The Sales Partner for Startup Founders

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tristan Nunez, COO of Mycelia OS LLC., located in Spokane, WA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Mycelia (my-seal-ee-uh) OS (oh-S) is my company. My customers are startup founders who have some customers, a good product, and are making some money but don't have a clear sales process and aren't ready to hire full-time sales staff.

Tell us about yourself

Working W2 jobs is like renting, and building a business is like owning your own home. I wanted to build something that I had more control over, both in terms of financial stability and in terms of service/product quality for customers. What motivates me each day is developing my skill in selling value and seeing that effort turn into revenue for my customers. It's great to see something come to them that I hunted down that they wouldn't have in front of them otherwise. I love to help founders understand how to develop and continuously improve sales using data acquired through inbound/outbound sales activity (calls, emails, LinkedIn outreach, in-person events, etc.)

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Building a stable business while my wife is building her medical practice and while homeschooling my daughter.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Having to lead everything and the head game. No one hands you work; you go out and get it. The head game I'm speaking of is self-encouragement, problem-solving, and staying positive through each day of hard work. You can get down when you have a customer success issue or when your sales efforts are slow for new business. Owning a business is an exercise in managing your mind and channeling focus where it's needed day-to-day.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

If you're working hard already, work for yourself. Everyone has to work to earn a living. The hard work you're putting into someone else's business, that work could grow your own service/product offering, and you'd own that book of business.
Do a value assessment. What value do you have in terms of services you can offer or products you can build? List it all out; that's where your business will start in terms of what you do, and it will guide you in finding your buyers.
Get sales data quickly. Send a hundred Linkedin connections/messages, email those 100 contacts, and call on the same contacts. If you can visit any of them in person, do that at the end. Track results in an excel sheet, see where you had success and where you had challenges, then iterate on that experiment. Make a new list and new messages, and do it again. Don't worry about perfect messaging or execution; you'll develop that through practice. Don't hesitate to ignore negativity from buyers, but note it for education. You'll refine your value offering and buyer targeting and eventually get your first customer. More importantly, you'll have a better idea of why you got that customer.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://myceliaos.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycelia-os/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.