What Early Validation Actually Looks Like When You Start Selling to B2B
This post documents the early stage of packaging HobbyScool for B2B and corporate wellness, before any sales calls were booked or deals were closed. It focuses on the groundwork required to sell to organizations, including systems, language, outreach, and how early validation shows up long before revenue.
One of the easiest mistakes to make when you move into something new is assuming you’ll recognize progress the same way you always have.
That’s something I’ve been coming to terms with as we’ve started packaging HobbyScool for B2B and corporate wellness.
On the consumer side, I know what momentum looks like. Registrations go up. Sales come in. People hit “buy” and tell you they’re excited. The signals are fast, visible, and familiar.
This has not been that.
And that doesn’t mean it’s not working.
Why This Experiment Exists in the First Place
HobbyScool has grown primarily as a consumer-facing brand. We run virtual events. We sell VIP passes and digital products. We know how to build momentum around a theme and show up for a creative audience.
But if HobbyScool is going to scale into something larger, something that isn’t dependent on a handful of big launches or my direct involvement in every detail, it has to be understandable and usable by organizations, not just individuals.
That’s where corporate wellness, sponsorships, and licensing come in.
This experiment isn’t about “adding B2B.”
It’s about asking a deeper question:
What needs to change inside the business before selling to organizations is even possible?
Selling to Organizations Is a Different Mental Game
One of the most important realizations I’ve had so far is that you can’t compare consumer interest and corporate interest in any meaningful way.
Individuals are deciding for themselves.
Organizations are deciding on behalf of teams, budgets, and long-term programs.
The people we’re speaking with right now aren’t asking, “Do I want this?”
They’re asking things like:
What does this look like inside our organization?
Who is this actually for?
Do we have the budget for something like this?
How does this fit with what we already offer employees?
Those questions take time. And they should.
If someone immediately said yes without thinking through those things, that would be a red flag, not a win.
What We’re Actually Doing Right Now
At this stage, the work is mostly invisible from the outside.
We’re not launching a corporate offer.
We’re not running ads.
We’re not pushing people into calls.
Instead, we’re doing the unglamorous groundwork.
That includes:
Defining clearer corporate use cases for HobbyScool
Creating materials that explain the program in organizational language
Treating this like a real pipeline, not “opportunities that come in”
Starting conversations with decision-makers
Paying attention to responses, engagement, and questions
What Early Validation Feels Like (Not What It Looks Like)
Right now, success doesn’t look obvious.
There are no booked calls to point to.
No clean milestones.
No neat conversion story.
What there is, is movement and that’s harder to quantify.
People are engaging.
They’re asking follow-up questions.
They’re taking time to think.
And while that’s uncomfortable if you’re used to fast feedback, it’s also expected at this level.
Inside the Experiment, I’m tracking specific signals and patterns to decide whether this direction is working.
What I’m not doing is treating early interest as proof or lack of immediate outcomes as failure.
Why This Stage Feels Unsettling (And Why That Matters)
One of the biggest mindset shifts for me has been learning to stay in this stage without rushing to resolution.
In the past, I might have looked at this phase and thought, “Nothing is happening yet.”
Now, I’m learning to sit with different questions:
Is this becoming clearer over time?
Are conversations getting more specific?
Does this feel like something we can refine rather than reinvent?
These aren’t questions with immediate answers.
And that’s exactly why this stage is easy to misread.
How Monthly Events Support This Shift
This experiment connects directly to another decision we’ve made at HobbyScool: moving to monthly events.
On the consumer side, monthly events help create more predictable revenue and repeatable systems.
On the B2B side, they do something else.
Saying “we run four events a year” feels limited.
Saying “we run a monthly creative wellness program” is easier to understand, easier to budget for, and easier to explain internally.
That overlap matters and it’s something we’re still learning how to use well.
Where This Experiment Is Right Now
We’re still early.
There are no neat conclusions yet.
There’s no case study to point to.
This phase isn’t about closing deals.
It’s about building clarity slowly, deliberately, and with intention.
And clarity doesn’t arrive all at once.
It shows up in patterns and decisions made without full certainty.
The Bigger Question This Experiment Is Exploring
Selling to organizations doesn’t fail because the idea is bad.
It fails when creators expect it to behave like consumer sales.
This experiment isn’t about forcing results.
It’s about understanding what needs to exist before results are possible — and how to tell whether you’re building the right foundation while you’re still inside the uncertainty.
Want to See the Full Experiment?
This post shares the context of what we’re working on, not the decisions themselves.
Inside The $1M HobbyScool Experiment, I document:
what I’m tracking
how I’m interpreting early signals
where I feel confident vs unsure
and how these decisions connect across the business in real time
If you want to see how this experiment is unfolding beyond the public-facing reflection, you can explore the Experiment here.
FAQ
Q: What does early validation look like when selling a creative business to B2B?
A: Early validation often shows up as engagement, questions, and interest from the right organizations rather than immediate sales or booked calls.
Q: Why is selling to organizations different from selling to consumers?
A: Organizations make decisions based on budgets, internal use cases, and long-term fit, which creates a slower but more intentional sales process.
