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.

Caleb Lessel

My first client was actually a huge surprise to me. I had just started my photography business and I had no idea how to get clients. Everything I found online was about ads and networking, but honestly I did not know how to do that. I have a friend named Ricardo who makes a full time income off of his media work and I asked him how he got started. He told me that it’s all about reaching out to people. Read More>>

Christina Silva

It was back in 2016, and I’ll never forget it. I had just started putting myself out there as a personal trainer, mainly working with people I knew, mainly just friends and giving out my advice for free. But one day, someone completely outside my circle reached out after seeing a post I made about my own fitness journey. She messaged me, said she felt inspired, and wanted to start working together. Read More>>

Marissa Herrman

I started my passion in highschool, I worked as an athletic trainer and was always up close and personal to athletes during games. My mom got a Nikon 5500 kit from Costco, and the day she got it I was very eager to learn how to use it. It came with a base model 200mm lens, and one day I thought, “hmm I want to take pictures while I’m on the field at games”. Read More>>

Dr. Shelli Frazier Trotman Scott

I was a guest speaker for a women’s summit and advertised a workshop I was hosting. It would be the first event I would host, and I donated a free ticket as a raffle item for the summit. An attendee of the summit reached out to me to ask if I would conduct a separate workshop for people employed at one of the largest public hospitals in the country…and so I did! Read More>>

Alicia Shulman

From the ring to the bling:
After exiting the world-championship boxing arena – where I was a widely published photographer for five years, I became enchanted with semi-precious stones, and began to craft necklaces. Though I had visions of moving jewelry forward as a business, I was nowhere near that. Read More>>

TC

How I got my first client actually caught me by surprise; especially that it was a prom client because I know how serious prom can be to some people. I had just entered being 1 year in business and still learning photography. I was taking photos of everything from car rims, to trees and flowers, to skyscrapers, and of course of people. I used my family and friends as test models whenever I wanted to try something I had learned. Read More>>

Trina Burkhalter

WOW!!! That was so long ago back when I lived in Chicago. Let me see…. It was a cold winter month and well you know if you live in Chicago. But really, my first real paying client came by way of word of mouth. I had just fell into my business… Yes fell. I was laid off from my job and had already been planning small gatherings for church and family members, it brought me so much joy! I remembered I just wanted to take Read More>>

Mary Jo Hatchett

For nearly 20 years, I have dedicated my professional life to the non-profit housing sector, with a passion for creating safe, stable, and affordable housing solutions for individuals and families in need. My career began at Clark County Community Services, where I worked tirelessly to provide temporary housing for people living in poverty and to help individuals experiencing homelessness transition into permanent rental homes. Read More>>