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.

Aedan Petty

I met my very first paid automotive photography client at San Antonio Cars and Coffee. I spotted his rare Widebody Shelby Super Snake 50th Anniversary pulling in, and I immediately knew what it was. I had seen the car on Shelby American’s website. It was a molded widebody S550 mustang with tons of upgrades, both cosmetically and performance wise. A six-figure ford mustang! Read more>>

Michelle Taylor

My agency, before it was an agency at all, began as a side hustle while working my full-time marketing job. While there are thousands of nonprofit organizations in the US, the nonprofit world is small. After working collaboratively with other nonprofits in my area, I began offering freelance support to organizations I knew were short-staffed in marketing. Sometimes that looked like designing a flyer or shooting photography for a fundraiser; other times I was managing social media accounts and creating content. I will always be grateful for those first clients who believed in me and gave me a shot to get started. Read more>>

Jake Blucker

For photography it was a matter of time. I took the first year or 2 to learn the ins and outs of photography and eventually landed my first gig as a wedding for a cousin. She had put a lot of trust into a very new photographer but it all worked out well. Read more>>

Elian Hurtado

My passion have been always to help my community, my first client was an organization I had invest in the past as a volunteer without knowing that they will be my biggest client when I started my consulting firm Read more>>

Julee Knox

My first clients were sweet first time buyers. They were referred to me from a great friend who trusted me to help them. I told everyone I will work harder than anyone you know and will always keep it fun and exciting. Well we needed to tour several homes and we set out. One was a foreclosure and needed many repairs. Another home was older and even gave us a scare. We heard this noise coming from the home. Read more>>

Rhodaline Escala-Phelps

I joined a 30-day marketing challenge where we focus on one platform to market ourselves. I picked LinkedIn because I thought my target audience back then hung out at LinkedIn. I stayed consistent posting a video of myself giving helpful website-related advice and tips on LinkedIn. Read more>>

Tonia Mays

Client, Customer–hopefully that’s hand in hand. My 1st customer that wasn’t friend or family was at a popup shop. She passed by my table a few times before she let me know she would be back, that she was getting her non-food items 1st. Truthfully, I didn’t think she would. I was just starting and my setup was not as aesthetically pleasing as the other food vendors. No banners, no professionally made packaging or signs. Read more>>

 

Xenia Tombokan

We opened our organic tempeh manufacturing facility in October 2019. We started selling our tempeh via word of mouth, to our family and friends’ circles. Our first grocery store client is Yun Loy Asian Market Store, which is located 2 miles from the facility. My friend, Christina Silviago, was helping us promote our products and became one of the account managers for Wiwas Tempeh. She took the initiative to meet with the owner of Yun Loy Asian Market in December 2019. Read more>>

Bria Hickman

My mom taught me to braid when I was 10. I used to braid my sisters hair often. People would see her hair and ask who did it and when they found out it was me they would ask me to do theirs and from there my clientele grew. Word of mouth is the best referral, in my opinion. 20+ years later and I’m still flattered when my current clients refer new clients to me. Read more>>

Brandie Barron

My sister is an online fitness coach and needed help managing her social media. As soon as I started simply taking over her stories, her friends and colleagues began to take notice. Her friends reached out to see if I could manage their social media accounts and I’ve just grown from there! Read more>>

Daniel Russo

I started my business on my dining room table. I first became interested in interior design when I was in 7th grade and took mechanical drafting. My first actual client was a hair salon located near my residence. I was brought into my first project, and the salon owner was about to paint the walls red, green, yellow, and blue. It was about to be a hot mess. I turned into a french inspired serine experience that was very cohesive. This laid the ground for the designer I am today. Read more>>

Nykia Breon

My first real client was back in college for a graduation. I say “real client” because it was my first client ever who booked again (which I was so excited and nervous about). Shoutout to you Synera! She really jump started KKB Faces being an actual business that I could grow beyond it just being a hobby at the time. Read more>>

Ryan McClain

Getting your first client is such a significant milestone in any business journey! The story of how it happened often fills me with excitement and determination, but more than anything it has: – Provided Hello Lamp Post as a business with validation and confidence that our product, service and expertise is valued by others. – Opened doors to new possibilities and opportunities – it’s set the stage for future growth, built our reputation and expanded our clientele. Read more>>

Dina Miller

I remember my first client vividly. She walked into an Apple store to make a purchase and met my friend Patrick that happened to work there. She had mentioned sitting on a board for a non-profit and needed a designer to brand a fundraising event she would be hosting. My friend Patrick thought of me, provided my contact info, and impressed on her that she HAD to call me. That was in 2012. Read more>>

Anna Kozaki

Currently, I bake granolas and cookies in a big commercial kitchen and distribute them to health food stores along with selling at local farmers markets and online. But I still remember vividly my first day at a Farmers Market in Downtown Pasadena (which has been now closed). I moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and established my granola company in 2016. At that time, I was still trying to adjust myself to the new environment. I was able to communicate in English in general but it took a while for me to get used to the rhythm and the whole new culture. Read more>>

Matti Korhonen

I had my first sports training camp in Florida at the age of 20 back in 2005. I wanted to have a camp not only for goalies but for all athletes. The cost for 3 day camp was 100 dollars and the location was a local water front park. Camp was basically a one couple hour training session in the morning. The first questions was, how do I get anyone to come to the camp or even anyone to know about it? Read more>>

Elisa Hurt

How I got my first sale was on my website at rachelvirginiacolletion.com. The website was active for a few months at the time. I was feeling a little discouraged but continued to post on my social media pages. One day, I decided to run an Instagram ad which resulted in my first sale. I received a weird notification sound on my phone and when I checked it, I had an order! I was so ecstatic and happy, I felt that all of my hard work finally paid off. Read more>>

Ash Espíritu Libre

I got my first client about a month after I started my business. I was a flight attendant at the time. During my “break” times I would work on jewelry to pass the time during the flights. It was a flight to Bangor, Maine, when a woman named Claire came and asked me what I was working on. I showed her a Blue Onyx pendant I was working on and she said “I want it!” I was kinda shocked because until that point anyone that bought my work were friends and family. Read more>>

Latasha Mobley

I actually started off making gift baskets. I used to watch my mom make them, then I asked her if she could teach me how to make baskets as well. My first potential client found my business page, on Facebook and asked if I could make his son a birthday basket since i actually made easter baskets and spa basket samples I displayed on my business page. I was excited that someone wanted me to make a birthday basket for their child. Read more>>

Karl Finnbogason

It is always a little bit scary to start a business, especially a service type of business like a marketing and website agency. Since it was the first time that I had ever worked for myself it took some time trying to figure out how I would start getting some clients onboard. The first client that I ever got for my business I got by going and talking to local business owners and what they were doing and what were their pain points when it came to their websites and online marketing. Read more>>

Logan Clements & Mary Davidson

Logan and Mary are event professionals that became connected in 2020. Logan called Mary (soon after Mary started her business) and shared about an event that we both could partner on. This was pivotal in Mary starting her business and being able to partner and learn from Logan. Logan had been in business for years prior, but this was Mary’s first event she did as a business owner. Read more>>