Can I find my first paying customer?

Absolutely! This is a common hurdle for many tech-savvy friends – they have a hammer in hand but can't find a nail anywhere. Let me share some of my thoughts; they might not be perfect, but I hope they offer some inspiration.

Core Idea: Don't think about "selling something," think about "giving something" first.

As engineers, our greatest strength isn't eloquence, but the ability to directly create value. So, don't start by trying to convince people to pay; that will feel awkward. Instead, shift your mindset: how can you use your skills to "help" someone?

Step One: Don't build a "product," make a "little toy."

Don't start by trying to build a fully-featured, perfectly-interfaced "product." That's too slow and easily leads you astray.

You should create a "small tool" or "little toy" that solves "one" specific, minor problem. For example:

• You notice designers are constantly annoyed by manually compressing images. So, you build a webpage where they can drag and drop images for automatic compression.
• You find your operations friends manually copying and pasting data from several websites into Excel every day. You write a script to help them scrape it all with one click.

This "little toy" can be ugly and simple, but it must be functional and solve a real, even if small, pain point.

Step Two: Immerse yourself in the "fishing pond," don't just shout from the shore.

Go where your potential customers gather.

• Is it a forum in a specific niche?
• Is it a WeChat group or Telegram group?
• Is it under a particular topic on Zhihu?
• Is it an offline industry meetup?

Go there and "lurk"; don't post ads! Your job is to watch and listen. See what they discuss daily, what they complain about. Those "complaints" and "gripes" are the most genuine needs.

Step Three: Don't ask "would you buy this," say "here, this is for you to use."

When you find someone complaining about a problem that your "little toy" can solve, that's your opportunity.

At this point, absolutely do not rush in and say, "Hi, I have a product that can solve your problem, it's XX yuan a month, want to know more?" Nine times out of ten, you'll hit a wall.

Instead, act like a helpful netizen. You can send a private message or reply to them: "Hey, I saw you're struggling with [that problem]. I ran into it myself before, so I wrote a small tool to fix it. If you don't mind, feel free to try it out; it's completely free, and it would be even better if you could help me test it and offer suggestions."

See the difference? You're not selling; you're "gifting" a solution. For us engineers, this feels much more natural, and the other person is more likely to accept it.

Step Four: From "helper" to "partner."

When a few people start using your "little toy" and the feedback is positive, you're halfway there. They'll give you various requests and help you refine the tool. In this process, your relationship with them will evolve from a stranger to a "technical partner" who can solve their problems.

When your tool becomes somewhat "indispensable" to them, you can naturally introduce a paid option.

For example: "Hey man, more and more people are using this lately, and the server costs are getting a bit hard to bear. Plus, to make this tool even better, I need to invest more time. I'm planning a paid version, just the cost of a cup of coffee a month. Would you be able to support it? As one of the earliest users, you'll definitely get the biggest discount."

If your tool genuinely saved them time or made them money, they'll most likely pay. Congratulations, you've found your first paying customer.

To summarize:

Your first customer is often not "convinced" by PPTs and sales pitches, but "served" by your code and sincerity.

Forget the grand title of "entrepreneur"; first, be an engineer who loves solving problems and helping others. Start with the smallest act of assistance, and your first customer will naturally appear. Good luck!