For students
How to get your first customer
This is the part everyone gets stuck on, and it is the only part that decides whether you have a business or a plan. It is six steps and it is uncomfortable, and there is no way round the uncomfortable bit.
Six steps
From nobody to somebody who pays you
Write down five names
Real people, first and last name, who could plausibly need what you do. Not “people in my neighbourhood”. Five names on paper. If you cannot get to five, your idea is aimed at strangers and that is a much harder start.Rank them by who knows you best
Ask the warmest one first. You want your first attempt to be with someone who will be kind about it, because you will be bad at it.Say it in five parts
Your name, how you know them, what you do, the price, and an easy way to say yes. Five parts, one short message. Leave any one of them out and it gets awkward.Offer to go first
“Let me do this one and you can decide after” removes all their risk and almost none of yours. It is the single most effective thing on this page.Do it better than the price deserved
The whole point of customer one is customer two, and customer two lives on the same street.Ask one question at the end
“Do you know anyone else who needs this?” Ask it once, out loud, while they are happy. Most people say yes and most teenagers never ask.
Word for word
What to actually send
These are the messages from our full guides. Change the names and the price; keep the shape.
lawn mowing business
“Hi Mrs. Bennett — it's Jordan from two doors down. I'm mowing lawns on our street this summer. I'd do yours for $30, front and back, same day every week so you don't have to think about it. Want me to do this week's and you can decide after?”
dog walking business
“Hi — I'm Sam from number 14. I walk dogs after school, Monday to Friday, and I have room for one more. I'd take Bruno out for 30 minutes for $15. Could I do a free first walk this week while you're home, so you can see how he does with me?”
snow shovelling business
“Hi Mr. Dhillon — it's Alex from across the road. I'm shovelling driveways this winter. I can do yours every time it snows more than 5 cm, before 7am, for $300 for the whole season — or $30 a storm if you'd rather pay as it goes. Want me to put you on the list?”
car washing and detailing business
“Hi — I'm Priya, I detail cars in the neighbourhood. Full inside and out, at your house, about two and a half hours, $75. Here are two before-and-afters I did last weekend. I have Saturday morning open if you want it.”
Being told no
Four out of five is normal
- A no is almost never about you. It is about money, timing, or that they already have someone.
- Ask which one it was. “Is it the price or the timing?” turns a dead end into information.
- Timing nos are worth keeping. Write the name down and ask again in a month.
- If all five say the price, your price is wrong. If all five say they already have someone, your idea is fine and your market is full — go one street over.
The two-week rule
Give one idea five names and two weeks. If nobody has said yes by then, you have not failed \u2014 you have learned something in fourteen days that most adults take a year to find out. Pick the next one.
Questions
The awkward ones
- What do I say if they ask why they should pay a kid?
- Answer it straight: “Because I'll turn up every week and I'm cheaper than the company. If I do a bad job, don't pay me.” Being young is only a problem if you act like it is one.
- What if they say no?
- Say thanks, and ask one thing: “Is it the price, or the timing?” The answer tells you which to change. Four nos out of five is a normal week for anyone selling anything.
- Should I message or knock on the door?
- Message someone who already has your number. Knock — with an adult, in daylight — on a street where people know your face. Never cold-knock somewhere you are not known.
- How do I ask someone to actually pay me?
- Say the price before you do the work, and say when you expect it: “It's $30, and you can pay me when I finish.” Almost every awkward payment conversation comes from a price that was never said out loud.
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All the ways to make money 50 business ideas Getting your first customer