This is a very important point. If you have less customers, repeat business is a must. I own a software company started back in 2001. Since 2005 we are working 80% on subscription only. We have only 280 customers and a team of 15 people. So recurring business it’s a must, in order to have something stable.
From my experience, in order to have big volumes, there are much more money involved especially in the beginning when you don’t have so much income.