I think it might be too early to talk about failure, I think 4 months from start to finish is a very short period of time for building and launching to deciding that no one wants your product.
Your product has been exposed to a tiny tiny tiny percentage of those who it could be. 1 customer out of 1,000 potential is a very low conversion but who's to say you're getting the right type of traffic?
Take a few days to speak to small business owners (in person maybe, or on the phone) and maybe consider a change of tack to a smaller niche that have a specific problem.
Maybe convert to a Shopify plugin? We pay for 3 for our business and they are both very feature light but they solve a specific need.
Also, look at companies who sell online but make product to order. Tracking raw materials against a final product sell is a real nightmare and not one that any of the big shopping cart players manage (3 years ago they didn't at least).
Absolutely, four months when compared to other SaaS products (or any product in general) is a laughably short amount of time to judge anything a success or failure.
I probably should have explained a bit more in depth about why I'm calling it a failure:
I'm simply not interested in the product I built anymore. Inventory for small businesses is something that doesn't hold my attention as it used to when I built the product, and I'm not sure it ever did.
Right now it's hard for me to load up my IDE and start working on the product. I feel like I don't know what to do with it as it is, and that stems from the lack of interest.
I'm taking a couple weeks to go over my options, and I think I've got a decent plan to revitalize it.
I haven't given up on the product itself, or the core problem it solves (inventory management). I've only given up on who it's marketed to.
Like you said, I think the best option is to change to a smaller niche. The one I have in mind will radically change how the product looks and functions, but it will still be inventory management.
This all sounds very familiar. I also built a SaaS for small business owners in France (professional filesharing) but I realized I didn't care enough about the product and the audience I was serving (among other problems)
For me, caring about the product and the people you're serving is the most important thing. Don't choose a project because it sounds like a good idea, but choose a project because it's a part of a bigger goal, a bigger mission.
However, there's also something to be said for persistence and not giving up at the first obstacle. Finding out where the limit lies is not easy.
Your product has been exposed to a tiny tiny tiny percentage of those who it could be. 1 customer out of 1,000 potential is a very low conversion but who's to say you're getting the right type of traffic?
Take a few days to speak to small business owners (in person maybe, or on the phone) and maybe consider a change of tack to a smaller niche that have a specific problem.
Maybe convert to a Shopify plugin? We pay for 3 for our business and they are both very feature light but they solve a specific need.
Also, look at companies who sell online but make product to order. Tracking raw materials against a final product sell is a real nightmare and not one that any of the big shopping cart players manage (3 years ago they didn't at least).