In case you haven’t noticed, these days, nearly every business has a mobile app. And believe it or not, you don’t have to be a big brand name like Domino’s Pizza to take advantage of this next-level marketing and advertising solution. For a small business, adding a mobile app component to your business model is a great way to engage directly with your consumer and offer an on-demand service.
The good news is you don’t need to have tech experience to get started. However, for an optimal experience and return on investment, the needs of your customer must be a priority. HealNow, co-founder, Joshua Darius Smith gave us a few startup tips for developing an app with no tech experience.
Black Enterprise: What’s your best advice for someone who wants to develop an app with no programming experience?
JD: If someone had no programming experience but has their heart set on developing an app, my advice would depend on that future founder’s situation:
- Focus your efforts into what you’re good at. Whether your skill set is rooted in sales, marketing, writing, or whatever, take that skill from good to great by supporting the company with what you can directly affect.
- Find a technical co-founder to address the software needs of the application but if you really want to be successful, you won’t hold your hands waiting for a technical partner. While you’re searching for that co-founder, you’ll be doing everything you can to set that partner up for success once you do.
- Develop user stories for the app, write out every scenario in which the app would be used.
- Use tools like Invisionapp or Balsamiq to prototype the screens for the app, and do whatever else you can to prepare your company for when you find that technical partner. You can go a very long way strengthening the business model and product vision without writing a single line of code, says Darius.
Additionally, you can search colleges and universities, tech blogs, as well as freelance platforms such as UpWork, Guru and Dribble.com.