Just got our first paying customer, now the hard part. How did you get your second and third?

[Jbrown]

Hi all,


We hit a milestone this week that felt enormous at the time: our first paying customer for our software. We've been building builtforsmallbusiness.com, a free business management platform for UK small businesses (invoicing, expenses, payroll, client management), and someone actually handed over money for the premium plan. After months of building, that felt incredible.


But almost immediately, the question hit me: how do you get the second one? And the third?


The first sale always has a story behind it, a personal connection, someone who believed in you early, a lucky mention somewhere. But converting that into repeatable growth feels like a completely different skill set that nobody really talks about, honestly.


For those of you who've been through this with a software product or any service-based business:

• What actually moved the needle for you between customer 1 and customer 10?
• Did you find that early customers came from a completely different channel than you expected?
• How much did word of mouth play a role at that early stage, and did you actively encourage it, or did it just happen?

I'm genuinely curious whether there's a pattern here or whether everyone's path is different. Happy to share more about what worked (and didn't) for us so far if it's useful to anyone else at a similar stage.

 

[Mark T Jones]

The first customer is always great.

But the problem with 'fluke' results is that they can't be replicated.

Moving forward, you need a comprehensive clear marketing strategy

Who us your ideal target customer?

What do they currently use?

How will you reach them?

Why will they use you rather than one of the others?

Etc, etc.

The effort you put into answering those questions will pay you back many times!

 

[Jbrown]

The first customer is always great.

But the problem with 'fluke' results is that they can't be replicated.

Moving forward, you need a comprehensive clear marketing strategy

Who us your ideal target customer?

What do they currently use?

How will you reach them?

Why will they use you rather than one of the others?

Etc, etc.

The effort you put into answering those questions will pay you back many times!

Thanks for this, you're right that "fluke" is exactly the word that crossed my mind after the excitement wore off.

To answer your questions directly:

Our ideal customer is a sole trader or micro-business owner in the UK, the kind of person currently juggling spreadsheets, free trials of three different tools, and a notes app for client details. Typically 1-5 people, not yet at the scale where Xero or QuickBooks feels justified.

They're currently using a mix of free tools, Wave, the free tier of Invoice Ninja, sometimes just Word templates for invoices. Or nothing structured at all.

We're reaching them through Google (SEO and a small Ads budget), and increasingly through communities like this one, places where small business owners actually talk about the problems we solve.

The why us is the permanently free model. Most competitors are free for 30 days then £20-£30/month. We're free forever for core features, with an optional upgrade. For a sole trader watching every penny, that removes the barrier entirely.

What would you say is the biggest mistake early-stage software businesses make when trying to move from that first customer to consistent growth?

 

[Mark T Jones]

What would you say is the biggest mistake early-stage software businesses make when trying to move from that first customer to consistent growth?

The most common mistakes that novice marketers make are:

• Not doing the research.
• Fixating on medium/promotion.
• Looking for magic bullets.
• Assuming the customer shares their enthusiasm. The only reliable assumption is that they don't GAF - until you give them reason to.

In fairness, your narrative suggests a bit more research than most as to who they are, where they are at etc. - but the message probably needs work (and will vary depending on the medium)

Selling on a platform like this is all about adding value in questions & answers. SEO is about knowing what they are asking.

 

[fisicx]

The businesses you are targeting aren’t looking for a fix. They aren’t even aware such a thing exists. Which means SEO may be ineffective. You might find social media works better.

 

[tony84]

Congratulations!
What you have done works, you have proven that with your first customer so keep doing whatever you are doing.

You can ask them for a review, you can ask them if they have anyone they know of who will be interested.

We used some developers about 2 years ago. I just looked on google for a local firm to be honest. I didnt like the idea of using people whose language is not mancunian (or English) for something that was complex and expensive. So I would say make sure you are on google, but thats pretty much a basic now a days anyway.

Beyond that I am not sure.

 

[Shopclicks]

Well done .... But ....

'Everything Your UK Business Needs, All in One Place' is possibly the worst hook and H1 I've seen in a while.

Sell the outcome, not what you think you have.

'Invoices, Payments & Payroll made easy'

Who told you what amounts to a one page website, was a good idea?

 

[Jbrown]

Well done .... But ....

'Everything Your UK Business Needs, All in One Place' is possibly the worst hook and H1 I've seen in a while.

Sell the outcome, not what you think you have.

'Invoices, Payments & Payroll made easy'

Who told you what amounts to a one page website, was a good idea?

