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.

Morgan Mcmullen

My very first client was referred to me by a family friend! My client had posted on facebook about needing a travel agent and my family friend referred me and gave them my information. It was special because I had never booked or experienced what they were looking for so I was put through the paces and learned a lot along the way! Read more>>

Shirley Bell

Crown + Bloom opened our serving window for the first time on Saturday, August 17th of 2024. We had our grand opening at A Thrasher’s Farm in Pelzer, South Carolina. Our very first customer was one of our friends, De’Andre. He was there early, and was determined to be the first one to place and order — what a good friend :) I remember that he ordered a very straightforward iced vanilla latte, and loved it! Read more>>

Rhonda Hall

The first time I worked with a client who wasn’t a friend, family member, or friend-of-a-friend was an experience I’ll never forget. My mentor, whom I looked up to so much, asked me to service one of her clients while she was out of town. This was a huge deal. Not only was this my first time working with someone completely outside my circle, but it was also someone who trusted her and now, by extension, had to trust me. The stakes felt high. Read more>>

Lexi Martinez

Before I was able to start charging for my work, I had to complete several practice tattoos on my family. Thankfully, I was able to get those done rather quickly and move on to my next daunting task- tattooing someone I don’t know. It was a family of three that wanted to get a memorial tattoo. The design was the handwriting of a passed family member, along with their birth and death date. I remember that I was told a few weeks ahead of time and I would constantly practice the design on fake skin. Read more>>

Corrie Sullivan

The first big project my business booked was an art installation at the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival back in 2018 for Lexus. This project still today holds lots of special memories and it was also the project that made me feel like I could do anything and that I had finally found something that could be something. I landed this project via a cold call email I sent to the founder of Create and Cultivate (a platform for women entrepreneurs) Jaclyn Johnson the founder emailed me back within an hour and said yes to my request. I asked her if I could create an installation for her event in LA. I asked for my material costs to be covered and a post on their instagram page tagging me with my installation. Read more>>

Erin Kennedy

In 2021, at 36, I hit my career peak on paper. I was offered my “dream job” title, but it turned out to be far from a dream. Imagine having a lifelong idol and upon meeting them, they turned out to be the opposite of everything you value about them and yourself; it was just like that. My mental health plummeted and by the time I chose to leave, I was questioning my career past and career future entirely. Read more>>

Serayah Silver

I used to do this ritual every October where I’d apply to 10 random things on submittable just for the hell of it. It was a practice in rejection really, but it was also an act of faith and it worked every time. In 2022, a script I co-wrote won The Del Shores Writing search and flew me out to Hollywood. In 2023, I was accepted into the Tinhouse Summer Workshop on a scholarship which took me to Reed College in Portland. There, I met one of my favorite authors, Deesha Philyaw, and dozens of the most generous writers I’ve ever known. We workshopped our stories, told our truths and after a week, went back to our varied lives. That October, I shot my first film in the woods of Rougemont, North Carolina with Comfrey Films, a local Black, Queer and Trans production company, and was glad to know I didn’t need Hollywood after all. Read more>>

Andrea Mac

I love this question because it’s one of the times I get to answer that I took my own advice!
I conducted what we call a network audit.

My first client didn’t come from a warm introduction or a casual referral—it came from a process I built to mine my network strategically. I started by evaluating the strength of my professional relationships and identifying individuals with whom I had credibility and trust but had never directly discussed my services. From there, I qualified the lead carefully, assessing and ensuring that I had the right information to know that I had a good fit solution. Therefore, when I reached out, I wasn’t selling—I was offering insight, asking the right questions, and demonstrating value before ever making a pitch. The conversation felt natural, not forced, because I had earned the right to propose my solution. Read more>>

Paige Arnone

Eight years ago, I was teaching at a city event when I met a sergeant from the Phoenix Regional Police Academy. He was ahead of his time—really invested in wellness, which wasn’t something most law enforcement agencies focused on back then. He asked if I’d teach yoga to his recruit class, and I said yes without knowing much about their world. But I knew I could help. Read more>>

Alexis Sambrosky

When I first started my photography business, I knew I had to put myself out there—so I advertised and advertised. I took countless self-portraits to showcase my work, proving to potential clients that I could create beautiful images. To gain traction, I offered discounted rates, hoping that once I had my first real client, things would start rolling. Read more>>

Tiernen Rice

My journey into wedding photography and videography began in the corporate world, where I honed my skills creating commercials and branding videos for national and international clients. As I delved deeper into the world of visual storytelling, weddings started to pique my interest. The idea of capturing such intimate and joyous moments was incredibly appealing! Read more>>

Tabi Berkey (they/them)

While furloughed in 2020, I had a chance to assess my strengths and weaknesses according to my perceptions, what supervisors and coworkers had reported, and what supervisors had written on performance reports. Once I had a list of the top qualities I was looking for in a job (and the qualities I wanted to stay away from), I started researching, eventually discovering home organizing. My partner and I were living about two hours away from each other at the time, and she and her two kids let me work with them on decluttering and organizing their home, while I deep decluttered my own home in preparation to move. Read more>>