Mistakes Are Pinches

Photo Credit: propertyshots. @propertyshotsmn - July 31, 2019. Thoughtful Pinch App Launch Party. Minikahda Paddle House, Minneapolis, MN. Venue rental + food = $800.

Mistakes can be good for business. I hear this a lot. They may be blowing smoke up my a^%, but anyone who is successful in business will always say that mistakes, bumps in the road, detours, life lessons, etc. - are all necessary. “Mistakes make us stronger.” It’s a cliche that is often used but even though I appreciate the saying, no one wants to make mistakes.

After two bombed app launches and two very expensive, fruitless sponsorship efforts, I was going down the path of a defeated business owner. It was brought to my attention that I should be very proud that people have been downloading my app. I am proud. Sort of. Almost 400 people have downloaded the Thoughtful Pinch App!! I mean, isn’t that awesome? Close to four hundred people have downloaded the app but only 19 people had actually used it. Now you know why I’m not beaming with pride.

Photo Credit: propertyshots. @propertyshotsmn July 31, 2019. Thoughtful Pinch App Launch Party. Minikahda Paddle House, Minneapolis, MN. Tiny Tap Prosecco Truck. Cost: $1500 for 150 pours.

Photo Credit: @vanessamphoto August 31, 2019. Thoughtful Pinch App Launch. Stereo Brewery. Placentia, CA $3200 for drinks and venue rental. Food was $1000.

Up until this week, I played the pity party, blame game. I felt sorry for myself because even though I was willing to pay my cousins to do some work for me, they weren’t invested in my vision. Heck, forget about working together, let’s talk about how many people in my family who haven’t even used my app and it’s been live for FIVE MONTHS! Well, I moved on and put my energy into blaming the “Share” feature on the app - it makes it too hard to share the activity on Facebook. Then I blamed the lack of a short tutorial video - one that viewers can see when they first download the app. Even more so, I blamed the lack of time for creating videos that would explain how to use the app. I needed to come up with more money to do the necessary changes on the app plus pay for a videographer. I also felt very alone in my thoughts on my target market. In fact, I was alone! Everyone that I consulted disagreed with who I was targeting. After months of wondering what went wrong, I realized my biggest mistake. I chose the wrong path for the app. Instead of going with the “freebies” feature, I went with the money making feature. Had I went in the “freebies” direction, my target market would have eaten this app up and it would have been HUGE fast. I’m not making light of depression at all but I have to say, I felt depressed. I wasn’t in a good place.

Needed a game to draw attention to the Thoughtful Pinch booth at the Minnesota Developers Conference. Oct 2019. Brooklyn Center, MN. $1500 to sponsor a booth. Artwork by Tom Foty $450.

Used the game after MDC for Play for Pink Golf Tournament in Medina, MN Oct 2019. $1500 to sponsor.

Today I am super grateful for all these “mistakes”. I am grateful that things didn’t go as planned and that I have made some dumb decisions. I am embracing every move that could have been better and every dollar that was spent inefficiently (see those costs listed under photos - argh!). These mistakes have made me stronger.

Why my app only has nineteen users as opposed to four hundred has very little to do with all the excuses that I shared above. I haven’t converted my approximately 400 downloaders into users because the concept is not practiced very often or even at all. I had believed that everyone thinks just like I do. I’m someone who is constantly finding thoughtful pinches that remind me of friends and family wherever I go - multiple times a day/365 days a year. So when I created this app it was supposed to fulfill a need. However, I am ahead of my time. I created an app for a need that has yet to be recognized. Not many people can appreciate what this app can do for them right now.

The Thoughtful Pinch App captures a moment in time when we think of someone and we want to let them know by giving them a gift. Using social media, we can invite others to contribute to this opportunity of thoughtful giving.

It won’t be long before I can get others to think how I think, see what I see and feel how I feel.

Pinches,

Barb