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.

Diane Zimerle

I was driving my 1964 Chevy truck, I call her “Bella”, when a lady started shouting out of her car window asking if she could use my truck as a prop for a local photo shoot. She stated she was a photographer and explained her ideas. I took her card and said I would think about it. I came home and told my husband. He said I should go for it. Next day I called the photographer and we set up a date and time. Several people came and had pictures done with Bella that very day. Read more>>

Christian Anderson

Just from becoming a hometown celebrity under the stage name Trust’N. My first client ever was an artist in my hometown who saw the effects of the marketing I was doing for myself and asked me if I could help him get more exposure for his music too. From there my services spread like wildfire through word of mouth. Read more>>

Harold Waight

My first sale ever was at the museum of contemporary art, I was enrolled in a program called the junior docent program in Miami Florida. I was able to exhibit at this museum and one of my pieces sold. At the time I had made a pastel art piece . It was a blown image of concrete fixtures. I had gained the inspiration to create this piece from being around my dad when I’d accompany him to his construction jobs. This painting sold for $50.00, I was so happy! I remember taking a picture of the piece and printing it out and saying “my ever sold painting, the journey starts here”. Ive been on a journey of creation ever since. Read more>>

Traci Schmidley

As a new foster parent, I was struggling to juggle the enormous responsibilities of my career in higher education with the needs of the children in my care. I was constantly leaving work to take children to appointments, family visits, and respond to emergent situations. Ultimately I decided to pause my career to focus on my family. At the time, I also had 3 (now 4) biological children. Once I resigned from my job at a local college, I decided to homeschool my children. This would allow me to stay connected to teaching and education which was a passion of mine, and also spend some much-needed time with my children who were also overwhelmed by the sudden addition of many foster siblings. Read more>>

James Whitfield

My first client was a friend from my neighborhood. I charged $75.00 to film a music video, lol. I had the worst camera ever! This was in 2012. I owned a point-and-shoot Fuji film camera. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t know anything about cameras. There was a lot of learning in my spare time. Eventually, I started to understand cameras, but now I had to learn how to edit. Before I quit my job to become a full-time videographer, I used to wake up for hours earlier to insert a video program to learn how to switch between scenes in a music video. I did this for three months! Eventually, I learned and got pretty good at it! Read more>>

Yesenia Hernandez

I started my business officially January 2023, I had been having friends and family try my pops and let me try designs during the holiday season. I finally got the courage to post in a local party Facebook group that I could help them make fun treats for their party. I probably posted more than 20 times before I had someone message me back. I didn’t have a lot of samples to show them what I could do, so they really had to put a lot of faith into me. She messaged me to see if I could do some sport ball pops for her and she trusted me enough to place an order. I was so excited, finally a stranger had trusted me and I felt like I made the right decision to make pops. I felt like a superstar. Comes delivery day and she loved them. To this day she still orders from me even with my price increasing. I love to create fun pops for her family. I know I help make their day a bit more fun and special. Read more>>

Amanda Maria Delgado Gonzales

I remember getting my first wedding client! I had never taken photos for a wedding, but I had a friend refer me to their family for a wedding. I was thankful my clients were easy to work with! It turned out really great! Read more>>

Hannah Vaughn

When I started Ptty.Pics I wasn’t really sure where to begin in regards to getting clients. I felt like a small fish in a big pond. I began reaching out to local models and artists and offering free shoots in order to build my portfolio. I started being able to connect with clients and posting my work on Instagram. That’s where my business really began all because some local creatives gave me an opportunity. Read more>>

Frankie Leo

I was my first client. My mom would cut my hair when I was little and then I would go to the bathroom and fix the spots I didn’t like. Eventually, I just started cutting my hair from start to finish. After that it was my friends and so on. The first time I made a little money was doing it for my dorm in college. I would set up appointment after appointment and charge 5 bucks a piece. Read more>>

Carolina Gomez

I got my first corporate client by cold-calling them. I picked up the phone and dialed the number to a company I knew hosted a lot of events. When I called them, I asked to speak with their events person and after a few minutes on the phone, they said they were interested. They paid in full with a credit card that same day. I remember feeling so good! Initially, I had so many excuses when I first decided to start cold-calling. “What if they are rude and hang up the phone? What if I don’t know what to say? What if they already work with a vendor? What if they tell me never to call again?” And all of these excuses just faded away when I was on the phone with them and they showed interest to buy. This is actually how I’ve gotten the majority of my sales. In the beginning, I would get nervous while pitching my services over the phone. But the more calls I did, and the more I studied sales, and the more belief I gained in my product, the less nervous I got. Read more>>

Margaret Rothe

Before becoming a managing partner at CounselMore Educational Services Management Software, I ran my own private educational consulting practice, Highergrounding.com. That’s where I learned how to truly connect with clients, understand their needs, and build trust. When I first transitioned from my 20-plus-year career in university student affairs to private consulting, finding my first client wasn’t easy—I had to put myself out there bravely and unapologetically. You might call it Gorilla Marketing, but for me, it was about showing potential clients that I had a valuable service to offer. I took all the college memorabilia I had collected over the years, stapled my business cards to each piece, and went to local high school college nights. As the parents and students exited the events with their minds full of questions, I handed them my materials—I was available to answer the questions! I wasn’t just marketing—I was demonstrating that I was earnest, committed, and capable of getting the job done. Read more>>