https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/729335#M7339 <P>It's important also to LIKE what you do, because starting a business takes huge commitment and a lot of other inputs (money being just one). Be prepared to devote 14 - 16 hours a day, 7 days a week (for at least the first year). In a lot of cases, family and friends are happy to offer "verbal" support and encouragement, but may say "give it up and go get a real job" when the going is tough and things may be looking precarious. Keep to the strategy (strategy - plans are easy) but also know if it's time to throw in the towel and try something else. Not all business ventures work out - around 75% to 80% of business startups fail within the first 2 years, and of the remaining 20%, half may fail before year 3 is out.</P><P>If you're lucky enough to have lots of investment cash, be VERY CAREFUL not to spend it carelessly. I know of a lot of startup business people who got a ton of investment money - and then went and bought a new BMW ! (The claimed they needed a "reliable company car"...)</P><P>On finding customers... This is plain and simple marketing, and involves every activity where you showcase your products and services to (potential) customers. There are no "rules" here - every business is different, even if it is operating in a popular sector.</P><P>A key point to note is that you should NOT try to SELL what you do...<BR />Rather, find people willing to BUY.<BR />There is a big difference... You will get sales ONLY when someone is willing to BUY - so the marketing should focus on how you get people to BUY... What are your USP's? What are you offering that helps them meet a need or desire, or to solve a problem?</P><P>People BUY things when they have such a need/desire, or have some problem to solve.<BR />When you meet (or exceed) that need / desire - or when you quickly solve the customer's problem, they remember that and develop trust... they come back time and time again.</P><P>A good friend of mine was in the real estate business and when he started out, I asked him what it was like "selling houses"...</P><P>He replied: "Oh... I don't sell houses... I help growing families find the best and most affordable accommodation."<BR />He kept track of his customers and if a family had a new baby, he'd call them up and advise them that a bigger house could be a good idea for a growing family. Before he contacted them, he'd research the market for properties the family would seriously consider, based on what he knew about them and their lifestyle. Today, he's a multi-millionaire and still maintains "I DO NOT sell houses".</P> Tue, 21 May 2024 15:38:50 GMT Fairestcape 2024-05-21T15:38:50Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721300#M7263 <P><SPAN>Hey everyone <span class="lia-unicode-emoji" title=":waving_hand:">👋</span></SPAN></P> <P>&nbsp;</P> <P><SPAN>When you are starting a new venture, it can take a while before you get your first customer and build up a community of customers around your business. And the work doesn’t stop after those early days either.&nbsp;</SPAN></P> <P>&nbsp;</P> <P><SPAN>Inspired by <a href="https://community.squareup.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/662748">@Committed</a>'s question on </SPAN><A href="https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/New-to-Square/Hello-Community/td-p/720792" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><SPAN>how to attract more clients to their business</SPAN></A><SPAN>, we’d love to know:</SPAN></P> <P>&nbsp;</P> <H3 class="lia-align-center"><SPAN>How long did it take to build up a customer base for your business?</SPAN></H3> <P>&nbsp;</P> <P><SPAN>What did you do to source them and how did you feel when you got your first yes or that first sale? Share with us below!</SPAN></P> Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:55:35 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721300#M7263 tranguyen 2024-12-17T13:55:35Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721444#M7264 <P>Hello i would say for me on my House Cleaning business it took me about 3-6 months to get a decent amount of clients and then from there it just continued to grow&nbsp;</P> Thu, 11 Apr 2024 04:54:51 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721444#M7264 wanda33 2024-04-11T04:54:51Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721467#M7265 <P>What would you say was the biggest driver in growth after the 3-6 months?</P> Thu, 11 Apr 2024 12:14:27 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721467#M7265 maxpete 2024-04-11T12:14:27Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721736#M7266 <P>For me, about a year.&nbsp; BUT, I had to move to a more reputable salon to do it.&nbsp; The first salon I worked in was a mess and I did not grow my books much there.&nbsp; After getting into a more business-minded salon my client booked quickly and once I went out on my own completely that continued to grow.&nbsp;&nbsp;</P> Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:09:39 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721736#M7266 Doran 2024-04-12T18:09:39Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721738#M7267 <P>Love hearing that when you bet on yourself, it paid off!</P> Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:11:48 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721738#M7267 maxpete 2024-04-12T18:11:48Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721785#M7268 <P>In the wine and food world, you're continuously growing the customer base and if you aren't, the business is probably retracting.</P> Fri, 12 Apr 2024 23:22:52 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721785#M7268 vinesandrushes 2024-04-12T23:22:52Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721802#M7269 <P>I would have to say word of mouth and lots of Facebook posts and advertising was the driver's in my business since I'm do House Cleaning&nbsp;</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 02:39:34 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721802#M7269 wanda33 2024-04-13T02:39:34Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721803#M7270 <P>Thankfully for me I didn't have to worry about location because I go to other clients houses so that wasn't an issue.