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.

Ruthie Staalsen

I had been doing decorating for friends and family so I could photograph my work for my portfolio/website/blog. I received a call from someone that had heard about me from one of their friends at work. This is when I started realizing the power of networking and referrals. They wanted to hire me to make their unused formal living area into a playroom for their kids as well as finishing up their dining room which had been a dumping ground for years. I remember getting the call while I was on vacation and being elated and scared to death all at the same time. Read more>>

Zack McLarnon

You will always remember your first. First kiss. First love. First home. First Client. For better or worse, these experiences mean something to you. They shape you and will forever be a part of your identity. Our first client not only shaped us – it inspired us and gave us the confidence that we needed to grow into the company that we are today. Read more>>

LaToya Cobbs

I remember it like it was yesterday, my husband and I decided to sale a van we owned because the previous delivery company we had business slowed down. We met a guy that was interested in purchasing the van and he didn’t want to pay what we where trying to get. We went back and forth and finally came to a number we both could agree on and that lead to a conversation with him telling us he was a licensed contractor and we explained we had just started a business doing junk removal and demolition. He agreed to send jobs our way and he kept his promise. A few days later he called saying he had a garage that needed to be cleaned out and the rest is history. Read more>>

Bernadette Pannier

This is a great question with a fluid answer. I started my company in 2019, however I was still working for a corporate company. For me my first client was in March 2020. After speaking with me we established a plan for them to expand their brand using social media. Before speaking with me they believed their was no need to prospect using social media. They were using email, phone calls, and their website to attract clients. I do believe this is all import to your brand as a whole however, social media is media and it’s powerful. Read more>>

Drew Williamson

I’ve been very fortunate to have a decently big network here in San Diego. I spent about a decade in the downtown nightlife industry and what I lost in brain cells from drinking 3-4 nights a week, I gained in acquaintances, colleagues, and friends. So when word got out that I had purchased a photo booth company, there was no shortage of inquiries. Read more>>

Brian “Chef Turok” Menendez

Hhmmm… To answer this question, I have to back a few years to expllain how I got to that point of sealing the deal. In 2010, I was the Executive Sous Chef at a Mexican restaurant in DTLA where I suffered a severe back injury. I was hit with great force with a wak-in fridge door metal handle right on my lower spine, in total ended up having three ruptured discs that stopped me from working for the next 5 years. After two years of dealing with severe pain and feeling as if I had lost my identity by not being able to work in the field that I love, I ended up getting severely depressed to the point where I was getting ready to give up. Read more>>

Kelly & Ali Syed

We are an Atlanta-based Urban Forestry Nonprofit, 501(c)(3) in Public Benefit Charity. People can donate fallen or downed trees to us and get a tax credit for the dollar amount of lumber we can mill from them. We mill them, kiln dry them, ad then sell them through our website. We have utilized social media to the fullest to reach out to the community and let folks know we’re here. It’s a great free tool and you can reach thousands of people. You can spend a small amount of money for ads, which is what we did, to get more exposure and followers. Read more>>

Erica Palfrey

Ok so my first client as a private chef found me on Instagram! I had just got fired with no explanation why from my corporate job of 3 years about 2 weeks prior to them finding me so I was very excited, and just in like complete shock because when you go through things like losing a job in life you can tend to get a bit stressed especially when you have a large family like I do so it was just pure excitement and relief honestly. That’s when optimism and determination really started to kick in for me. They ended up booking me the whole weekend and everyone absolutely loved their food and to this day 4 years later they are still repeat customers. Read more>>

Amber R. Rhodes

I went to a networking event for producers, writers, actors, and other filmmaking professionals. As I began ‘making my rounds’ as we sometimes find ourselves doing at events like this, I met an amazing author, Margie Walker. During our conversation I learned (and of course googling her later) she had over 20 publications spanning over two decades! I mentioned how I recently left IBM and started a consulting firm to help creatives and other entrepreneurs build revenue through marketing and IT. Coincidentally she told me how she had trouble with book sales and capitalizing her current works, including audiobooks. Read more>>

Alegra Loewenstein

Oddly enough, my first client was seen as a one-off at the time. I was in graduate school for creative writing, and I responded to an add on a bulletin board from someone looking for a ghostwriter! I worked together with the client over the course of the year to write his memoir about his time working as a driver (AKA bouncer) for strippers. It was an interesting project, and I have remained friends with that client to this day almost 20 years later (with several more books planned for the future). Read more>>

Megan McKinzey Lunsford

My first ever client was actually my now-best-friend Hanna. Hanna and I go way back. We went to high school together in Farmington, New Mexico and somehow both ended up in the tiny mountain town of Woodland Park, Colorado. I had transferred to Woodland Park right before my junior year of high school. Hanna had already graduated in New Mexico as she was a few years older than myself. Anyways, the summer before I started my junior year, I had gotten much more interested in photography. Read more>>

Todd Space

When you’re creating an educational program from scratch when there are few models of what they should look like is a super interesting, exciting and daunting task. In the US there were basically 3 ways to get educated to be a professional brewer (when I developed MBA back in 2014) – go to a UC Davis and major in “fermentation science”, go to Siebel, or work in a brewery and get OJT from (hopefully) an amazing head brewer. Since I wasn’t designing curriculum for a University, I had an open canvas with which to design the scope and sequence for MBA’s “brewing program”. Read more>>

Joya Courtney

My love of bringing people together really did birth the business I run now. I used to conduct a lot of networking events, aid in acquisitions, and was, what the old term used to be “a headhunter” where I would find bands and artists into venues, bringing businesses to audiences they had never reached before. I honestly enjoy bringing people into new opportunities, as well as making sure that efforts people made to make a difference, were gaining the proper attention, and their energy was being focused correctly. Read more>>

Victoria A. Roberts

I booked my first client by partnering with friends. I told all my family and friends that I was opening an event design and planning business back in 2011. I then received my first booking from a close friend to design and plan her baby shower. After listening to her desires for her intimate celebration, I brought her wild safari vision to life. It was so special Read more>>