New Service Businesses Can't Land Their First Client
New service-based businesses are facing a significant hurdle: acquiring their first clients. They're struggling with visibility, convincing potential clients to engage, and often encounter resistance regarding pricing and commitment, especially in the current economic climate. This initial client acquisition phase is proving to be the most challenging aspect of launching these ventures.
SOURCES (60)
“since you're in a smaller uk town, the key is to blend tech with local trust. most indie biz owners there wont care about your stack, they care about one thing: does this get me more customers today. start by fixing the low hanging fruit…”
“This is the correct answer. Ignoring yelp is giving up potential customers. Definitely create a profile. Just ignore their sales calls. You also want a Google my business profile.”
“Mate how long have you been in the business? Are you going for local business? Are you working with anyone in your region? Sorry but businesses like yours usually only get started when yoge enough "customers" to steal from your old employment who like working with you. Otherwise you're going to spend money fishing for new ones. Your kind of business is usually word of mouth and often folks don't change that fast because to the outside if you're doing the job well, why chang”
“If you’re starting a marketing business… your skill should be marketing. This should be a breeze for you to find a first client. Also, another helpful tip, having a warm audience / target market BEFORE launching your product is quite useful. So define a customer avatar, know who you’re selling to specifically, and the rest is easy. But as I said, you really should know this if you’re doing digital marketing.”
“I’ve start a new graphic design business, I’ve already made a Google business profile and I’m already working on a website for it. What else should I do to get my first? submitted by /u/Right-Pickle-614 [link] [comments]”
“Hello everyone! I recently opened a home health care business, and I’ve been struggling to get patients. I was wondering if anyone here has experience in this field or has any advice on how to attract new patients and grow the business. I would truly appreciate any guidance, suggestions, or resources you’re willing to share. Thank you all so much! 🙏 submitted by /u/Realistic_Tip_3903 [link] [comments]”
“That makes a lot of sense. I think many people, especially in the beginning, focus on getting more customers without actually knowing how much a customer is worth to the business. Your point about asking, “How much would you be willing to pay for a new client?” is really interesting. Once you know the customer lifetime value and your numbers make sense, advertising becomes less of a gamble and more of a system. Do you think you would have been able to scale successfully with ads earlier, or was”
“That's helpful. Again this is a great place to be in. As a repeat founder I can tell you that you are going to almost certainly have a reality check once your first user starts using your product. It is like being the first to move into a newly built house or building. You expect that everything will work because it's new, but it's actually the opposite. With software, unless you were extremely disciplined with user testing and did repeated cycles of validation with real users, chanc”
That setup worked for me once every social post pointed to one specific next step.
“I would avoid starting with ‘web development and AI integration’ because local businesses rarely wake up wanting either. Choose one type of business and one expensive problem you can identify before contacting them, then make the outreach about that problem. Which local businesses have a visibly broken lead, booking, or follow-up process you could diagnose concretely?”
“Hi guys I’m currently from the UK but want to reach out to potential clients internationally preferably us, does anyone have any tips on how to do this? submitted by /u/Trazo_247 [link] [comments]”
“I have this LLC, it is new and still, I have yet to create a business. I had all these ideas before creating it and then, when I created it, Nothing. Mind Blank. Anyone else? Is there any creative minds out there with any advice/tips, or anyone that want to talk about how they got through this on DMs? submitted by /u/Typical_Bell4550 [link] [comments]”
“Cold email 10-15 planners and offer to pay for a 20-min call, and yes, ask them to share their screen. Most people are flattered someone wants to learn their craft. Start with the ones whose reviews mention friction points.”
“Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying this sunny/rainy Thursday! I want to see if anyone can provide some feedback on how to go about reaching out to small businesses? I've emailed and sent out postcards to potential clients but haven't gotten any responses. I don't have a big budget but I am marketing on my own and trying different ways to reach out. I just started in July and I don't know if patience is what I'm looking for lol. I do have a full time job and I set up Calendy s”
Does anyone here struggle with finding clients for automation work?
“The advice I always hear is to talk to potential customers, understand their workflow, and figure out what problems they actually have. That makes sense, but how do you actually do that when you have zero experience in the industry? For starters you need to separate two different concepts here. Validating a preconceived concept you do through networking with your mouth closed and your years open. You read what you can online, and you show up to meetups and other events to listen in. You're h”
“Hi all, I'd like to ask for some advice on how to obtain clients for detailing here in Melbourne and the Peninsula? I have social media business accounts and a website. landing page. I'd prefer not to spend $$$ on advertising agencies. I am happy to get flyers printed and offer them to busy areas such as Dandenong and Cranbourne where there are lots of fleet vehicles companies. I have the necessary tools and resources to do full details and am happy to get started. Thanks submitted”
“one thing worth knowing before you start, dont lead with the AI part. local owners hear AI and either price you like a cheap template or get suspicious. sell the outcome instead, more bookings, a phone that rings, a site that doesnt look ten years old, and keep the stack conversation for when they ask. your first two or three clients will almost certainly come from people who already know you rather than from any outreach. so tell everyone in your circle in one plain sentence what you actualy do”
“Starting a small business offering digital ad audit + billing reconciliation for agencies and local businesses. Before I go all‑in, I’m trying to gauge demand. Is this a real need in your experience, or more of a “nice to have”? submitted by /u/Karibay [link] [comments]”
“Not yet, our portfolio is all Belarusian clients, so we’ll start with one niche and city.”
