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Customers

Getting your first 50 customers with no budget

The unglamorous channels that actually work before you have money for ads, ranked by how fast they pay off.

6 steps · 6 min read

← All playbooks
  1. 01

    Sell to people who already know you

    Your first ten customers come from your existing network. This is not cheating, it is how nearly every business starts.

  2. 02

    Go where your customers already gather

    Markets, trade groups, local Facebook groups, industry WhatsApp groups, the pub next to the trade counter. Physical beats digital early on.

  3. 03

    Partner with adjacent businesses

    Whoever serves your customer just before you do is your best referral source. Make it easy and worth their while.

  4. 04

    Do one thing publicly every week

    A photo of finished work, a short answer to a common question, a before and after. Consistency compounds; polish does not.

  5. 05

    Ask every happy customer for one introduction

    Not a review, an introduction. Specific request, one person, by name if you can.

  6. 06

    Track where each customer came from

    A column in a spreadsheet. After fifty customers the pattern tells you where to spend when you finally have money.