How to Get the First Customers for a New Business

The message arrived at 11:47 on a Sunday night.

"Renee, I think I'm going to close. I did everything right and nobody shows up. How did you do it?"

Steve and Renee had cooked side by side for seven years in the same restaurant in Austin, until the owner sold the building. In March, each opened a lunch spot of their own. He on the east side, she downtown. Same seasoning, same training, almost the same menu.

Steve had gone all out. Painted storefront, menus printed on heavy paper, a new counter, a lit sign you could see from the avenue. And he waited.

Renee didn't have money for a lit sign. So she didn't wait.

On Monday morning, she wrote back. The reply was long. Here it is, almost in full.

Your first customers don't walk in off the street

Before the letter, the short answer, which works for any new business: the first customers of a company almost never come from people walking past or stumbling on the brand by chance. They come from channels the owner activates on purpose: the network of people who already know you, communities where your audience talks, samples that get someone to try you and platforms where demand already exists. Waiting to be discovered is the slowest road to a first customer.

Steve had invested in being seen. Renee had invested in being introduced.

"I started with a list of a hundred names"

Steve, you didn't do anything wrong. You did the right thing for a lunch spot that already has customers. Mine didn't have any, and yours doesn't either. The week before I opened, I sat down with my phone and made a list of a hundred people. Former coworkers, neighbors, my church group, people from my cooking class, the restaurant's suppliers. Not to ask them to buy. I sent each one, individually, a message saying I was opening, where, and asking for a favor: tell me who they knew that ate lunch out in the area. Out of the hundred, about thirty replied. Eight bought in the first week. But what saved me were the names they gave me: the accountant who ate at her desk every day, the owner of the auto shop with six employees, the receptionist at the physical therapy clinic.

That's the close network, and it's the most underrated channel for a new business. The people who already trust you aren't your whole market, but they're the bridge to it.

"I gave away free lunches. But not to just anyone"

In the second week, I took ten lunches to the accounting office on the corner. Free. I said it was for them to try and tell me what they thought. The next day, four of them ordered. A week later, the whole office had become regular customers, and the accountant recommended me to the building next door. I did the same at the auto shop and the clinic. I didn't hand out samples on the street to whoever passed by. I gave them to places that could turn into recurring orders from many people.

Free samples only work when they're targeted. Ten lunches in the right place are worth more than a hundred flyers on the corner.

"I joined the groups where the neighborhood already talks"

There are group chats for apartment buildings, for school parents, for the shop owners on the street. I asked to join three. I spent two weeks just helping: I answered whoever asked where to find a seamstress, I posted a heads-up when the water went out. When someone asked where to get a good, cheap lunch near the courthouse, two people answered with my name before I did. If I had joined offering lunches on day one, they would have kicked me out of the group.

"I used the delivery app as a storefront, not as a home"

I signed up the lunch spot on a delivery app in the first month. The commission is heavy, I know. But that's where the hunger was from people who didn't know me. In every delivery went a card with my number and a line: "Order direct next time and get a free dessert." Today, most of my orders come direct. The app is still there, but as an entry door, not as the owner of my customer.

A marketplace is great for the start and dangerous as your only channel. We discuss that balance in is it worth selling on a marketplace as a small business.

"And I put the lunch spot on the map"

Last, the simplest thing: I created the lunch spot's Google profile, with photos of the daily specials, hours and phone number. With every happy customer, I asked for a review. By the third month, anyone searching "lunch near me" downtown found me. Steve, it wasn't luck and it wasn't talent. It was five paths, one at a time, and I wrote down in a notebook where every new customer came from. When a channel stopped bringing people in, I knew, and I adjusted. You don't have to close yet. You have to stop waiting.

What to do in the first week of a new business

Take away the names and the seasoning, and Renee's letter becomes a roadmap that fits almost any business that's starting out:

1. A list of a hundred people who already know you. First step: write the names today and, instead of asking them to buy, ask them for referrals to anyone who might need what you sell.

2. Targeted samples. First step: choose three places where a single yes turns into several customers (an office, a company, a group) and offer a no-cost experience.

