Dear Entrepreneur, Let’s be honest for a moment.

How long have you spent on your business or business idea lately?

Choosing the perfect name. Designing a logo. Building a website. Creating an Instagram page. Making flyers. Comparing branding options. Rewriting your social media bio for the fifth time.

Now here’s a harder question: how many paying customers do you have?

If that question stings a little, you’re not alone. At The AVOCADO Foundation, we equip aspiring and existing entrepreneurs through the #WorldChangers Entrepreneurship Training Programme with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to participate meaningfully in entrepreneurship and build sustainable businesses, if you’d like to bring our training to your community, get in touch – https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Du933rSNiz

Most talented, motivated people are spending months building the *appearance* of a business, while the actual business, the part with customers and revenue, sits waiting.

A business with 10 paying customers and no logo is a real business. A business with a beautiful logo and no customers is an expensive hobby.

So, let’s stop polishing and start selling. Here’s how to find your first 10 customers – people who will actually pay for what you offer.

First: Why Your First Customer Matters More Than Your First Logo

It’s worth understanding why we do this to ourselves. Branding feels productive and safe. Nobody can reject your logo. Nobody can say no to a colour palette.

But customers? Customers can say no. And that possibility of rejection is exactly why so many of us hide behind “getting ready.”

Your first customer changes everything. The moment someone pays you, three things happen:

You learn that at least one real person values what you offer, that’s market proof no design tool can give you.

You earn revenue, which means you can reinvest, improve, and grow.

And you gain confidence, not the motivational-poster kind, but the deep, grounded confidence that comes from knowing someone chose you with their own money.

Your first customer is also your best teacher. They’ll show you what people actually value, what questions buyers have, what needs improving, and what would make them come back. You cannot learn any of that from a flyer.

Second: Get Crystal Clear on Who Your Ideal Customer Is

Before you can find customers, you need to know who you’re looking for. And “everyone” is not an answer.

Go back to the sentence:

“I help ______ who struggle with ______ by providing ______.”

If you help busy young professionals who struggle to find affordable healthy meals, you already know a lot about where to find them, what language to use, what to charge, and how to reach them. If you “sell food,” you’re marketing into the void.

Write down your ideal customer as if they were one real person:

How old are they?

Where do they live or work?

What do they do all day?

What frustrates them?

What have they already tried?

Where do they spend time online and offline?

What do they scroll past, and what makes them stop?

The more specific your picture, the less effort (and money) you’ll waste chasing the wrong people.

Third: Go Where Your Customers Already Are

Here’s a mistake that costs new entrepreneurs months: building an audience from scratch when a ready-made one already exists.

Your customers are already somewhere. They’re in WhatsApp groups. They’re in offices, campuses, churches, markets, and community organisations. They’re following hashtags, asking for recommendations in group chats, and complaining about their problems online.

Your job is to show up in those places, not to spam them, but to be genuinely useful and visible.

Selling healthy meals? Offices at lunchtime, campus groups, and fitness communities are your hunting grounds.

Selling children’s clothing? Parent groups, school communities, and church networks.

Offering bookkeeping? Small business owners’ associations and entrepreneur WhatsApp groups.

Make a list of ten places (physical or digital) where your ideal customer already gathers. That list is worth more than any advertising budget at this stage.

Fourth: How to Approach People Without Sounding Like a Salesperson

Let’s talk about the part that makes most new entrepreneurs nervous: the approach.

The fear usually comes from imagining a pushy, awkward pitch. But that’s not what works. What works is curiosity.

Instead of leading with “buy my product,” lead with the problem. Ask questions. Be genuinely interested in how the person currently deals with the challenge you solve. Listen more than you talk.

Try something like: “Quick question, when it comes to [the problem], what’s the most frustrating part for you?” or “I’m researching how people handle [problem] — mind if I ask how you currently do it?”

You’re not tricking anyone. You’re doing market research and if their answers reveal they’d want your solution, then mentioning what you offer is a natural next step, not an ambush.

And a mindset tip that changes everything: you’re not asking for a favour. You’re offering something of value. If your product genuinely solves their problem, the conversation is a gift, not an interruption. Carry yourself that way.

From financial literacy to entrepreneurship, practical knowledge can change how young people and entrepreneurs approach money, business and opportunity.

