Marketing for a new US business: the first 60 days

New business marketing in the first 60 days comes down to three jobs in order: get findable (a Google Business Profile, a simple website and consistent listings), get your first customers from people who already know you, and turn those first customers into reviews and referrals. Paid ads and bigger campaigns usually come after, once you know what customers buy and can measure the result.

The temptation in the first weeks is to do everything at once: logo redesigns, social media on five platforms, ads, flyers, a podcast. Most of it is wasted because nothing is connected and nothing is measured. The plan below assumes a small US service business or local shop with a modest budget and an owner doing much of the work.

Days 1 to 7: decide before you build

Write down four things on a single page:

• What you sell first. One to three core services or products, not twenty.
• Who it is for. A specific customer, area and situation.
• Your price range. Even if you quote every job.
• Why someone should choose you over the businesses already there.

These four answers will feed your website, Google profile and every ad you ever run. If you struggle with the third or fourth, read how to define your ideal customer before building anything.

Also secure the basics: your domain name, a business email on that domain, and a business phone number you will keep. Changing them later is painful.

Days 7 to 21: get findable

Google Business Profile. Create and verify it as soon as you can show a real business at a real location or service area. Choose the primary category carefully, list your services and add real photos. Verification can take time, so start early.

Other listings. Apple Business Connect, Bing Places and the one or two directories that matter in your industry. Same name, address and phone everywhere.

A simple website. You do not need fifty pages on day one. You need a site that says what you do, where, for whom and how to contact you, with a page for each core service. A landing page from $1,000 can be enough to start; a multi-page business website starts at $2,800. My guide on landing page or full website first helps you choose.

Legal basics on the site. A privacy policy, an honest cookie notice where it applies and reasonable accessibility from the start. It is easier to build them in than to retrofit them.

Tracking. Set up GA4 and call and form tracking from the beginning, so you know where your first customers come from. It costs $550 with me and saves you guessing for years.

Days 14 to 35: first customers from people who know you

Your first customers usually come from your network, not from strangers on Google:

• Tell everyone you know, personally, what you now do and who you can help. A personal message beats a group announcement.
• Contact former colleagues, clients from a previous job (within any agreements you have signed) and local business owners.
• Join the chamber of commerce or a local business group.
• Introduce yourself to businesses that serve your customers before or after you: a realtor for a cleaner, a gym for a physical therapist.

Ask each person for one thing: if they know someone who needs what you do, to pass on your name.

Days 21 to 45: reviews and proof

Every early customer is a chance to build proof. Ask each one for an honest Google review right after the job, with a direct link. Take photos of your work, with permission. Write down what customers say.

Do not buy reviews, ask friends who were never customers or post reviews yourself. The FTC's rule against fake reviews has been in force since late 2024, and platforms remove suspicious reviews. A slow start with real reviews beats a fast one that disappears.

Days 30 to 60: first paid test (if it makes sense)

Once your profile, site and tracking work and you have a few reviews, a small, focused paid test can make sense:

• Google search ads if people search for what you offer.
• Meta ads if they do not search yet but would buy if they saw you.
• Local Services Ads where available for your category and city.

Keep it narrow: one service, a tight area, a clear offer. In many US niches clicks are expensive, so a budget too small to produce data is often worse than waiting. I usually recommend at least about $1,500 a month in ad spend if you want results you can learn from.

A realistic startup budget

All prices are in US dollars. If you want a plan before spending anything, a one-on-one consultation costs $65/hour, and the first 30 minutes are free.

The first-60-days traps

Waiting for the perfect website. A clear, simple site live in week three beats a perfect one in month four. You can extend it once you know which services sell.

Measuring nothing. If your first ten customers come in and nobody wrote down how they found you, you have lost the most useful data a new business can get.

Saying yes to every advertising salesperson. New businesses attract a stream of offers: directory listings, local magazines, shared direct mail packs. Most are not worth it at this stage. Ask each one how you will measure the result before you sign.

What can wait

• Five social media platforms. Pick one where your customers are, or none for now.
• A full brand identity. A clean logo and consistent colors are enough to start.
• A CRM. A spreadsheet works until you have more leads than you can track.
• Blogging. Valuable later; your service pages matter more now.

After day 60

By now you should have a working profile, a site, a few reviews and some data on where customers come from. That is the moment to write a proper plan for the next quarter. The 90-day marketing plan picks up exactly where this article ends.