There are so many varied experiences when it comes to starting a business. From what we’ve seen, there is no one, right answer. Some people found success by writing a business plan, spending months or years perfecting the idea and only then approaching their first client while others found their first client before they had even settled on a name for their business. Below, you’ll find the stories of how entrepreneurs from across industries and markets found their first clients.

Jacquelynne Holmes

The way I got my first client was the first time the concepts of “business” and “psychic gifts” completely merged for me. I was restless at home one day in January of 2016. I had quit my 9-5 job a couple months prior to start my business. Read more>>

Tyler Garrett

It was a regular weekday at the quaint brunch spot in Fort Worth where I worked as a waiter. One morning, a woman walked in with her friend, and as I approached their table, my courage and optimism pushed me to share my passion for design and my journey through interior design school. Read more>>

Brigette Harenda

I didn’t know it was my first client at the time. Turns out it was the first client of my new company, and the last of my previous company’s. In 2006, I was approached by a local developer who was looking to open a hotel in Milwaukee. Read more>>

Hillary Littlejohn

When I graduated from Southern Methodist University I began a career at a fortune five hundred company in telecommunications. I was just starting out and wanted to own my home. Read more>>

Sam Popp

One of my very first paying clients came from a post I saw in a Facebook group looking for a last minute photographer to shoot a meet-and-greet event with a UFC fighter in 2021. Read more>>

Lark Stickney

Starting out as an artist can look different depending on the person. I had sold a few things to some friends and family but my first “real sale” was at a concert! Read more>>

Hollie Rill

My mom pushed me into doing a trade school since our high school offered a tech school so when I graduated & got my license I applied to work at the first high end salon in our area. Read more>>

Elesa Labanz

After a lifetime of following my husband from post to overseas post with his job in the U.S. State Department, his retirement meant MY time for a life-change. Read more>>

Jim Padilla

I had spent most of my time in sales and leading sales teams and at the time I was a sales coach/sales trainer (for lack of a better word.) Read more>>

Chuck Thomas

The very first dollar I made off of a script I wrote was back in 2008. A local production company optioned one of my scripts and paid me a dollar to secure the rights. I have that dollar framed in my bedroom. Read more>>

Pernicia Jordan

The hardest thing about being a Realtor is finding clients & earning their trust. When i started my Real Estate business in 2012, Read more>>

Naseema Mohamed

I remember sitting in my exam prep class, imagining the day that I would get my first client. I could picture myself meeting with them, listening to their needs and wants, and taking them to tour homes. Read more>>