Getting your first client is an exhilarating experience, but it’s also an experience that far too many aspiring entrepreneurs never experience. Sometimes, the difference between an idea dying in the idea stage or going on to change the world is getting that first customer – the first tiny win that creates the momentum to make an idea real. So, we connected with some of the smartest folks we could and asked them to tell us the stories of how they got their initial clients.

Sunny Love

Wow a walk down memory lane! My first client was a older lady with back pain I over heard her talking to someone about her pain and I said I had something that would help I gave her one of my pain freeze products and she been a customer ever since Read more>>

Olivia Nunn

Olivia Nunn Communications was created just before I retired from the U.S. Army. However, I didn’t do anything with my business in 2021 when I started it. It wasn’t until a series of events 2022, being unhappy at my government contracting job, that led me actually to do something about it. To fully understand why being sad at my job was significant, I must rewind my story. Read more>>

Michea Mellette-Turner

Initially, I started out doing random styles in my hair just for me.. You know, seeing certain styles and recreating them myself. So,one day while attending an event at a local church a young lady walked up to me inquiring about how long I’ve been growing my “Locs” and expressing how pretty they were and she always wanted locs but was afraid of the commitment that came with having locs. Once I told her that they were faux loc extensions that I installed myself…. Read more>>

Brittany Lander

Your family and friends are typically the first to support your business ventures and lucky for me, many did. Lot’s of family/friend discounts but I saw these projects as resume building and skill honing. As my portfolio grew I built myself a website in hopes of being seen. Even with 15 years experience, its hard to fit that into a neat little pdf and stand out in a stack of resumes. Read more>>

Linnea Maas

I moved to south Minneapolis after I graduated college and secured a solo exhibit in the city, in a darling little corner neighborhood coffee shop called Caffe Tempo. This was the analog era – I’d walked in with a stack of paintings, convinced the barista I should be the next exhibiting artist, and it worked. Within days I’d sold a handful of paintings and I was elated. Read more>>

Micaela Stevenson

I consider myself extremely blessed when it came to my first client. When I decided to start my business, I researched a little and got the default things-The DBA, the business bank account and the logo, etc. I hesitated on creating social media pages because I didn’t (or at least felt like) I didn’t have anything to post since I hadn’t had any clients or content yet. Read more>>

Rachel Williams

Back in 2019, something big happened in my real estate journey. It was the time when I scored my very first “real” transaction, representing a buyer client I got through my previous broker, whom I had been with for 2.5 years. Sure, I had some experience dealing with tenants, landlords, and even helping family with their purchases, but this was a whole new ball game. Read more>>

Kateryna Sheremet

Like many startups, our initial clients were primarily friends and family members, which is a common starting point for anyone venturing into business. Our very first client came even before we officially launched our website. It was a B2B sale comprising 12 orders for a law firm, intended as Christmas gifts. Interestingly, this initial client happened to be my former boss from a previous job. Read more>>

Ryan Verrill

The story of how I got my first dollar is by saying ‘yes’. Part of what I do to build a solid customer base and support the community involves regularly posting on social media (daily, usually multiple times). One day, I had just finished publishing a post. I generally scroll for just a second to see if there is anything important near the top of the feed. Read more>>

Gigi Rutledge

So, the first client I had that was a total stranger was a guy who owns a construction company. His crew was replacing windows in my home. He comes through to check their progress and I’m actually in production mode creating shirts for other customers. He sees what I’m doing asked me if I was able to create some shirts for him and his team. Of course I jumped on the opportunity. Read more>>

Molly Stephens

The internet has continued to grow, progress, and quickly become overwhelmingly advanced every day. In 2018 when I started this business out of my college apartment, I had no clue that it would be where I am today. I got my first client through a friend of a friend – mutual connections – for someone who wanted art as a gift. To this day, I still don’t know what day it was when my business grew so immensely, but am I glad it did. Read more>>

Simone Jackson

When you realize that your natural gifts go beyond just your family and friends, it can feel amazing and full of imposter syndrome all at the same time. I was in grad school and had written a blog post about the three resumes every college grad should have. The blog post didn’t go viral, but many of my family and friends shared how helpful it was. Read more>>