How to Get Your First 10 Customers Online: A Step-by-Step Guide for New Businesses

Starting From Zero

Getting your first customers is the hardest part of any new business. You've got no reviews, no reputation, and nobody knows you exist. Every established competitor has years of built-up trust and visibility.

The good news? You can go from invisible to receiving genuine enquiries faster than you think. Here's exactly how to do it, step by step.

Step 1: Set Up Your Google Business Profile (Day 1)

This is the single most important thing you'll do in your first week. Google Business Profile (GBP) is free and puts your business on Google Search and Maps.

Go to business.google.com and create your listing
Choose a specific primary category (e.g., "Plumber" not "Home Services")
Set your service area accurately
Write a thorough description using words your customers would search for
Upload at least 10 photos — your van, completed work, yourself

Google will need to verify your business, which can take a few days to a couple of weeks. Start this immediately.

Step 2: Build a Simple Website (Days 2-5)

You don't need a £3,000 custom website. You need something clean, professional, and mobile-friendly.

Page	Purpose
Homepage	Clear headline, services summary, phone number, call to action
Services	Each service with a brief description
About	Your story, qualifications, why you started
Contact	Phone, email, form, service area

Budget options: Wix or Squarespace (£10-20/month), WordPress (£5-15/month for hosting), or even a single well-built landing page to start. For a full breakdown, see how much a trade website costs.

Critical: Phone number must be clickable on mobile. Page load speed matters — compress images and keep the design simple.

Step 3: Get Your First Reviews (Weeks 1-4)

Reviews are the currency of trust for new businesses. Start with previous employers or colleagues who can vouch for your work, friends and family you've done work for, then your first paying customers.

Send a direct Google review link via text after every job: "Thanks for choosing [Business Name]! If you're happy with the work, a Google review would really help us out as a new business."

Aim for 5 reviews in your first month and 10 within two months.

Step 4: List Yourself on Directories (Weeks 1-2)

Free listings: Yell.com, FreeIndex, Thomson Local, Facebook Business Page.

Paid directories to consider: Checkatrade (strong for trades), Bark (pay-per-lead), MyBuilder / Rated People. That said, your long-term goal is to get customers without Checkatrade by building your own online presence.

These generate leads directly and create backlinks that help with SEO over time.

Step 5: Launch Your First Google Ads Campaign (Weeks 2-3)

Once your website and GBP are live, you're ready for paid advertising.

Budget: £15-25 per day (£450-750/month) to start.

Keywords: High-intent, location-specific — "[your service] in [your town]", "[your service] near me", "emergency [your service] [your area]".

Match type: Phrase match. Broad match will waste money on irrelevant searches.

Ad copy: Include your service and location in the headline, a trust signal ("Fully Qualified", "Insured"), and a clear call to action ("Call Now for a Free Quote").

Check your search terms report after the first week and add negative keywords for irrelevant searches. Realistic expectation: 5-15 leads in the first month, improving as you optimise.

Step 6: Leverage Your Network (Ongoing)

Post on personal social media that you've launched
Tell everyone — neighbours, school parents, sports club members
Join local Facebook groups and offer helpful advice (not spam)
Print basic business cards and hand them out

Your first few customers often come from people you already know or people one degree removed.

Step 7: Follow Up Fast (Ongoing)

When leads come in, speed wins.

Response Time	Likelihood of Winning the Job
Under 5 minutes	Very high — often the first to respond
Under 1 hour	Good — still in the running
Same day	Moderate — they've contacted others too
Next day	Low — they've probably booked someone

For a new business, being the fastest to respond is one of your biggest advantages.

The Realistic Timeline

Week	Milestone
1	GBP set up, website started, directories listed
2	Website live, first Google Ads running, network notified
3-4	First 2-4 completed jobs, reviews requested
5-6	5-8 customers, reviews building, ads optimising
7-8	10+ customers, referrals starting

Every market and trade is different, but this is a realistic trajectory for a business that follows these steps consistently.

What Comes After 10

Once you've got 10 customers, you have reviews, a working website, data from your ad campaigns, and happy customers who'll recommend you. The focus shifts from survival to optimisation — improving ad performance, building more reviews, and developing the marketing mix that sustains long-term growth.

If you want help accelerating this process, get a free audit and we'll give you specific, actionable recommendations. For a broader overview of what channels actually work, read our digital marketing guide for tradespeople.

Explore by Area

Browse all trades: Builders | Electricians | Landscapers