Get customers
How to get your first 10 customers for a side project
4 min read
Get the first ten customers for a side project by writing a one-sentence offer, listing twenty people you are allowed to contact, and asking for a conversation or a paid pilot. Track every reply. Charge something on purpose. Referrals from those first buyers are how you reach ten without a big audience.
An audience is a later asset. The first customers are usually people one introduction away, who have the problem this month. Waiting for inbound is how side projects stay theoretical.
Write the offer in one sentence
Use this shape: “I help [specific person] get [specific result] in [time box], for [price].” If you cannot fill the blanks, you are not ready to ask for money, and that is useful information. Narrow the person until you can picture their Tuesday.
Put the sentence at the top of a simple page or even in the first line of an email. A full site can wait. Clarity cannot.
Make a list of twenty, then talk to them
- Former colleagues you may contact under your agreements.
- Friends who have the problem, or who know someone who does.
- People who already asked you for informal help.
- Operators in communities where selling is allowed and expected.
The note is short. Name the result, say you are taking a few pilots, and ask for twenty minutes or a yes. Attach nothing they did not ask for. Personalize the first line so it is obviously about them.
On the call, spend most of the time on their situation. Repeat the problem back. Offer the pilot only if it fits. A no that teaches you the wording was wrong is a successful call.
Charge, deliver, and ask for the next name
Free work feels easier and teaches you the wrong lessons. A modest paid pilot filters for people who will show up and reply. Tell them what done looks like, do that, and send a short recap. Then ask: “Who else has this problem in the next thirty days?” One name from each happy buyer is the whole growth model for the first ten.
Keep a table with five columns: name, date contacted, reply, next step, dollars. Review it every Sunday. The table will show whether you have a sales problem, an offer problem, or a consistency problem. If the hard part is doing the outreach every week, pair it with a five-hour founder week.
Questions people ask
Do you need an audience to get the first customers?
No. Twenty warm conversations will outrun a new social account. Publish the work so referrals have something to forward, and treat posting as support for the conversations.
What if nobody replies?
Change one variable: the person, the result, or the first line. Ten silent emails with the same sentence means the sentence is easy to ignore. Ask two people to rewrite it in their own words.
Should the first customers get a discount?
A pilot price is reasonable if the scope is honest and you tell them you want a testimonial or a referral. A permanent friends-and-family rate trains you to undercharge.