Your first customer proves you are a real business and not a hallucination

The downside of entrepreneurship is, you undertake risk.

It’s right there in the definition of the word. You’re an individual launching an enterprise in conditions of extreme uncertainty.

There’s emotional risk, reputational risk, financial risk, interpersonal risk and career risk, to name a few.

Which means if you’re not at least a little bit scared, you’re probably not doing it right.

But the advantage of being an entrepreneur is, you don’t need that many people to believe in you. All it takes is a small handful of customers willing to buy into your vision.

Hell, it could just be one person. A single believer. Oftentimes that’s enough to prove to yourself that you’re not completely insane, and you just might have product market fit.

And obviously, your mother doesn’t count. God bless her, as she’s going to love everything you do regardless. But her money doesn’t count as product validation.

Point being, your first customer is an important acquisition. Possibly the most important. It’s critical to get that milestone under your belt because it proves you are a real business. Not only to future customers, but to yourself.

It’s like the pizza joint framing their first dollar. Artifacts like that go a long way when you’re launching something. Particularly if you’re an entrepreneur creating a new market or category. Your biggest battle will be convincing the world that your vision is not a hallucination.

I’ll never forget the day I got my very first confirmation email from my payment processing provider. The email said that actual money, from a complete stranger, who subscribed to my software product, was deposited into my bank account.

A whole assortment of feelings surfaced, all of which revolved around the phrase, holy shit.

First there was confusion and disbelief. Holy shit, what happened here? Is this for real? Who is this person? Are they a spammer? Maybe it’s one of my friends playing a cruel joke on me.

My second feeling was pure exuberance. Holy shit, I did it. Acquired my first user. Who doesn’t have the same last name as me. This is amazing. My product idea has created real value for at least one person in the world.

Third feeling was panic. Holy shit, now what? Should I do something special for this person? After all, he is my first user. Maybe send him a fruit basket. No, that would that look too needy.

The final feeling in that moment was excitement. Holy shit, let go find some more. With one customer already under my belt, there must be others out there. I have to leverage this energy. It’s time to start shouting from the rooftops.

One week later, I acquired sixty paying customers. Over a third of my expenses were paid back. And momentum was starting to build. The snowball was rolling down the mountain, and I was hanging on for dear life. All my fears about the many risks of entrepreneurship temporarily faded into the background.

Because one person believed in me. One customer bought into my vision. He proved to me that I wasn’t completely insane. And that the product worth growing.

Who was your version of that person? Who was your very first paying customer?

If you haven’t met this person yet, don’t worry. They’re out there. Waiting for you to create value for them. S

Sure, there’s risk on both sides of the entrepreneurial equation. Nobody wants to be the first person to trust you. But if you keep showing up, day after day, sharing your gifts with the world and playing the long game without attaching yourself to the score, eventually, that individual will find you.

Their belief will inspire you to keep moving the story forward.

And like a pizza joint framing the first dollar they made and hanging it above the door, your first customer will always be with you.

How are convincing the world that your vision is not a hallucination?