Your first customers won’t come on their own.

What an established business has over you

An established business has regular customers. Where something worked once, people go back. And new customers often come through referrals – people know someone.

Figures show how much that’s worth: around 85 percent of people in Germany trust recommendations from friends and acquaintances. Newspaper ads reach 61 percent, TV spots 58 percent.²

As a founder, you don’t have either yet. You first have to earn trust and show that you know what you’re doing. And without regular customers, a business struggles to grow. Project work alone is not a reliable source of income.

You’re not alone in this: 57 percent of founders in Germany had difficulty winning customers in 2025 – a share that more than doubled within two years.¹

What matters at the start – and what can wait

1. Knowing who your customer is. This belongs right at the beginning. If you don’t know who your customer is, you quickly burn through a lot of marketing budget.
2. Showing up in search. Of course, a Google Business Profile matters. The main thing is that people can find you at all. Don’t neglect business directories either – some are free.
3. A website – depending on the industry. In some industries, businesses live almost entirely on referrals; customers rarely switch. In others, customers need more information before they get in touch. That information then has to be on your own website. A good third of micro-businesses in Germany had no website of their own in 2023.³ Whether you need one depends on how your customers make their decisions.
4. Social media on the side – but not everywhere. Some businesses have achieved a lot with content on a single platform. Many channels at once mainly cost time.

The real question behind it all: how do you turn people into paying customers? Is one platform enough, or do you need a website of your own? There’s no answer that fits everyone. I ask first: what do you offer, and who is your target group? And: where have you found your first customers so far? Only then can we say what suits you.

Questions founders ask most often

Which platform suits me? How effective are paid ads? Do I need a website? How much should it cost? You’ll find answers in the knowledge section – to get started: Online visibility: what it is and how to recognize it.

Getting found on Google

For most businesses, the Google Business Profile is the first point of contact. What matters and how I set it up for you: Your Google Business Profile at a fixed price.

What I pass on from my own startup

Starting a business takes time. You want to aim high, and fast. You get promised a lot – finding the right path is hard. Success doesn’t come on its own.

What helps: good contacts and companions along the way. And sometimes you have to take a step back to get a running start. It’s no disaster if a launch gets pushed back because you realize things aren’t going well yet. That’s not failure. It shows maturity to make important decisions – even when they’re uncomfortable.

Part of that is handling money. Business economics shouldn’t be underestimated – I see that from my professional experience, too. Honest, reliable calculations are part of it: time, resources, costs and the margin you expect. There’s a reason for the rule of thumb to multiply some projects’ budget and time by “pi over two.”

And part of it is handling your own energy. As a founder, more rests on your shoulders. Body and mind have to be able to carry that – something people sometimes underestimate. Shutting yourself off completely doesn’t help. You also need some distance now and then, good food and exercise. And patience has never hurt anyone.

How I work with founders

I find it exciting to help good ideas grow. I’m a free spirit who likes to explore new things – and I see potential in some founders. When you grow through my work, I grow too.

• One point of contact. You have one person to talk to. You won’t have to wait long – sometimes I need a few days, but not weeks.
• The whole picture. I’m interested in your business and everything around it, not just the marketing. That comes from my training as an industrial engineer and my experience in project management.
• From your customers’ point of view. I put myself in your everyday work – and in how your customers think.
• Suggestions, not rules. In our conversation, I show what can be done and what it brings. The decision is yours.

I don’t make promises of success. But I’ll say it openly: marketing should bring new customers and revenue. Claiming anything else would be fooling yourself. Some simply want to become better known, polish their image or show and prove something – sure, that’s a goal too.

Individual measures can help in the short term. I prefer a holistic approach and go on a journey with my clients that I hope to accompany for a long time. It starts with a fact-based analysis: what your customers are searching for. Everything else builds on that – whether a new website, a relaunch or a focus on Google and AI search. Along the way, you’ll better understand why marketing matters. And you’ll gain insights that help you sell better.

Many people want to read up first. That’s what the knowledge section is for.