Did I know what I was doing?
Absolutely not.
Did I give it a go anyway?
You bet I did.
As a service designer, I’ve spent over a decade helping businesses solve complex problems with human-centered thinking. But when it came to launching and marketing Gopher Caddy—our first physical product—I found myself in completely new territory. No team of specialists, no agency support. Just me, a laptop, and a fierce commitment to figuring it out.
One of the biggest unknowns? Google Ads.
I had no training. No background in digital advertising. No idea what half the acronyms even stood for. But I am a true believer in just giving things a go. If you fail, fail fast. Learn fast. Move forward.
So I dove in—with a minimal budget to test the waters.
What I did bring to the table was a solid understanding of:
- Our customer: Golfers who walk the course and care about the experience.
- Our product’s edge: Gopher Caddy is lightweight, clips to your bag, and doesn’t spill sand like those old bulky buckets.
- The value: It’s the simplest $30 upgrade to your game—tidy divots, tidy conscience.
I didn’t chase fancy ad speak or try to copy what the big brands were doing. I kept the messaging clear, relatable, and human. I paired that with playful, problem-solving captions that called out the annoying pain points of traditional sand buckets—because if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s connect with real people, not personas.
And guess what?
We made 8 sales in 2 weeks.
From Google Ads I set up myself, with no course, no mentor, and no prior knowledge. Just gut instinct, curiosity, and a willingness to start messy, spend smart, and refine as I go.
This experience reminded me of something I often tell clients (and now myself):
You don’t need to be an expert to start—you just need to start.
So if you’re sitting on an idea, a brand, a product, and you’re scared to launch because you don’t know what you’re doing—take it from me:
Start anyway.
Test. Learn. Tweak.
And don’t forget to celebrate the small wins. Like your first 8 sales.