hearings and arbitrations. She also teaches Legal Innovations Lab at USC Law School. Her sort of network is extremely valuable for a startup. It gives you immediate access to clients and if your product truly does solve a problem, you will have many referrals for a long period of time.
Our time is one of our most valuable assets and networking groups are great. But they are important to evaluate. If your main clients or referrals are not coming from that group, it may be best to spend your time in other places. Keep focusing on your goals and expand on contacts that are for your particular business. Most of all, play well with others. Don’t be a jerk and people just may refer you!
Start Small and Think Big
I love this principle. If you are a solopreneur, which most entrepreneurs are, you have to be able to manage your life as well as your business. Making things simple enough that you can handle them yourself at first is very important. I have gotten so many questions on using assistants and V.A.’s and my answer is to understand first what it takes to do the job, even doing it yourself, then find the right person or people to help you.
You also want to be open to innovation but stick with the basics first. Getting feedback at every stage and building on what is currently working will save time, energy and resources. In fact, feedback from your customers may be the most valuable input you can get. Keeping the big picture in the forefront of your mind will help you keep the little details in tact.
One of my favorite sayings is Major on the Majors. This comes from producing my original musicals, but I also used it with raising kids, creating online content and even writing books and speeches. In the year of shutdowns, I’m still visualizing large stages, but revising my method to present online. I want the impact to be big but work with the small space I have and feel events will be hybrid for a long time to come.
Use Technology to Grow
You can’t be afraid of tech, especially if you are a startup. All you need to know is what you want to accomplish, then get the tech help you need. Dorna wanted a no code platform. This means that the process would be simple for attorneys to create new forms online. The code was already done for them on the back end.
There are many Saas businesses that do this for the entrepreneur and more popping up every day. I love Thrive Themes to edit my multiple websites. It’s a drag-and-drop system that provides beautiful templates and options for me to edit webpages. Even though I’m not officially a programmer, I have worked with .html enough to my edit webpages in the past to appreciate the system Thrive has created. It is worth every penny to work with easy-to-edit software.
It takes money for a new company to develop software. This is where funding comes in order to add features and scalable growth. When you have something that is working, as Dorna did, that is the time to pursue avenues, such as venture capital. But starting small with what was working has gotten them where they are today, and they began as a bootstrapped company. If you have a great idea for something new or are building on what is working, I know you can do it! Just keep the four principles in mind: solve a unique problem, expand your network, start small and think big and use technology to grow.
There has never been a better time to follow your dream
than now, even in a part-time way.
deborah johnson
Thought Leader, Keynote Speaker, Author
If you are interested in growing and learning, check out our online courses here: Online Learning
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