I'm going to tell you how to get your first 10 customers. I used these when I was starting my first business and they still work for our portfolio companies today across many industries. And so today on Herozi Hotline, I spoke to a small business owner making about 3,500 bucks a month and struggling.
So I showed him how to get more customers without ads, without funnels, and without overthinking. Let's dive in. >> Tell me about the business.
What's the problem? >> So I run a digital marketing business and honestly I don't know where to spend the most time to get people in. We run about 3500 or so a month.
I also have a full-time job with three kids. So, >> Got it. So, you're making 3500 a month right now?
>> Yes. >> Okay. How many hours you are you spending on it?
>> Roughly 20 to 30 hours a week. >> Got it. Can you handle more business right now?
>> Yes, I can. I actually had to bring on a team. >> Okay.
If you had to bring a team on and you're at $3,500 a month, you're underpriced. >> Okay. >> How many clients do you have at 3500?
>> Uh 20. >> Wait, who who are you are you running ads? Are you like or just like managing the >> earning ads?
We're just basically managing it for them. >> So why do you need a team if it's so passive? >> Um mostly because I don't want to handle the website design anymore.
>> Okay. So when you said team, do you mean you have one guy who's doing this? >> I have three.
>> So three guys making like nothing. >> No, honestly I have no idea what they're making. It's um >> Well, we're splitting $3,500 and you're running you're running 80% gross margins on it.
So, there's only $700 left and you said there's three guys. >> Yeah. Uh >> so, they're not making anything.
My point. >> Yeah. >> Okay.
Okay. There's a whole bunch of things that need to get fixed, but we'll we'll get to that in a second. So, how are you getting customers right now?
>> Word of mouth. Uh Facebook sometimes. >> When you say Facebook sometimes, what does that mean?
Facebook groups going in answering questions, helping out. >> Okay, cool. So, if you're not the one doing the actual website stuff, what is the 20 to 30 hours a week you're spending on this business?
>> Trying to grow through networking. >> Okay. And that means like in person like so I mean that's that's four hours a day, right?
I mean that's that's real time. So what so what are you doing every day? >> To be honest, I I don't know.
That's why that's honestly why I need to >> Okay. Somebody knows what to do. You're good.
>> I feel like I was spinning my wheels, man. >> No, you're good, man. You're good.
You're good. Okay, I'm gonna help. All right, so we have to pick one of the four promotion methods.
Okay, so you can reach out to friends one-on-one. So, think text, DM, email, phone call, any of those. When I say friends, I mean anybody who's in your contact list, anybody who's a subscriber to yours on any platform, anybody who's uh who's ever emailed you in your entire life that's in your Google or whatever Gmail, you know, whatever your email provider is that's ever emailed you.
>> That is that is the first list you make and then you message all of them with an option to um well, if you want you could work for free for a period and then if they're happy with it, they can start paying. The next thing is that you need to raise the price by a ton. So, I mean, for what you're doing, I would say like minimum I charge 500 bucks a month.
And right now, you might be talking to business owners who are just not that big either, which means you just have to go after people a little bit bigger. >> Got it. >> But I mean, if you just do that, if you did nothing else, like if you're spending 20 hours a week and you just spent four hours every day just messaging the people saying, "Hey, can I work for free?
" And then if I do a good job, pay me afterwards at this rate. I think you'll probably do more than you are now. That's thing one.
So thing too is that I I want you to make the same like make some content but make the content in those communities. All right? And ideally I think if you're like you can go after local because there'll be a little bit more trust if you're down the road etc.
So look at the local small business groups on meta and whatnot. And I would just basically put valuable posts. I would put tearowns in there like look at this website that we redesigned for free.
Look at this website that we did and I think people will just solicit you. Um and then anybody who interacts with it you can reach out and offer them free stuff. >> Yeah sounds good.
And then when they get on the phone, of course, you can say, "Hey, that's what I'll do for free. I do more stuff for money if you want. " And then you can obviously upsell from there.
But that's it. That's all you got. Like that's where all your attention should be going.
One is we got to change the price from 150 to 500. And number two, you can give away a free thing up front into the 500. And number three, uh spend the 20 hours a week uh doing outbound one-on-one.
Got it. We'll do. >> All right.
Appreciate you, man. No, you bet. Congrats on the business.
Thanks for taking the lead.