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The biggest question anyone who runs a business has is “how do I get more customers?” or “how do I get my first customers?”. So we go on a hunt for answers, trekking through Google, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter (or X?), TikTok, and anything else that we hope might give us the secret formula that will make you piles of money in the new year. But there’s no real step-by-step formula on how to do it.

In the interests of saving you time, here’s a TL;DR :

1. Do the thing (do the common sense stuff like buying ads, cold/warm reach-outs, networking, etc)
2. Try new things (do something that makes your business stand out: new service, different presentation)
3. Keep going ( after doing the previous two, just keep pushing – some things just need time)

Nothing here is mind-blowing, and I certainly didn’t need to tell you any of it – but maybe this gives you license (and another New Year’s resolution) so you can finally achieve your business goals.

1. Do The Thing

Like many things in life, it’s often the most common-sense things that make the most impact. Are you acting on the things you read, watched, and heard? If not you’re missing out on the most important way to grow your business – actually doing the work!

Now I’m not trying to be condescending… I struggle with this personally. There’s many reasons why someone might not want to “do the thing” – discomfort with the “thing”, lack of knowledge, or even fear. Often, deep down, you know the things you have to do but the follow-through feels so unbelievably overwhelming that you just get paralyzed.

Maybe the “thing” is starting a YouTube channel, writing a blog, or going to networking events and speaking with others. Maybe the “thing” is something small, maybe it’s big… The fact is that there are many things you know you should be doing that you probably aren’t. And these aren’t things you need some random person on the internet to tell you.

2. Try New Things

There might be another thing keeping you from growing – thinking inside the box. Oh great, more “wannabe business influencer” talk…

But seriously, it’s nothing like that. It’s just a simple principle: if you’re wearing neon green when everyone else is wearing black you’ll turn heads – it’ll be impossible not to see you. All you have to do is make yourself stand out from the crowd. The best part is that how you do that is up to you. Do you want to offer a wedding portrait as a 3-D hologram etched in glass? Do it! Maybe you set up a camera at an event and by the end you print time lapse flip books the guests get to keep. Anything that sets you apart is something you should try. This principle isn’t just limited to products either, but anything that’s been done a certain way!

The only way to know what works is to try, and keep trying.

3. Keep Going

Okay, you followed the other steps above but nothing is changing… what do I do now? Just keep going. Things may not change overnight (and if they do, good for you!), but as long as you keep moving, you will eventually find things fall into place for you. “But what if they don’t?” I can hear you ask, “what if I keep going and nothing ever changes?” – then go back to step 2 and try something new. As much as anybody that appears to hold the “secret formula” wouldn’t want to admit it – we’re all just trying things until we find something that works for us. They can’t do the “thing” for you. They can’t make you stand out. But you can!

Like a child learning to talk, our first tries might make no sense and look nothing like the businesses we want ours to look like and people we want to be like. As we keep trying though, trying new things and putting in the work, we eventually can look back and see how far we’ve come.

Closing Thoughts

I hope that each and every one of you reading this article can take a little bit out of it that’s useful. I spent a good amount of time on it putting in all the knowledge that I’ve collected over my own search asking the very same question – and finding that all roads lead to this, the simplest framework to grow a business. There are, of course, other fine details – but as you go you gain the confidence you need to learn as you grow. And learning as you grow is the most important skill of all.

If you liked what what you read, let me know! Leave a comment for me or share it with someone you think can benefit from this content. And if you’re an owner of a photo booth, photography, DJ, or other event business – please check out Spekkio! I built it based off of my own experience working in and running a family photo booth business and I’m trying to make it the simplest way to get leads, get booked, and manage your business. We use it ourselves, and would be delighted if you could give it a try (free for 7 days – with no payment info required)!

Happy Holidays!