Operating Openly
Running a (very) small app business is one of the things that I do. This year, I've decided on operating it openly… but what exactly does that mean?
Over on the company blog, I've started sharing business statistics. My site analytics are publicly available, too, and I just shared the numbers for my first new-app launch in five years. Oh, and I've set up a public roadmap for it, too.
Visit the website and you'll see a new "Roadmap" link in the footer.
— ThoughtDetoxApp (@ThoughtDetoxApp) February 27, 2021
This will take you to the public roadmap, where you can comment and vote on tasks relating to the app, the website, and the web app, as well as make suggestions for new features!https://t.co/wiTkxa1cHL
Why? Aren't these things supposed to be secret? Won't competitors use this information to crush my business?
Frankly… no. That's all bullshit.
Setting aside the arrogance required to believe such a thing (as I once did!), sharing this information is about building trust with customers. Thought Detox, especially, requires a huge leap of faith from users — they're writing their most private thoughts in the app, after all, so they need to trust that nothing is happening with that data without their consent.
Aside: Nothing happens with that data, period. You work through your thoughts by writing them out, and everything is deleted once you hit the Release This button.
Sharing as much about how things are going, what your goals are, and how you're getting there is key to building that trust. It's also why I've started using “I” rather than “we” when communicating from business accounts — there is no “we”, after all. Dropped Bits is just me, and I'd wager that the authenticity of knowing there's a regular person behind the scenes helps build trust.
My goals for the business are pretty modest right now: this year, I'd like to get it to make $1 in profit. That's it — just cross the break-even threshold. Being open about that goal, being open about how I'm pursuing that goal, and openly showing my progress towards that goal feels like the right path to build trust.