One of the most important things an aspiring entrepreneur can do is validate their idea by finding a client. For first time entrepreneurs, this can often feel intimidating and so we’re hoping that by sharing stories of how others before them have found their first client we can make it feel less daunting. Below, you’ll find the stories of some incredibly bright entrepreneurs and business owners sharing how they secured their first client.

Cameron Alyse Debenham

It was 2017, I was freshly a “salon ready stylist” at Toni & Guy in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was especially excited that morning checking my schedule and finding a balayage service on my books. (Little did I know this would become a specialty of mine in just a few years.) Since I was new then, I was advertising my services at a discounted rate on Instagram. Now, a balayage service on my books is one of the higher cost appointments. Read more>>

Nicole Capri Ouellette

A few years ago while I was living in the San Diego area, I decided to attend a pop-up holiday market featuring a handful of local small business vendors. I was still fairly new to the area and I didn’t know a ton of people. I took my daughter to the market with me and we walked around, admired all of the beautiful products, and chatted with the vendors. Read more>>

Nikki Scott

The power of social media landed us our first client. BeatGangLashes had just hit 100 followers in early 2019 and had only posted a few post online. We received a DM from a large beauty spa wanting to add new products to their location. We discussed all the important details, drafted a contract and we finally got our first wholesale client. Read more>>

Ryann Dowdy

My first client was a woman that I was connected with on LinkedIn. She both commented on a mutual friends post and he was told us that we needed to know one another. We scheduled a Zoom coffee. I wasn’t at all intending to walk away from the conversation with a new client. I was still so new in my business and what I was building. I simply told her what I did, like I do in all of my coffee meetings and she was literally stopped me midsentence and was said, “I need that…” Read more>>

Erika Cartledge

Although fashion and style has always been a part of my life, my very first client “fell into my lap.” Prior to officially starting my business, Your Chic is Showing was a fashion and style blog. At the time that I launched the blog I had a friend who worked as a sports agent. A lot of his clients were up-and-coming athletes joining the NBA which, at the time, had a more strict dress code. One day he asked me if I could help one of his clients get some suits that met the dress code requirements. My response was “yessssss!!!!!” Read more>>

Kayla Ivey

I have always loved photography. I’ve tried many different art mediums and photography is the one that always felt the most fulfilling to me. I started my photography journey by taking photos of gorgeous landscapes from The Rockies in Colorado to the waterfalls near me in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Back in 2013 I started posting the photos I was most proud of to my Instagram account and started to gain a following that encouraged me so much I decided in 2016 to make it a business. Read more>>

Shamara Star” Cox”

Oh man, the story of how I got my first client or really my first 3 clients required a leap of faith. In about Fall 2020, God told me to start creating content full time. At this point in my life, I had been unemployed for 11 months and finding a new job in the pandemic was nearly impossible. So, it seemed bizarre to set aside applying for jobs just to create content full time. But here’s the truth, I was scared to do it. Read more>>

Andrea Reeves

I can be rather impulsive when it comes to starting projects (thanks, ADHD brain!), but I typically don’t see them through. I thought of the idea for Type C Creative on a Monday without having the full picture of what I wanted my business model to look like, which is a pretty normal occurrence. I started building a website and threw together a really bad logo using the design-for-dummies platform, Canva. (Note: I say this as someone who desperately needs a design-for-dummies platform.) Read more>>

Alli Rodriguez

I was straight out of college with minimal experience in the PR world and I was frustrated because no one would provide me an opportunity to prove I could really excel in this industry. With having so many doors slammed in my face, I felt the best route of action would be to open my own doors. I started a website, I networked on LinkedIn, and I think a lot of it was pure luck. I had a really small retainer fee and knew that I would build that up as I grew but I just really showcased my personality, my passion, and my persistence, and love of PR and marketing to land my first client. Read more>>