“So I’m thinking of doing a startup/mini-agency around website dev and AI integration for marketing to local companies, I’ve seen so many people do it and make a ton of money out of it like 100k monthly, and so many more end up sailing sloppy AI websites that clearly look vibe-coded. Now obviously I’m not gonna make the entire thing with AI but mainly for the design using custom skills, then using my own cybersecurity skills for row-level security and supabase integration etc. point is I live in”
“I run a small mobile detailing business and somehow one luxury apartment building has turned into a really solid source of work. It started with one resident, then the concierge began recommending me whenever someone asked about getting their car cleaned. Now I’ve done around 10 or 12 cars there and I’m starting to recognize people when I pull up lol. The concierge recently asked if I’d be open to giving him $25 for every customer he sends my way. At first I wasn’t sure, but honestly I kind of l”
“I have my own mobile business on the side, but rarely get clients. Has anyone been able to get clients by working for Zeel and handing out your card after? Or do you find that those clients are pretty loyal to the app? I’ve worked for them before, but it was a long time ago. I’d feel weird doing it at my day job and need some ideas on how to get noticed. Any advice is appreciated! submitted by /u/Plastic-Toe-6243 [link] [comments]”
“Most micro SaaS advice starts at "once you have your idea" and skips straight to build and launch. I'm curious about the part before that. For people who've done this, before you had a specific idea locked in, what did the research phase actually look like? Were you looking for problems in communities you were already part of, or actively searching for pain points in places you had no connection to? Did you validate demand before building anything, like checking search volume,”
“I've been avoiding social media for years. Finally caved.I run a small coffee shop. Like business is fine but everyone says I need to post videos to attract new customers... I can't edit. I tried filming once. Deleted it immediately lol. Then I suddenly find a tool called framia and just tried it. Uploaded some drink photos, wrote a quick description. Got a 30-second video with music and text. It's not perfect. But it's way better than anything I could make myself. I posted it on”
“Hi everyone, I hope this is the right place to ask. We are a small team of web developers from Belarus, and we're looking to start working with small businesses in the US. We have experience building custom websites (from scratch, no builders) for local clients, but we're new to the American market and feeling a bit lost about how to reach potential customers. We don't have a big advertising budget, so we're trying to understand where small business owners usually look for web de”
“If you have the budget for it, advice B is better simply because it is the fastest means but there will be the temptation to neglect the organic aspect which you must consciously avoid.”
“Thanks for the update. Makes sense. So basically your current business hasn’t revealed to you this business opportunity? Indeed, start documenting the process. Build in public.”
“I believe she has one major client who she had interviewed for a full time role originally. They wanted to hire her but required full time staff to be in person and she was in a different state. So she negotiated the C2C deal. So only 1 client billing like this so far that I know of and she gets enough work to not need to seek more at the moment. Not sure if that’s a going market rate or not.”
“I recently took the leap to go out on my own after 20 years in the field as an insulation installer doing commercial and industrial plumbing and HVAC insulation. I left a job where I was working 12-hour days because I wanted to build something of my own, but honestly, I'm feeling stuck and defeated right now. I’ve been finding project leads and submitting bids to general contractors, MEP contractors, and project owners. I’m doing my estimates using digital takeoff software, pulling leads fro”
“I recently took the leap to go out on my own after 20 years in the field as an insulation installer doing commercial and industrial plumbing and HVAC insulation. I left a job where I was working 12-hour days because I wanted to build something of my own, but honestly, I'm feeling stuck and defeated right now. I’ve been finding project leads and submitting bids to general contractors, MEP contractors, and project owners. I’m doing my estimates using digital takeoff software, pulling leads fro”
“I recently took the leap to go out on my own after 20 years in the field as an insulation installer doing commercial and industrial plumbing and HVAC insulation. I left a job where I was working 12-hour days because I wanted to build something of my own, but honestly, I'm feeling stuck and defeated right now. I’ve been finding project leads and submitting bids to general contractors, MEP contractors, and project owners. I’m doing my estimates using digital takeoff software, pulling leads fro”
“I am just starting out with my own business renting a space in a hair salon 2 days a week. I’m by myself on those days, and the strip its in is really quiet. I’ve done some advertising on Facebook and that’s it. I’ve only had 4 of my own clients so far, all women referred to me by the hair salon owner. I got a call last week from a man who seemed a bit nervous asking for a same day massage. I told him I may be available next week.. I kept it short bc it felt uncomfortable. Well he called again t”
“Hello! I’m the proud owner of a new practice in Virginia and my brain is swimming with marketing strategies from volunteer work to social media. I would love to get more information on how to reach out to companies and local businesses and see if they are willing to hire me to work on their employees. If anyone with experience doing would share how they started, and where to look I would be very happy. submitted by /u/Melodic_Mix7844 [link] [comments]”
“I recently launched a small web development and digital design agency with a few friends. We have the technical skills to do the work, but we are completely new to the business side of things. Right now, we are really struggling to figure out our pricing model. For those of you running B2B or service-based businesses: Do you recommend charging an hourly rate, a flat per-project fee, or focusing on monthly retainers? How did you land your very first paying client without having a massive portfoli”
“I have been wanting to start a small digital invitations business mainly for Pakistani customers at the moment but later hoping to expand worldwide. It's only been a few days but just finding my first customer has been so difficult. I feel really discouraged. Have I chosen something that can't work?? Anyone else has experience of a similar business please share your insights submitted by /u/Phd-Candidate [link] [comments]”
“Well, first make a facebook page and google business profile. Then get reviews and testimonials from friends and family you've helped, make enough content on the page to make it look alive. Next pick a single service you can attach a price to, put it on doorhangers or a yardsign and put them out as much as possible.”