3. Existing communities. First step: join two or three groups of your audience and spend two weeks helping before you mention your business.

4. A platform where demand already exists. First step: sign up on a marketplace in your industry and use each sale to bring the customer into direct contact.

5. Google Business Profile. First step: complete the profile with real photos and ask each of your first customers for a review.

And one rule that outweighs them all: write down where every customer came from. Without that, you don't know which path to keep.

Storefront or path

Steve did what seemed safest: he prepared the house to receive guests. Renee did what seemed hardest: she went out and got the people.

Both worked hard. But eight months later, one had a lit sign and an empty counter, and the other had a list of regulars and a notebook that said exactly where each one had come from.

People who are just starting out almost always think the problem is being little known. Rarely is it. The problem is not having active paths to the customer.

Steve read the letter twice and answered with a single question: "What if I want to try other paths besides those five?"

Renee didn't have the full list. She had stumbled on her five channels through trial and error, over eight months of squeezing by. You can start from where she ended up.

The 100 Acquisition Channels Guide brings together 100 paths to the customer, in 10 parts: referrals, partnerships, content and search, social media, ads, outbound prospecting, communities and events, platforms and marketplaces, offline and local, press and product. Each channel comes with what it is, a practical example, the first step to test it, who it works best for and what it costs to try, and many can be tested for free, which matters when cash is still tight. The bonus worksheet helps you score channels by cost, speed and fit to choose your first three, and the 30-day plan shows, day by day, how to launch the first and measure it.

Next step

Don't depend on a single way to win customers

Everything in this article works better when new customers arrive every month. Most businesses depend on two or three channels and suffer when one of them slows down. The 100 Acquisition Channels Guide shows 100 ways to win customers, a practical example of each one and the first step to test it spending little or nothing.

• ✓The 100 channels, one by one, from the best known to the ones almost nobody uses
• ✓A practical example and a low-cost first step for each channel
• ✓A simple way to choose the channels that fit your business now
• ✓Bonus: Channel scorecard
• ✓Bonus: 30-day test plan

Get the 100 acquisition channels guide for $49

One-time payment · Instant access · 7-day guarantee

The PDF reaches your inbox right away. It costs less than lunch for two, and Hotmart guarantees seven days: if it doesn't suit your beginning, you ask for your money back.

The first customer doesn't come because the door looks nice. They come because someone opened a path to it.

Steve and Renee are characters created for this text.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get the first customers for a new business?+

Start with your close network, asking for referrals from people who already know you, and combine that with samples aimed at places where one yes becomes several customers. Join communities of your audience, use a platform where demand already exists and create your Google Business Profile. Write down where each customer came from so you know what to keep.

How long does it take for a new business to get customers?+

It depends on the business, but active channels, like your close network and targeted samples, usually bring the first orders in days or weeks, while channels like Google search take longer. What matters is testing each channel consistently for at least 30 days before judging.

Is it worth giving away free samples to get customers?+

It is when the sample is aimed at someone who can become a recurring customer or refer others, like an office or a whole company. Handing them out without criteria usually burns product with no return. Offer the experience and agree on something in return: an opinion, an order, a referral.

Is there a list of channels for someone opening a business?+

The 100 Acquisition Channels Guide brings together 100 channels in 10 parts, each with an example, a first step and a cost to test, from free to high. With the bonus worksheet, you choose your first three and, with the 30-day plan, you launch the first channel and measure the result. Access is immediate and there is a seven-day guarantee through Hotmart.

Does it work for my type of business?+

Yes. The channels cover local businesses, service providers, online stores, B2B companies and professionals. The guide helps you pick the ones that fit your case.

How do I receive the guide?+

Right after payment, Hotmart sends the access to your email. You can read it on your phone, computer or print it.

What if I don't like it?+

You have a 7-day guarantee. If it isn't for you, ask for a refund through Hotmart within that period.

The 100 Acquisition Channels Guide

100 ways to win customers without depending on a single source of sales

Get the 100 acquisition channels guide for $49

One-time payment · Instant access · 7-day guarantee