You're right about the H1. "Everything Your UK Business Needs" is a feature list dressed up as a headline. It says nothing about what actually changes for the person reading it. We'll be changing that.


On the single page, it's actually a multi-page site with dedicated pages for invoicing, expenses, payroll and clients, but I take the point that it may not be immediately obvious from the homepage. If the first impression reads as one page, that's a navigation and structure problem worth fixing.


Out of curiosity, when you landed on it, what specifically made it feel like a one-pager? Was it the layout, the lack of obvious navigation, or something else? That would help me pinpoint exactly what to fix rather than guessing.

 

[Jbrown]

Congratulations!
What you have done works, you have proven that with your first customer so keep doing whatever you are doing.

You can ask them for a review, you can ask them if they have anyone they know of who will be interested.

We used some developers about 2 years ago. I just looked on google for a local firm to be honest. I didnt like the idea of using people whose language is not mancunian (or English) for something that was complex and expensive. So I would say make sure you are on google, but thats pretty much a basic now a days anyway.

Beyond that I am not sure.

Thank you, and that referral point is something I hadn't thought about being that direct with. I think I assumed it would feel awkward to ask, but you're right that there's no reason not to.

The Google point is well taken, too. We're actively working on SEO, so hopefully we show up when people search for invoicing or payroll tools for small businesses. Did you find that the local firm you used had good reviews online, or was it more just that they came up in search and felt trustworthy from their website?

 

[Shopclicks]

Out of curiosity, when you landed on it, what specifically made it feel like a one-pager? Was it the layout, the lack of obvious navigation, or something else? That would help me pinpoint exactly what to fix rather than guessing.

The 'jump-to' links in the menu.

 

[Paul Carmen]

What's your marketing plan; who are you targeting and what pain points do you fix for them?

That is a research based piece of work to tightly identify your target customer. This is not SMEs or sole traders. Plus, what do they actually search for on Google or via Ai; this will be for solutions to their problems, or if they've done some research, then it may be for an actual type of product/service.

From your website, your SEO and I assume Google Ads, does not do this. The H1 is not something customers will search for. Headings like "Run, track & manage" don't target anything, as they don't mention what you can run or track.

You should be offering easy solutions to your target customers problems, that are better, or at least better value, than the competition. Where you're offering a specific service or software solution, you should be laying this out clearly using the phrases and wording customer search for.

Without this, then your sign ups will be down to luck, and will likely convert at a very slow and low rate.

 

[Jbrown]

What's your marketing plan; who are you targeting and what pain points do you fix for them?

That is a research based piece of work to tightly identify your target customer. This is not SMEs or sole traders. Plus, what do they actually search for on Google or via Ai; this will be for solutions to their problems, or if they've done some research, then it may be for an actual type of product/service.

From your website, your SEO and I assume Google Ads, does not do this. The H1 is not something customers will search for. Headings like "Run, track & manage" don't target anything, as they don't mention what you can run or track.

You should be offering easy solutions to your target customers problems, that are better, or at least better value, than the competition. Where you're offering a specific service or software solution, you should be laying this out clearly using the phrases and wording customer search for.

Without this, then your sign ups will be down to luck, and will likely convert at a very slow and low rate.

This is the most actionable feedback in the thread, thank you.

You're right that "UK small businesses" is too broad. Our actual sweet spot is sole traders and micro-businesses with 1-5 people who are currently invoicing manually or using spreadsheets, not yet at the scale where Xero or QuickBooks feels worth paying for monthly.

On the SEO point, we do have dedicated landing pages targeting specific search terms (invoicing software for small businesses, expense tracking, payroll for small businesses), but I take your point that the homepage subheadings aren't doing that work. "Run, track & manage" is vague, and we'll be looking at that.

Worth mentioning, the H1 was actually updated a few minutes ago based on feedback earlier in this thread. It now reads "Invoicing, expenses and payroll, free, forever, built for UK small businesses", which is more specific. Still room to improve, but moving in the right direction.

One question, when you say the SEO doesn't target the right things, are you looking at the homepage specifically or the broader site? The landing pages are more keyword-focused, but I'd value your view on whether they're hitting the mark.

 

[fisicx]

Please do not do a website review! This only permitted for business members.

(But I agree - the site fails in many areas)

 

[Jbrown]

Please do not do a website review! This only permitted for business members.

(But I agree - the site fails in many areas)

Apologies, I'll keep the conversation focused on the original question around getting from first to subsequent customers.

For what it's worth, the feedback from members here has already led to a couple of changes on the site today, so I'm grateful for the responses regardless.

