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.

Monique Carter

I will start by saying I had no intentions of becoming an entrepreneur. When I early retired from Georgia Power, I planned to find another corporate job with one of my dream companies. I figured I would take at least a month off and then begin my job search. While taking a break, after working almost 20 years for Georgia Power, several people reached out to me about collaborating with them on projects related to supplier diversity or supplier inclusion as it is now called. I brushed it off because I said to myself, I’m going to get a corporate job with my dream company. A company that I had spoken to during my time in supplier diversity at Georgia Power reached out to me through LinkedIn. He said he needed my advice on a meeting he was scheduled to have with a utility company. Read more>>

Matthew Chambers

I often tell my clients that I was just a chunky kid meeting girls who stumbled into a business. While it often draws chuckles it is also accurate. I was a college student going to Austin Community College, and working at a grocery store as a night stocker when I purchased my first camera, a Canon AE-1, from a yard sale near campus for $50. I checked out a bunch of books to refresh my memory since I hadn’t shot since high school and then started going to the St. Edwards walking track across from my little apartment to find subjects who didn’t mind me practicing while doing their photos! Read more>>

Marik Mcghee

Getting my first client was one of the most exciting moments ever. Back in June 2024, I had just finished editing photos from a recent shoot and thought, Alright, I’m done for the day. But then, out of nowhere, I got a DM on Instagram from a model I had only worked with once at a previous photo workshop. She asked, What are your rates? Read more>>