4 Lessons You’ll Learn From Your First 100 Customers

Starting a new business is often a big game of trial and error. Everything from creating custom business cards to getting your staff to fully understand your invoicing system is likely to involve some triumphs and a few mistakes. The good news is you'll learn a lot, especially while working toward obtaining your first 100 customers. Here are some things you'll learn during this exciting time:

1. Set Reasonable Goals
In your first few months of business, you will come to realize whether or not the goals you set for yourself, your company and staff are reasonable. For instance, you may have hoped to make $50,000 in your first two months. When you were just starting out, it's possible you thought this was attainable. Now that you've been handling operating costs and seeing how your customer base grows, you can better adjust this goal to fit what you're capable of at this point in your business. That doesn't mean you should make every dream smaller or less substantial. Just be sure to create reasonable goals – you can always make them higher or bigger as you progress.

2. Whether or Not Your Webpage is Helpful
One of the most important things that you can learn during the beginning stages of a business is whether or not your webpage is on par. The Internet is a very vital space to new companies, as many people will visit a company's website before they consider using its services or purchasing its goods. You'll hear from customers in person or on the phone if they have had a positive or negative experience with your page. They may mention important issues like the phone number is incorrect on your site or maybe they had a hard time navigating from page to page. Make note of all these statements and be sure to update the website to better represent your company and be more user friendly.

3. How Well Your Staff Works Together
So you hired a couple of  people to help you run your new business. While you can have a good feeling about them and even base your thoughts on interviews and checking out their resumes, you never really know how well they can work together until they are actually doing so. Monitor your employees to see how they are communicating both in person and via email. They should be doing the necessary tasks in their job position while also asking for help and collaborating when necessary. Having a positive work environment makes not just everyone who works at your new company happy – your customers will also take note. 

4. Who Your Target Market Is
So you've created a stellar product and you've opened shop to sell it to the masses. You probably have a target market in mind, like busy moms or tech geeks. You may think you know who will be interested in your new invention, but your first 100 customers will really show you just who is interested and will actually purchase the product. This understanding of your real market should help you to produce better packaging and find the right advertising avenues to get these individuals' attention.