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.

Angie Walsh

I had been doing photography as a hobby for years and was also using it while taking care of the marketing for my husband touring music act as well. We needed to upgrade our photography for this so I decided to finally buy my first “good” camera. Once I purchased it I wanted to test it out and see it’s capabilities. So I put a post out on facebook to see if anyone had a wedding coming up that they wanted documented for free. I put in the post, that I just got my new camera and wanted to use it. I had a couple reach out right away and I did the wedding. I had such a great time, that I decided to use those images from the wedding to start promoting online that I did wedding photography. That was the only event I did for free but it was worth it for the content and the experience to start the business. Read more>>

Chaunise Carter

I started doing graphics in High School so naturally I’d always have something to do for friends and family members when they had events approaching. One day I had a co-worker ask me to decorate for her baby shower and I was so confused. However, she said “I know you can do this, you’re creative and it comes natural”. She was right, I was able to tap into my element and execute my very first event in June 2015 and we have been in business ever since. Read more>>

Kristina Garcia

After doing flowers for a family friend’s wedding and completely falling in love with the process, I knew I wanted to keep going. At the time, I was still working full time at a t-shirt printing company, and there were a lot of newly engaged people working there too. Read more>>

Patton McDowell

2008 was a scary time to start a new business. The economy was reeling, and nonprofit organizations – like everyone else – were tightening budgets and bracing for uncertainty. But I had spent 20 years in the sector and felt strongly that nonprofit leaders still needed guidance, especially in moments of crisis. In my startup phase, I didn’t have a marketing budget or a formal sales strategy, just a belief that my experience could help organizations navigate complexity and lead with clarity. So I pulled out a legal pad and started going through my personal and professional journey, listing every meaningful connection I had made across the nonprofit landscape. Read more>>

Julien

Getting my first client was all about hustle and simplicity. I didn’t have a network, funding, or connections — just a product I believed in. I knew small coffee shops were my ideal customers, so I built a list of every one in Colorado using Google and started with those closest to me. Read more>>

J T Boyd

My coaching business started after I wrote my first book, ‘In Business and In Dating’. After becoming an Amazon and Barnes and Noble best seller in the first week, I launched a 4 week bookclub workshop online. I believe the price to join was only $50. Each week the members would cover 3 chapters of the book. At the end of the week, we would get together on a Zoom for an hour to discuss. I would put the groups in breakout rooms to discuss just one chapter at a time, then after about 10-15 mins or so, we would come back as a group and talk about it. The group loved the breakout sessions and I loved ease of it all, it was fun. Read more>>

Gordon Lawson

Cool story: I was working the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, gathering social content for the sponsor, Acura, and I came across Josh Vietti Hip Hop Violinist. He was amazing, blending violin with throwback rap hits. I was amazed by his performance, then randomly ran into him again in our hotel lobby while I was searching for snacks. Read more>>

Ava Wilson

Growing up, I always wanted to be a writer. But you always hear how far-fetched that dream is. “You’ll never make a living,” they say. So I kept the dream tucked safely in my back pocket, protected and quiet. Read more>>

Jasmine Lewis

The first time I received my first client was in 2018 at an art show. Me and my best friend who is also an artist curated our first art show. It was nice for everyone to see how talented we were. Especially people we didn’t know who were locals in the area around the facility. I sold 6 paintings that day and it made me feel a lot more established than I did before. It encouraged me to start my business “JasitupArt” a few months later. Read more>>

Rev Ciancio

Offer your services for free. If you are so confident that what you do or offer brings value, give your services away for free to a couple (or more) companies or people that fits your ideal customer profile.

No one runs a sales based webinar than me, I’m sure of it. When I started my consulting agency, I knew that I could bring a ton of value to upstart tech companies by hosting a sales pitch webinar for their product. I reached out to a couple dozen hospitality tech companies and offered to host a sales pitch webinar for them. I had a couple of caveats, but 14 of them said yes. Read more>>