Building a business is hard.
Doing it alone? Even harder.
As a solo founder, you wear every hat: marketing, product, operations, customer support—and yes, business development too. But without a team, business development can feel overwhelming.
Where do you find time to grow while running the day-to-day?
Who do you reach out to?
What actually works when you’re doing it all yourself?
This guide breaks it down.
8 Business Development Tips for Solo Founders
Here are practical, simple business development tips to help solo founders grow—without hiring a team or burning out.
1. Focus on Relationships, Not Just Leads
When you’re alone, you can’t afford to waste energy on cold leads that go nowhere.
Instead of chasing numbers, build real connections.
Start with:
- People who already know you
- Past clients or partners
- Fellow founders or local business owners
- Anyone you’ve helped—even casually
Send a short, honest message. Let them know what you’re building. Ask questions. Look for ways to collaborate, not just sell.
A strong referral, intro, or co-promotion from someone you trust can do more than a hundred cold emails.
2. Make Yourself Easy to Work With
Partnerships are at the heart of business development. But people won’t work with you if it feels complicated.
So, ask yourself:
- Can someone understand what I do in 10 seconds?
- Do I have a short pitch or one-pager to send?
- Is my offer clear and simple?
If not, fix that first. Clarity builds trust. Simplicity makes people say “yes.”
Bonus tip: Create a mini “partner kit” with your logo, bio, link, and sample copy they can use to promote you. Make it easy for others to help you grow.
3. Use Warm Outreach with Purpose
You don’t need to cold message 1,000 people.
You need to carefully reach out to 20 of the right people—with the right offer.
Here’s how to do it:
- Identify people who already serve your ideal customer
- Check what they’re offering and how you could add value
- Send a short, friendly message proposing a conversation
- Keep it about them and what they care about
Don’t say, “Can I pick your brain?”
Instead say, “I think there’s a way we could both help our audiences. Can I send over a quick idea?”
Business development works best when it’s thoughtful, not spammy.
4. Turn Happy Customers into Growth Channels
If you’re serving clients or selling a product—even a few—you already have your best asset: customer trust.
So, use it.
- Ask for referrals directly
- Create a simple referral bonus (gift card, free month, shout-out)
- Feature happy clients in content or testimonials
- Interview them and share their stories
- Turn them into case studies
People trust people. When someone hears “I’ve used this, and it helped,” they’re more likely to buy than from any ad you run.
5. Build One Scalable Relationship Every Week
Here’s a simple rule that changes everything:
Build one new strategic relationship per week.
That’s it. Just one.
You don’t need a big team—you need consistent outreach and momentum. Over a year, that’s over 50 strong connections: podcasters, co-creators, advisors, newsletter owners, potential clients, small communities, etc.
Block one hour a week. Find someone interesting. Reach out with value. Start the conversation.
6. Reuse What You Already Create
You don’t have time to do everything from scratch. So don’t.
When you send a good email to a potential partner? Save it.
When you pitch your service in a clear way? Turn it into a LinkedIn post.
When you record a podcast interview? Slice it into short clips.
This kind of reuse saves energy—and builds presence. And presence builds trust.
Business development gets easier when people have already seen your name, voice, or face before you reach out.
7. Use Tools (Not People) to Multiply Yourself
You may not have a team, but you do have tech.
Use tools to:
- Schedule calls automatically (Calendly)
- Send personalized outreach (Mail Merge tools)
- Track leads and follow-ups (Airtable, Notion, or simple CRM)
- Build landing pages in minutes (Carrd, Notion, Canva)
- Share updates consistently (Buffer, Hypefury)
Your time is limited. Let tools handle the repeatable stuff—so you can stay focused on the high-touch, high-trust work.
8. Say “No” to Things That Don’t Scale or Align
When you’re solo, your most powerful business development move is this:
Say no to distractions.
Not every coffee chat is worth it.
Not every deal is a good deal.
Not every opportunity will grow your business.
Ask yourself:
- Does this align with my current goal?
- Will this relationship lead to future growth?
- Do I genuinely have time to follow through?
You’re not just building connections. You’re building the right ones.
Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Team to Grow—You Need a System
You don’t need a big team to do business development.
You don’t need fancy titles or hundreds of leads.
What you need is a simple, repeatable system for building real relationships, sharing your message, and showing up consistently.
As a solo founder, your time is tight—but your focus can be sharp.
So set a goal. Reach out to the right people. Be easy to work with. Stay consistent.
That’s how you grow—without burning out or hiring too soon