 

[Jbrown]

The businesses you are targeting aren’t looking for a fix. They aren’t even aware such a thing exists. Which means SEO may be ineffective. You might find social media works better.

That's a really useful reframe, the unaware audience problem. You're right that someone juggling spreadsheets isn't searching for business management software; they're searching for a free invoice template or how to track expenses as a self-employed.

We do have some content targeting those problem-aware searches, but not enough of it. And the social media point is well taken, showing the before and after visually, which probably lands better than any search ad for that audience.
What social channels have you seen work best for reaching that kind of small business owner in the UK?

 

[fisicx]

There is no best method. Every business is different.

People don’t want what you are providing. What they want is simple processes, time saving, lower costs. They may even want someone to do it for them.

Do you for example offer a service to transfer all their data, set up the new platform and train staff.

Is it a fully mobile friendly platform? I know many micro businesses do everything using their phone.

 

[Shopclicks]

What social channels have you seen work best for reaching that kind of small business owner in the UK?

Regardless of the social platforms you use (LinkedIn would be a priority), video with voice or voiceover and captions will extend your reach given that their AI algorithms are looking for content differently now.
And don't post the same content across all channels. They have different audiences and you should cater for that.

 

[Paul Carmen]

One question, when you say the SEO doesn't target the right things, are you looking at the homepage specifically or the broader site? The landing pages are more keyword-focused, but I'd value your view on whether they're hitting the mark.

A proper site and marketing review is beyond the scope of this thread (even if free members were allowed a site review).

The site doesn't rank for anything other than your brand name. You'd need to audit it fully, but no, it doesn't target the right search terms, and many of the right searches are pretty competitive.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'll throw another curved ball here:

Your customer may not be who you think- many micro businesses, particularly trades, they admin, accounts etc are done by the wife. Often on a Sunday evening, which may affect targeting

 

[tony84]

Thank you, and that referral point is something I hadn't thought about being that direct with. I think I assumed it would feel awkward to ask, but you're right that there's no reason not to.

The Google point is well taken, too. We're actively working on SEO, so hopefully we show up when people search for invoicing or payroll tools for small businesses. Did you find that the local firm you used had good reviews online, or was it more just that they came up in search and felt trustworthy from their website?

They were local, their reviews were good (albeit not many).
I call them up, had a chat. They were helpful, you could tell they were already thinking about the project and how to do certain aspects, they gave me a good feeling it was in safe hands.

They were not pushing for the sale.

 

[fisicx]

@Jbrown - consider also the huge marketing budgets the main players have to promote their products. The chances of you ranking for anything useful is almost zero.

And people are wary of free. You can get more leads with a free trial followed by a monthly subscription.

 

[CandyCrafters]

I'm exactly your target audience, a small business juggling spreadsheets, could do with some software to keep track but don't want to pay a lot for it yet. I'll probably sign up and try out your tools, but only because I've read a description here first. Your website itself needs a bit of work in terms of layout, speed.
To be honest though, your free tool offers enough functionality that by the time I need something more, I'll be ready to migrate to proper accounting software.
But if it had a basic free layer, and a £5/month for what your free version currently offers, I can see myself paying that. I would also trust it more, at the moment I'm thinking there must be a catch, so much free forever? Something seems off here, it's likely a too good to be true thing, or a lot of hype that when you try it, it doesn't actually offer much.
Just my two cents

 

[ctrlbrk]

I'm thinking there must be a catch, so much free forever? Something seems off here, it's likely a too good to be true thing, or a lot of hype that when you try it, it doesn't actually offer much.

This is the premise of freemium models, which in the past have had success.

If I see a website that offers free stuff but I don't trust it, all I have to do is sign up with a disposable email address and try it out. What's the worst that could happen?

 

[Mark T Jones]

This is the premise of freemium models, which in the past have had success.

If I see a website that offers free stuff but I don't trust it, all I have to do is sign up with a disposable email address and try it out. What's the worst that could happen?

Yes, it can work well, but does come with challenges - the biggest one being cashflow-drag. It take a long time and a lot of money to see real money coming in .
The trend on fremium is to tighten parameters gradually - initially leaving early adopters with the generous model, but then squeeze them too.

 

[ctrlbrk]

initially leaving early adopters with the generous model, but then squeeze them too.

I think it strongly depends on the model one adopts and the parameters you mentioned.

The risk of squeezing indiscriminately is that the model turns into the 'enshittification' model where everything and everyone get squeezed.