You can help make that knowledge accessible to your community. Whether you are a school, youth organisation, community group, entrepreneur network or corporate looking to create meaningful impact through CSR, partner with The AVOCADO Foundation to bring our training to the people you serve.

Make an impact where it matters. Partner with us →https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Du933rSNiz

Fifth: Create an Offer That’s Easy to Say Yes To

Sometimes the problem isn’t finding customers, it’s that the offer itself is confusing, vague, or asks for too much commitment too soon.

Your first offer should be simple, specific, and low-risk. Instead of “I sell skincare,” try “I offer a 3-step starter kit for dry skin at £25 (or equivalent in your nations currency), delivered this week.” Clear problem, clear price, clear next step.

Consider making your first offer easy to try: a small starter package, a trial session, a limited pilot, a first-time customer price, or a satisfaction promise. Reduce the risk for the customer, and you reduce the friction between “interested” and “paid.”

And always make it obvious what to do next but online and in-person. For example online it could be: “Reply YES to this message,” “Send me a DM with the word START,” “Click here to order.” Don’t make an interested buyer work to give you money.

Sixth: Use WhatsApp and Social Media With Intention — Not Hope

Most new entrepreneurs use social media like this: post, wait, refresh, hope. That’s not marketing, that’s wishing.

WhatsApp, in particular, is one of the most underused sales tools in your pocket. Your contacts and groups are not just an audience, they’re a network of real relationships with built-in trust.

Here’s how to use it intentionally:

Update your WhatsApp status regularly with your offer, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes proof of your work. Status is seen by people who already know you, the warmest leads you’ll ever get.

Personally message people you genuinely believe your product suits, not copy-paste broadcasts, but real, individual conversations. One genuine message outperforms fifty forwards.

Ask satisfied customers to share your status or recommend you in groups they belong to. A recommendation from a trusted friend is the most powerful advertising that exists and it’s free.

On Instagram or Facebook, the same principle applies: post with purpose. Every post should either show the problem you solve, prove that people trust you, or make a clear offer. And when someone comments or messages, respond like a human being who wants their business, because you do.

Visibility plus conversation equals customers. Visibility alone just equals likes.

Avoid treating online marketing as if you are talking to a group of people, but treat it as if you are convincing one person standing in front of you to buy your product by leading with what they gain from the purchase.

Seventh: Turn One Customer Into Many — Referrals and Repeats

Here’s the beautiful maths of early business: you don’t always need to find 10 strangers. Sometimes you need 3 customers who each bring you others.

After every sale, do three things: deliver excellently, follow up genuinely (“How are you finding it? Anything I can improve?”), and then, when they’re happy, ask: “Do you know anyone else who struggles with this? I’d love to help them too.”

Most people are happy to recommend you. They just need to be reminded that you’re looking.

And don’t forget the cheapest customer you’ll ever acquire: the one who already bought. Repeat customers cost you almost nothing to win and spend more over time. A simple loyalty incentive, a follow-up message, or early access to new offers can turn a one-off buyer into a regular.

Eighth: Learn to Handle Rejection Like a Professional

Let’s be real: some people will say no. Some won’t reply. Some will seem interested and disappear.

That’s not failure, that’s part of the job.

Every “no” contains information. Sometimes it means wrong person. Sometimes it means wrong price. Sometimes it means your message isn’t clear. Sometimes it simply means “not now.” Ask yourself honestly, what the “no” is teaching you, adjust, and approach the next conversation a little smarter.

The entrepreneurs who succeed aren’t the ones who never hear “no.” They’re the ones who don’t let “no” stop the next conversation.

Your #WorldChangers Challenge: The 10-Customer Sprint

So, here’s where motivation turns into behaviour.

This week, don’t aim for 1,000 followers/ connections. Don’t redesign your logo. Don’t “work on your branding.”

Aim for 10 genuine customer conversations.

Ten real people. Face to face, on WhatsApp, on a phone call, however it happens. Ten conversations where you ask about their problem, share your offer, and invite them to buy.

Some will say yes. Some will say no. All ten will teach you something no logo ever could.

Write down each conversation: who you spoke to, what they said, what you learned. By customer number ten, you’ll understand your market better than months of guessing could ever teach you.

Because a business doesn’t start when the website goes live. It starts when the first customer pays.

Keep learning. Keep testing. Keep building. That’s what being a #WorldChanger looks like.