Five Ways to Find Your First Customer

Every small business owner knows that the easiest customer to get is the one you already have.  It’s easier to keep a current customer coming back by keeping him happy than it is to go find a new lead and convert her into a new customer.

Gaining a new customer is hard, but it’s never harder than when the customer you’re seeking is your very first one.  Later on, it won’t be quite as hard because you’ll have developed a reputation and word-of-mouth and marketing and advertising activities will start to generate some wind at your back.  But early on, you don’t have that luxury.

Getting those early customers is crucial because doing so will start that flywheel effect.  So what’s the most effective way to land those early customers?  Try these five avenues to get the ball rolling:

1. Your former employer.

A lot of times, an entrepreneur will have an idea for a business after seeing that his employer has a need that the market isn’t satisfying.  If you’re in this situation, then great!  You already have a great deal of knowledge about your former employer and can use that insight to create a great deal of value for your former employer.  Colleagues at your former employer already know you and trust you, so they may be more willing to trust you and give you a chance to solve a problem for them.  And, if you do a good job, then your former colleagues may be willing to recommend you to their contacts in the industry.

2. Your former employer’s customers--CAUTION!

This one is tricky, and you need to be very careful here.  If you’re starting a business that serves a need of your former employer’s customers but doesn’t directly compete with your old employer, then you might be able to get a warm introduction from your former employer if you left on good terms.  In this situation, check with your former employer and test out how willing they are to help you.

But as we said, you need to be very careful here because your former employer may view your new business as directly competing with your former employer’s business, and you may have signed an employment agreement that contains a non-compete covenant.  Although laws vary from state to state, in many states, non-compete agreements are enforceable, and violating them can carry significant legal consequences, such as a lawsuit by your former employer, a court order, money damages, and damages to your professional reputation.

If you plan to target the customers of your former employer in your new line of business, then make sure that you understand your legal obligations. Of course, this would be the precise moment when our nervous, handwringing lawyers would remind us to direct you to the legal disclaimer in our terms of service that explains that we aren’t providing legal advice here. But you very well might need some. So, as always, you should consult with a qualified legal professional who can guide you through all of the details and considerations.

3. Industry contacts.

If you’re starting a new business in the same industry in which you’ve spent a good part of your career, then you probably have many more contacts in the industry than you even realize.  Go through your e-mail contacts, LinkedIn contacts, and phone contacts for anyone in your industry or an adjacent industry and reach out to them.  Reconnect with them and ask them whom they know who might be looking for the goods or services that you’re planning to offer.  They might even be able to make a warm introduction for you.

4. Just talking to them.

If you already know who your early customers are likely to be, then just reach out to them.  Tell them that you’re starting up your business and would like to earn their business someday.  Ask them how they’re currently solving the problem that your business intends to help and ask how they think that it could be done better.  Ask them what it would take to earn their business.  You’d be surprised; other businesses will sometimes be more than happy to tell you all about the pain points that they wish someone else would come up with a way to solve!

5. Advertising.

Once you know who your possible first customers are, make sure that you’re communicating your new business’s value proposition to them early and often.  They need to see your brand and start building up an association between your brand and the level of price and quality that you offer for your goods and services.  Don’t expect results overnight, though; many businesses won’t hire you the first time they see your advertising.  But keep getting your name out there so that over time, they’ll become more and more open to working with you.