Test demand before you spend on premises
It is easy to fall in love with an idea. Family and friends like it, so it feels validated. But they are polite and a buyer is not. Whether it is a café in a new Tashkent neighbourhood, a service studio in a regional city or a shop selling on Uzum, the real question is whether strangers will pay for it in that format.
You can check without a large budget. Talk to people who do not know you, ask how they solve the problem today and what they spend on it, then try to sell before you launch.
- Run short conversations with people from your target group
- Ask what they currently use instead of your product
- Take pre-orders or sell a small test batch
- Post the offer in Telegram or Instagram and see who responds
- Start with a small format and grow as sales confirm it
Do the maths before you sign the lease
A business can have customers and still lose money. The usual cause is a price set by feel, a little under the neighbour, while real costs stay out of the calculation: rent, wages including your own, taxes, Click and Payme fees, marketplace commissions, returns, waste and advertising.
Work backwards. How many sales a month cover your fixed costs? What does it cost to win one customer, and how much does that customer bring over time? If acquisition costs more than a customer returns, growth only speeds up the losses. Check the legal form and tax treatment with an accountant before you fix your prices.
Keep a cash reserve and a marketing budget
Few businesses break even immediately. The first months go to people finding out you exist. The danger is spending everything on fit-out, equipment and stock, leaving nothing to attract visitors. A beautiful empty room is an expensive stage set.
Plan for several months of operating without profit, and set aside a separate share for marketing and surprises. Simplify the renovation if you must; you cannot simplify an empty dining room.
Start marketing before opening day
A common pattern: open, hang a sign, wait. The first weeks pass in silence. Use the preparation period instead. Create a map listing, a Telegram channel and an Instagram page, show the space coming together, explain what you offer and collect a list of people who want to be told when you open.
Answer one question during planning: who is the first customer and where will they hear about us? If there is no clear answer, that is the biggest weakness in the plan. Do not lean on a single channel either. If it stops working, sales stop. Aim for two or three independent sources, such as maps, word of mouth and your own contact list.
Choose a narrow audience and a clear difference
If your offer looks like the shop next door, customers compare on price, and a price war eats everyone’s margin. A difference can be specialisation, speed, service, location, atmosphere or a guarantee. It has to matter to a specific group and be visible at first contact.
That is why the first segment should be narrow: the people who need you most and decide fastest. “Everyone is our customer” usually means nobody feels the offer is meant for them. Broaden later, once the core works.
Look after customers and keep simple records
Winning a new buyer almost always costs more than bringing back an existing one. From day one, collect contacts with consent: name, phone number, what was bought and when. Ask for feedback and thank people for returning.
Add basic tracking: sales by day, number of customers, where each came from, repeat purchases. Without it, one good day looks like a trend and one bad day looks like an accident. Review the numbers monthly. Before each experiment, decide how long you will run it and what result counts as success, so you neither quit after a week nor keep a failing channel for half a year.
A checklist before you open
Write down your answers. The vague ones show where the risk sits.
If you want an outside view, markdev helps business owners in Uzbekistan build a marketing strategy before launch: testing the segment, sanity-checking the economics and choosing channels. Send us your task and we can look together at where to begin.
- Demand is confirmed by conversations and trial sales
- Economics include every cost and commission
- There is a reserve for several months without profit
- You know where the first customers will come from
- Your difference from competitors is clear
- Simple sales and customer records are ready
FAQ
What is the first step in starting a business in Uzbekistan?
Check demand before spending on premises or stock. Talk to strangers in your target group and try a pre-order or a pilot sale. Handle registration and taxes with a qualified accountant.
How much money should I keep in reserve?
There is no universal figure. Plan for several months of running without profit, covering rent, wages and advertising, and adjust the exact amount to your niche and calculation.
When should marketing begin?
Before opening. A map listing, a Telegram channel and behind-the-scenes posts help you gather first customers before launch day.
How do I know whether a channel works?
Ask every customer how they found you and record it by channel. Review weekly, and judge each channel against a result and deadline you set beforehand.
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