If I Start a Business, Where Will I Get My First Customers or Clients?
If I Start a Business, Where Will I Get My First Customers or Clients?
Hint: They Might Be Closer Than You Think
“Where can I find my first customers or clients?” is a common question for many new business owners.
Searching for these gooses (or geese?) that lay golden eggs can make a founder feel like Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits. It can seem like an endless — and always unsuccessful — pursuit.
If you go on X, you’ll find that the greatest problem for countless founders is just this — getting leads and closing them.
So, What’s the Problem?
Think about it.
If you don’t have a history of trust or testimonials for your business, it’ll be difficult to get strangers to buy anything from you online or to trust you with doing their projects if you’re a service provider, such as a ghostwriter, graphic designer, grant writer, web designer or copywriter.
Would you easily fork out your hard-earned money to someone you have no reason to trust?
As a result, new business founders often end up turning to the people they know best to purchase their products or services: family members, friends, and people they’ve worked with. In addition, these people might refer them to their connections.
The reason this works is that the trust is already there.
That’s one major problem out of the way in the client acquisition process.
My Personal Story
When I was in college, a friend got me involved in a pyramid scheme where I sold items such as fire extinguishers, kitchen utensils, etc.
My first customers?
You guessed it: friends and family.
They were not big sales, and they likely just bought the items to support me, wanting to help me succeed or, perhaps more likely, not wanting to tell me no.
More than two decades later, when I started my communications business after leaving my job, who were my first clients?
Friends and people I had connections with through my former job.
The bigger your family, friend and work network, the better your chances of getting started with a few customers and clients much more easily.
Recently, someone on X asked other founders where they got their first customers and clients, and many of the respondents also said their first ones were family, friends, and former colleagues.
After my college experience with the pyramid scheme, I didn’t feel good about asking friends, relatives and former work connections for work or leads.
Fortunately, some of my former work connections sought me out for projects. One even turned into a nearly seven-year 20–25 hour a week contract.
Good Advice
If you’re comfortable with letting your close connections know about your business and that you’re seeking customers or clients, it’s a good idea to let them know. There’s a good chance some of them may send work or leads your way.
If you’re not comfortable with it and they find out, they may send work or leads to you anyway.
If you don’t have experience, a portfolio or testimonials, these early customers or clients will help you get started.
A warning, however.
If you get customers or clients through your close connections, it can be embarrassing if you let them down and could even hurt your relationship.
Therefore, you will want to go a little beyond the requirements to make sure those customers or clients are more than satisfied.
Of all the ways to get leads for new customers or clients (cold email, DMs, advertising, marketing, etc.), taking advantage (in a good way) of your existing connections is probably the easiest and fastest way to get started.
I would encourage you to try that first.
Note to Elmer Fudd: It’s easier to find wabbits in your own backyard than looking for them across the world.
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I mostly write to help founders of businesses and organizations succeed.
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