</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 02:42:03 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721803#M7270 wanda33 2024-04-13T02:42:03Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721804#M7271 <P>Thank you&nbsp;</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 02:42:23 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721804#M7271 wanda33 2024-04-13T02:42:23Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721805#M7272 <P>Yes that is the truth. The food business is a tricky business to get in anyway. It's either going to make it or not.</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 02:43:55 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721805#M7272 wanda33 2024-04-13T02:43:55Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721808#M7273 <P>Very cool to hear!</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 03:38:03 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721808#M7273 maxpete 2024-04-13T03:38:03Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721813#M7274 <P>Thank you. What kind of business do you do?</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 04:35:42 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721813#M7274 wanda33 2024-04-13T04:35:42Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721829#M7275 <P>I'm on the community team here at Square! But I used to run my own web design freelance business in the past <span class="lia-unicode-emoji" title=":slightly_smiling_face:">🙂</span>&nbsp;</P> Sat, 13 Apr 2024 11:55:59 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/721829#M7275 maxpete 2024-04-13T11:55:59Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722004#M7276 <P><STRONG>In my mobile food business it took me 8 months to really get of the ground and after it has been a grind to keep finding new customers. But I still find them through word of mouth.</STRONG></P><P><STRONG>René</STRONG></P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 08:42:22 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722004#M7276 GourmetOnWheels 2024-04-15T08:42:22Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722014#M7277 <P>Word of mouth tends to be a great consistent source of customers. Curious to hear if you're exploring new ways to attract customers this year?</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:13:11 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722014#M7277 maxpete 2024-04-15T11:13:11Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722016#M7278 <P><a href="https://community.squareup.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/275942">@tranguyen</a>&nbsp;depends on the nature of the business, however for our business its a continual, ongoing process to build and there is the natural loss, but always aiming for a net gain. Using the typical marketing mix Social Media, influencers, local radio if you can get on a slot, local publications who want to do a feature on you etc. Promotional discounts via your existing customers to refer new customers to your business is a nice one, Square Marketing has all the tools to help you achieve this. The process will never end, just keep chipping away at it and you will keep finding new innovate ways to build the following.</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:04:53 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722016#M7278 doc_choc 2024-04-15T12:04:53Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722017#M7279 <P>One thing you touched on here that is super important is the mindset of always learning, always evolving. You're spot on that this process isn't ever completed (well until you don't have a business anymore) so it's always great to keep testing the waters!</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:20:28 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722017#M7279 maxpete 2024-04-15T12:20:28Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722055#M7280 <P>It took us about 2 years- but we had Covid in the middle which actually was critical to our success and building our customer base.&nbsp;</P><P>We opened in November of 2018. We immediately, at opening, began posting on social media. About a year in we hired our customer to take photos for instagram. At that time having a cohesive page was in style (it's amazing how things change).</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>Winter of 2019 we launched our e-commerce site via square. We had no idea how important that site was going to become.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>Obviously March 2020 we closed the physical store through June of 2020. Those three months we decided to go live every single night on Instagram. We did it out of necessity to maintain the connection with our customers. Who know those 3 months would have grown a customer base that we still have to this day.</P><P>&nbsp;</P><P>If you are B to C I cannot stress how important social media is. It's where your customers are and it's FREE!&nbsp;</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 15:45:01 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722055#M7280 DinaLRosenberg 2024-04-15T15:45:01Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722066#M7281 <P>What a journey it has been!</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 16:00:09 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722066#M7281 maxpete 2024-04-15T16:00:09Z https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722101#M7282 <P>Building up our customer base has been quite a journey. When I first started out, I went all-in and managed to get fully booked within just 6 months. However, as we've expanded and brought on more nail technicians to meet demand, our approach has evolved. Now, on average, it takes about 3 months to get them to around 50% booked, and typically around 8 months to reach full capacity. Of course, the timeline can vary depending on when they start, with seasons playing a significant role in our industry.</P> Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:50:05 GMT https://community.squareup.com/t5/Community-Corner/How-long-did-it-take-to-build-up-a-customer-base-for-your/m-p/722101#M7282 Stacelyn24 2024-04-15T17:50:05Z