“Meetings and no card usually means the person sitting in the meeting can't sign for it. Ask on the first call who else has to be in the room, the ecommerce manager almost never owned the budget in mine, it sat with a head of ecommerce or with finance.”
“Hi All! I am an experienced hospitality operations manager with a broad range of experience and I am looking to start a consultancy business to support local independent businesses with reviewing their operational finance and offering different tiers of support from basic P&L reviews to long term business development plans. I'm thinking that businesses in their first 2-5 years may benefit from an experienced eye looking for efficiency gains and tackling unnecessary wastage. Do you believ”
“I started an online business earlier this year that I was thinking will have a freemium business model mainly with revenue coming from ads/sponsorships but with time I realized that this might be harder than I expected especially since it needed a paid marketing layer that I couldn't afford at the time, and after a while I noticed that I'm slowly getting pushed to completely change the business model to something I didn't plan. If that was you, what would you do, would you just go wi”
“Hey everyone, I’m building a coaching business around a competitive video game (Counter-Strike 2), where I help players improve through structured training, gameplay reviews and personal coaching. I’m currently trying to improve the business side of things and I would love some advice from people who have experience with online businesses, marketing or SEO. A few things I’m trying to understand: What are the best ways to improve SEO and get more organic traffic from Google? Are there any AI tool”
“A few months back, I attended the small business expo as an exhibitor, and I got leads from there. But now, there is another trade show coming to LA, and I want some strategies to make it successful. Does anyone know some tips or have attended any business events before? submitted by /u/Living-South7842 [link] [comments]”
“I’m planning to start a small social media management agency and I’m looking for a few like-minded people who’d be interested in collaborating and figuring things out together from the beginning. Or someone to start this business. We can work as a team. submitted by /u/No-Anybody- [link] [comments]”
“I have been working in an MNC for about an year the salary is around 30k rupees per month. I am a software engineer but right now the work is nothing related to that. So I started something of my own.I started selling websites for local businesses. And has sold around 4,5 clients. Now I feel like am I doing the right thing. Am I going in the right direction. What all should I focus on to create much value for the market. submitted by /u/Defiant_Cod_8666 [link] [comments]”
After spending a lot of time building, tweaking, breaking things, and wondering whether anyone would actually pay for it. Today I got my first paying customer. This isn't about the $9. It's…
“I’d really would love some advice from people who have actually built businesses from the ground up. I’m a Deaf middle aged woman currently living on disability income, and I’m very determined to build my way toward greater financial independence. I’m not looking for sympathy, a get-rich-quick scheme, dropshipping hype, or a $10,000 coaching program, even $50 entry fee. I’m trying to answer a much more practical question: If you were starting in my position, what would you build? My biggest cons”
“My recommendation will be to start selling your service immediately to test it out to see if you can get any customers. Don’t wait just do it”
“I run a plywood and laminate shop in Baguiati, and lately I've been thinking about how I can grow the business and increase sales in the area. Most of our customers come through the usual offline methods, word of mouth, etc., but I feel like there must be better ways to reach more people. I'm especially wondering how to connect with people who are building or renovating their homes, as well as carpenters, contractors, and interior designers. For those of you who have experience growing a”
“I’m trying to figure out the right balance between actually being useful and just coming across as another person trying to sell something. Do you guys have any go-to ways of posting or starting conversations that actually feel natural? submitted by /u/Funny_Air_6510 [link] [comments]”
“Yeah that’s the annoying part. I probably avoid trying to sell the full service at first and just use the outreach to find out which problem gets the strongest response. If a few businesses keep mentioning the same issue that gives you something much easier to pitch than trying to sell a broad AI agency from day one.”
“Hi all, I've just bought a new laptop and I'm looking to start my own business, which will be a career pivot after a couple of decades in journalism and comms. To supplement my income, I'm considering offering freelance comms support. I'm used to environments like government, funded projects etc. I'm deciding between Office for business (one-off payment) and 365. I don't need the features of 365 for my pivot business, although some would surely be useful. However, I also”