Building a business from scratch: your first 90 days

You've just started, or you're about to. Your list has forty things on it that all need doing now: logo, website, legal structure, business cards, an Instagram account. My advice? Almost all of it can wait. In the first 90 days you only need to prove one thing. That someone will pay you.

What starting with nothing actually feels like

I've built companies from nothing more than once. No clients, no team, no name. Every time was different. But the first three months always feel the same: too much to do, too little certainty and yet another new idea at two in the morning.

What I took from that is simple. At this stage, anything that doesn't lead to a paying client is procrastination. Even when it feels productive. Especially when it feels productive.

Weeks 1 and 2: say what you do in one sentence

Before there's a logo, you need to be able to say one sentence: I help who with what, so that what. Can't nail it straight away? Fine. Now you know where your first bit of work is.

Try that sentence on people who could actually become clients. Not your mum, not friends who like you anyway. Watch how they react. Do they ask questions? Do they say: I need that? Or do they nod politely and change the subject? That last one is an answer too.

Weeks 2 to 6: ask for money before it's finished

This is the step almost everyone puts off. Just finish the website first. Sort the branding first. Get the brochure done first. I get it, but it's procrastination in a nice outfit. Your first clients aren't buying your website. They're buying you.

So go and talk to people. Call your network, ask for introductions, send personal messages. A big part of my background is sales, and the lesson never changes: the first deals come from conversations, not campaigns.

And charge for it. A free pilot feels safe, but you learn very little from it. Someone who pays, even a small amount, shows you the problem is real. They also give you better feedback, because they've got skin in the game.

Here's an example calculation. Say you have twenty conversations in four weeks and three people sign up at €1,500. That's €4,500 in revenue. More importantly, you now know that roughly one in seven conversations turns into a client. You can plan with that number. You can't plan with twenty people who think it's a nice idea.

The first client who pays teaches you more than ten people who think it's a good idea.

Who to call first and what to say when you do is exactly the kind of question I help with in a Strategy Call.

Keep the structure boring

You don't need an org chart. You do need a few basics, so you're not drowning in loose ends three months from now.

• A legal structure that fits where you are today. Get some quick advice and move on.
• A separate business bank account, from day one.
• One place for your clients, leads and appointments. A spreadsheet is fine.
• A fixed slot every week, say Friday at four, to look at what happened and what's next.

The four numbers to know every week

Plenty of founders only look at their numbers when something goes wrong. Flip that. You don't need to be a bookkeeper. These four will do:

• What comes in and what goes out.
• How long you can keep going on what's in the bank right now.
• How many conversations you're having and how many turn into clients.
• What an average client brings in and what it costs to win one.

With those four you'll see early on if you're on track. And you'll make fewer decisions on gut feeling alone.

Weeks 6 to 12: who do you bring in first?

At some point you'll notice you're the one holding things up. Then comes the question of who to bring in. Start by looking at the work you repeat most and do least well. That's where your first extra pair of hands belongs.

Go for someone on a project or freelance basis before you offer a permanent contract. That way you find out what you really need. And look at attitude more than the CV. In a young company everything changes every month. You need people who enjoy that.

What I see a lot, from my years in HR and management: the first hire comes too late, and then that person gets a laptop and a pat on the back. Write down what you expect, how you work together and what good looks like. It saves you months.

Your brand is what you do, not your logo

Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. In the first 90 days you build it mostly through behaviour. How quickly you call back. Whether you do what you said you'd do.

EclecticRadio, an online radio station I founded, had no ad budget and no FM frequency. Even so, within two years it grew to more than 100,000 listeners a month. When you can't afford to buy attention, what you make has to do the work.

At Secret Nobility, a luxury lifestyle membership community with locations in New York, Dubai, Amsterdam and Singapore, brand, business development, partnerships and marketing were my job. Completely different business. Same lesson: the brand came from a sharp choice about who you are and who you're for.

In practice: pick a tone, a few colours and a name, then leave them alone for a year. Early on, consistent beats pretty.

Where you want to be after 90 days

A proposition in one sentence. A few paying clients. Four numbers you know off the top of your head. And an idea of who you need first. That's not a finished company. It is a foundation you can build on.

Just starting out and want someone who's done this a few times to take a look? Book a free intro call. Already got a concrete question, like your pricing or your first hire? Then a 60-minute Strategy Call (€495 excl. VAT) is the quickest route.