 

[Jbrown]

I'm exactly your target audience, a small business juggling spreadsheets, could do with some software to keep track but don't want to pay a lot for it yet. I'll probably sign up and try out your tools, but only because I've read a description here first. Your website itself needs a bit of work in terms of layout, speed.
To be honest though, your free tool offers enough functionality that by the time I need something more, I'll be ready to migrate to proper accounting software.
But if it had a basic free layer, and a £5/month for what your free version currently offers, I can see myself paying that. I would also trust it more, at the moment I'm thinking there must be a catch, so much free forever? Something seems off here, it's likely a too good to be true thing, or a lot of hype that when you try it, it doesn't actually offer much.
Just my two cents

Thank you, this is genuinely useful to hear, and the too good to be true concern is something we need to address more clearly on the site.

To answer it directly: we're free because we earn a small platform fee when your clients pay invoices online using Stripe, 0.5%, minimum £1, maximum £20. That's our business model. No monthly charges hidden behind a free trial, no feature lobotomy after 30 days. The free tier is genuinely free.

The Business plan at £120/year adds features like PDF exports, advanced reports, and assisted data migration (launching tomorrow), but the core tools remain free regardless.

On the speed and layout points noted, we're already making changes today based on feedback in this thread. Look forward to having you try it.

 

[Jbrown]

I'll throw another curved ball here:

Your customer may not be who you think- many micro businesses, particularly trades, they admin, accounts etc are done by the wife. Often on a Sunday evening, which may affect targeting

Thank you for your insightful reply. We've been speaking to the business owner, but the actual user is often someone entirely different, and that changes everything from the messaging to the channel to the timing.

Genuinely going to factor this into how we think about the platform going forward. Thank you.

 

[Jbrown]

@ctrlbrk, @Mark T Jones @CandyCrafters

These are fair concerns, and I'd be sceptical too. The freemium bait and switch has burned a lot of people.

The difference with BFSB is that the free tier isn't a loss leader. We make money when your clients pay invoices online, 0.5%, min £1, max £20. That means free users who never upgrade still generate revenue when they use Stripe payments. We don't need to squeeze the free tier to survive.

The Business plan exists for users who want extras like PDF exports, advanced reporting, and assisted data migration (launching tomorrow), not because we're gradually removing things from free users to force an upgrade.

Early adopters get the same model everyone else gets. That's the commitment.

 

[fisicx]

What if they don’t want to use stripe? Many will pay directly via their banking app.

 

[Jbrown]

What if they don’t want to use stripe? Many will pay directly via their banking app.

That's a fair point. If a client pays via bank transfer directly, there's no platform fee, and we make nothing from that transaction. That's fine, and we're not going to change it. Bank transfer invoices are free, always.

The platform fee only applies when a client pays through the Stripe payment link on the invoice. It's opt-in; business owners can enable or disable Stripe payments anytime. Nobody is forced to use it.

So yes, you can use BFSB entirely for free, get paid via bank transfer, and we make nothing. That's the honest answer. We're comfortable with that because enough businesses find the convenience of card payments worth the small fee, and that sustains the model.

 

[fisicx]

However…

There is still the stigma of being a free service. Charging a small monthly fee gives you credibility.

 

[Shopclicks]

Couple of questions:
a) Is this multi-user (multi-desk/separate login) software?
b) Is there a use-case for bookkeepers or VAs who have multiple clients?

 

[ctrlbrk]

However…

There is still the stigma of being a free service. Charging a small monthly fee gives you credibility.

I wouldn't mind having the stigma of a freemium service such as Buffer

 

[Jbrown]

@fisicx @Shopclicks @ctrlbrk

On the credibility point, fair observation. The plan is to let the product quality speak for itself over time, and threads like this one help more than any paid listing would.

On multi-user, currently, each account manages a single company. However, multi-company support is on the roadmap, the idea being a parent account that can manage multiple sub-companies, each with its own details and full functionality. That would open up exactly the bookkeeper and VA use case you're describing.

Not live yet, but it's coming. If that's something you'd find useful, we'd genuinely welcome input on what that should look like in practice.

 

[Jbrown]

On credibility, a new brand with no reviews, asking businesses to pay a monthly fee upfront, faces the same scepticism regardless of price. Free removes that barrier entirely and lets the product make the case. We understand not everyone will trust it immediately, and that's fine. Word of mouth from the users who do try it will build that credibility over time, that's the bet we're making.

 

[fisicx]

You offer 3 months free then the subscription.