When you are first starting your business and you have no customers at all, you need to validate your business idea and that means finding some initial customers who are willing to buy your product (even if it doesn’t exist yet!).
Start with people you know. Where you find these initial customers depends on your industry, but if you’re solving problems for people you probably know some of those people who have those problems you’re solving. If your product has a wide potential market, for example food, toys, professional services, dog walking, etc. maybe it’s family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. If your product has a very niche market, such as converting old Atari games to PC (because few people have Atari game cartridges anymore), you probably know other people who have those games, so start with them.
Here are some categories of people you know, to get started:
- Close family
- Extended family
- Former co-workers and colleagues
- Current friends
- High school friends or college friends
- Former teachers, mentors, school PTA, volunteer groups, hobby groups, meetups, and anyone else in the greater community that you might know
- People you know online, like on social media or forums
Make a list of 25 people you know. Circle the 5 people who you think are most likely to be receptive to you reaching out, and start there.
Remember, everyone you know also knows other people. So when you reach out to someone, you will have two questions for them:
- Do they want to pay with cash or credit card?
- Who do they know who might be interested in the product?
If you feel a person would only be receptive to one of those actions (buying your product or referring others) then limit the conversation to just that to maximize your chances of success.