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.

Chinaza Nwogu

I remember how special it felt to book my first client who had no personal connection to me. Up until then, my business was built on friends, family, and referrals within my circle—but I knew real growth meant someone choosing me purely based on my brand. I had been consistently showing up online, sharing my work and treating every event with intention. Read More>>

Sydney Pope

My first client came from a connection I made during an internship. In 2020, in my last year of college studying public relations (PR) at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), I took a course called “The Agency” where students got to work with real clients. My client was from a nonprofit in Detroit. Read More>>

Brian Henderson

I remember that moment clearly because it was the first time it felt real. Up to that point, most of my work came from people who already knew me, so there was always a level of comfort built in. But I wanted to prove to myself that my work could stand on its own, without any personal connection attached to it. Read More>>

Dr. Karen Hills Pruden

My first client came as a direct result of a strategic shift in how I positioned myself in the marketplace. Early on, my speaking expertise was closely tied to my leadership role within a specific organization. While I was delivering value, my reputation was anchored to my employer rather than to my individual brand. Read More>>

Myke Sims

I was into club promotion when i first got out of college in 2012. I used the clubs as my platforms to showcase my custom designs for a whole year. I then, started to let people know that i was making the clothes myself. So through club promotion, i landed my first few clients. Read More>>

Kristen Hess

My first client was someone I met on LinkedIn – Michelle Collins. She was a fellow creative that lived in NYC who started a Kosher Wine Club online and needed a photographer to shoot her wine selections and food pairings for the website and social media. Read More>>

Halee Sprinkle

When I launched Czech Yourself Marketing in 2017, I did something that felt almost too simple: I sat down and emailed every single contact I had. Not a vague ‘I started a business!’ announcement, I was intentional about it. I spelled out exactly what I was offering, who I served, and how to send someone my way. Read More>> 

Suanny Garcia

I actually had two meaningful ‘first clients,’ each significant in their own way. The first was the initial sale of my digital course, which I created to help business owners get press coverage. Having never sold a digital product before, seeing that first sale come in was such an exciting milestone, and it showed me that people trusted my expertise enough to invest in it. Read More>>

Sarah Owens

When I first started sharing content about the Smoky Mountains, I wasn’t planning to turn it into a business. I live in East Tennessee, so visiting places like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has always just been part of life for me. Read More>>

Leah NaDeau

I still remember the first client I ever had who wasn’t family, a friend, or someone a friend sent my way. At the time I had just started doing nails and was practicing constantly. My little setup wasn’t fancy—just a small table, a lamp, and way more excitement than experience. I had been posting my nail sets online hoping someone outside my circle might notice. Read More>>