My first win: a simple order page with Google Forms and M-Pesa

Last week I finally got something working for my delivery hustle. I built a basic order page using Google Forms (no coding at all) and linked it to my M-Pesa till number. Customers fill the form, I get the order in a spreadsheet, and they pay via M-Pesa. It's not fancy but it's my first tiny system that actually works without me writing a single line of code. Now I want to take it further. Maybe add a simple website or use a tool like Carrd to show my menu and prices. But I don't know where to start or what's easiest for someone like me who knows zero about building apps. What did you do after your first little win? Any tools that worked well for you on a tight budget or with basic internet?

Replies

Sharon AtienoOct 15

Ahh congrats, that's really cool! I'm also a beginner (campus life here in Nairobi) and I've been watching my friend run her samosa business exactly like that - form plus M-Pesa. For the menu thing, I'd say try the WhatsApp status idea first, it's free and your customers probably have data for that. Then later if you want a simple site, Carrd is good but even just a Canva menu you share as a photo works. Asanteni for the tips here, I'm learning too!

Wanjiru KamauOct 15

Congrats, that's a real win and honestly the best way to start. Carrd is a good shout for the next step, it's cheap, simple, and loads fast even on basic internet. What does your delivery area look like right now?

AmaniOct 15

Congrats on the first win, that spreadsheet to till flow is already a solid little system. Since Carrd was already mentioned, try uploading your menu to WhatsApp Business catalog too, it's free, works on basic internet, and your customers already use it daily.

Dennis KipkorirOct 15

Thats a proper first win, form to spreadsheet to till is already more organised than most businesses out here. Before you even build a site, try putting your menu on WhatsApp status or sharing it directly to your contacts, your customers are likely on there everyday and it costs you nothing. Also, some delivery guys I know just export their contact list and send a simple SMS with the menu link or price list, works even when customers have no data.

Naomi WanjikuOct 15

All the tips above are solid, especially the WhatsApp catalog thing, most of my customers live there and it costs nothing. For me the biggest jump after my first win was just making my order link shorter and easier to remember, something like bit.ly links. Then I put that one link everywhere: WhatsApp status, my bio, even on a printed sticker on my delivery bag. It sounds small but it made people actually use it. Do you think you'd be comfortable trying that before building a full site?

Sarah NjeriOct 15

Solid advice above, and I get wanting more. Since your orders already land in a spreadsheet, try this: create a simple link to just the form and stick it in your WhatsApp status daily. Free, zero tech, and you can even use a tool like Zapier to auto-send a thank you message after someone orders, but that can wait. For now, the fastest win is getting your order link into as many thumbs as possible.