A 30-day plan for your first customer

Week one: describe the service

Write one sentence that says what you do, who it is for and where. "I clean offices in Westlands for small companies" is clearer than "cleaning services".

Week two: talk to ten people

List ten people or businesses that could buy. Call or visit them. Do not sell yet; ask what they use now, what it costs and what frustrates them. Write down their exact words.

Week three: make one offer

Use their words to shape your first offer: a fixed scope, a fixed price and a date. Offer it to the five people whose answers matched best.

Week four: deliver and ask for a referral

Deliver the first job properly, then ask the customer who else they know. A referral from a happy customer is worth more than any advert you can afford in month one.

Keep the record

Every conversation, price and promise goes in one notebook or spreadsheet. That record becomes your marketing plan, your pricing evidence and your first case study.