Getting your first client is an exhilarating experience, but it’s also an experience that far too many aspiring entrepreneurs never experience. Sometimes, the difference between an idea dying in the idea stage or going on to change the world is getting that first customer – the first tiny win that creates the momentum to make an idea real. So, we connected with some of the smartest folks we could and asked them to tell us the stories of how they got their initial clients.

Jessica Tiffany Luevano

Well, first I’d like to say that without my family or friends I would not have been able to do all this. Thanks Fam! So, my first client was a friend who asked me to create a meal program for him based on Whole 30. I had to put my education in nutrition and culinary together to give him an excellent meal plan that followed his guidelines and his tasted great. Read more>>

Dana Clemons

It all started when we were looking for a realtor to sell our first home. We ended up contacting one based off her website and made an appointment. When she came to our house, there was an instant connection. She was very interested in my work and after discussing the sale of our home, she asked if I would be able to help her with her own home. I was not expecting this at all but of course I said yes. Read more>>

Nicole Baker

My first paying customer was actually the mother of another local food allergy mom. She wanted a birthday cake for her other daughter and reached out to me. I so appreciate her for taking a chance on me. And I was so excited!!! And nervous of course! She told me what she wanted and I researched and got all my supplies and ingredients together. Read more>>

Kurt Boomer

Way back when I decided that I wanted to be a photographer, I found that wedding photography was a great way to make a living. People are always going to get married I figured. There isn’t any kind of licensing you need. You simply just become one. Now, getting from the, “I’m a wedding photographer” to “I just booked my first client” was a tricky predicament. Read more>>

Marsha Nicole Wilson

Photography-wise: Well, my first paid client WAS a colleague and their relative and that was the momentum that led to other paid clients. I was selected to intern with a fashion retail company in 2010 in New York City along with other hand selected interns. A major part of the internship was presenting group case studies together and while we were assigned groups, we connected with other interns throughout the summer internship program. Read more>>

Reonda Thompson

I got my first client by advertising on Craigslist. I advertised about my Poetry Writing Service and this guy responded. He wanted a romantic poem for his girlfriend. I asked him to tell me things about his girlfriend. Where they met? Eye color? Why he loved her? After getting specific answers I was about to create a unique poem just for her. He loved it. Read more>>

Mario Romano

I can vividly recall the exhilaration of securing my first customer for M|R Walls. This particular client happened to be a real estate developer seeking a distinctive architectural element to make his spec home truly stand out. With a collection of samples stored in my car and an array of captivating marketing images on my phone, I was well-prepared for the opportunity. Read more>>

Jason Parker

My first client (as a muralist) was a friend / former co-worker. I worked as an instructor (mentor) at an outdoor / adventure based therapeutic boarding school for boys . The job required me to live on campus for week long shifts . Campus was fairly secluded being a converted 1940’s era boy scout camp on the top of a mountain . Read more>>

Vince Spinnato

Once I arrived to Beverly Hills from driving cross country from New Jersey at 20 years old I picked up the phone book and dialed the number of a woman named Juliette. Juliette was repeatedly a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. She was famous for what were called “kitchen cosmetics,” a do-it-yourself way to make cosmetics out of ingredients already in your home. Read more>>

Calyn Collie

My first client was a baseball players wife, I was so nervous. She hired me to organize their master closet and I showed up exuberant and as prepared as I could be. She had seen my first ever Facebook post about my business. As a busy mom of two, she needed an extra hand to help jumpstart her decluttering. The process took only four hours, and seeing her happiness after the job was completed, really encouraged me to pursue this as a full time business. Read more>>

Lacey Duenas

I actually got my first client from an inquiry on Instagram! I was fresh out of makeup school and still building my presence on social media. I never expected to reach clients in my early stage of being on Instagram. The power of marketing on social media is truly an amazing tool for artists. I remember when I first received the DM on Instagram asking if I was available and being so excited! I was finally going to be able to use my skills to make someone’s day and couldn’t wait. Read more>>

Stela Meyer

I have to admit that most of my clients come from referrals or, my sphere of influence. The very first stranger client however I met during one of my door knocking rounds. It isn’t the easiest thing to do but sometimes works. I had already been walking for 2 hours when I decided to knock at one more door before calling the day. I rang the door bell and no one answered, Read more>>

Rich & Mark Denning & Simonson

We landed our first client honestly by being ourselves. We learned about a car meet from one of our friends we knew from high school in Clayton, NC. The car meet had a few locations so everyone met at one spot then cruised to the next and so on. At the final stop of the car meet everyone drove to the Walmart in Clayton. The parking lot was packed!! Read more>>

Tre Abeita

I had originally started cutting hair when I was about 13 years old, after years of practice and getting acquainted with the clippers the quality of my haircuts started to come together, there was a day in highschool where I was sitting at the lunch tables and a fellow classmate comes up to me and asked me who cut my hair, now back then I was preparing for a roast session but he complimented my cut and asked if I could cut his hair one day after school, at that moment it sparked a fire in my heart and I knew I could build myself a nice clientele if I perfected my craft. Leading up to the cut I knew I had to go in and kill his haircut, Read more>>

Aurea Luna

I would go pass out business cards doing free events till ppl started to notice my work , I was able to open up my own studio and my Firts clients came from social media. Read more>>

Natalie Dresher

I was working at a makeup store after I graduated college, before entering graduate school. A girl came up to me after getting a trial done locally and explained she really wanted her wedding makeup to look like my makeup. I was already doing makeup for special event clients and some production jobs but I never had a bride before. Read more>>

Cat Derbala

I’ve been freelancing since 2018 when I was still in college. I’ve been able to run my business off of word-of-mouth recommendations since then. I’ve realized that the most important thing you can have, even more almost than a great portfolio, is an excellent reputation. From professors, former colleagues, friends, and family, 99% of my work comes from them supporting me and feeling comfortable enough to recommend me to their network of people. Read more>>

Sarah Cruz

My first client that was not a family member or friend found me on social media looking for models to help grow my portfolio. I was charging a very discounted rate to help bring clients on and i was also lashing from my little sisters bedroom so i was not in a “professional” environment. I felt super anxious but happy at the same time to have someone come and help me continue my journey. She wanted a classic set and “medium” length you can say, I felt confident and i also made sure she knew it’ll take a few hours before starting. Read more>>

Donald Carlson

My first client! This was so great and gave me a lot of motivation. Those who don’t know I started TWEEDS out of a 16 foot box truck that I built a suit shop into. I would park the truck around downtown Sarasota, open the doors and hope somebody would come in a buy a custom suit. After a few days of doing that I was parked outside of Kahwa coffee and a gentlemen and now friend walked into the truck and had me measure him for a custom jacket. Read more>>

Vanessa Serrato

My huge breakthrough in my photography business was Christmas minis in 2020. It was the first dollar my business earned, officially, and my expectations in my delivery for the final product were high despite my customers being new. Like any time you get your first job, I was also very excited to create something memorable with my customer. Read more>>

Oszkar Romé

Technically, I was my very own first client. I direct, film, and edit music videos under Redeyetv Productions. When I got my first camera I needed content I can show potential clients. I am also a musician so I decided to film a music video for myself. Once I filmed and edited the music video titled “Dreamer” I finally had something to show. Read more>>

Kelsea Tomczak

I got my first job in the veterinary field after graduating from college. I started an externship at a veterinary clinic and eventually got hired there. When I decided to leave the clinic side of veterinary medicine, I started looking for jobs in sales. I made an account on LinkedIn and found PetDesk. I explored their website and social media accounts to learn more about them. I decided to apply after reading about what the company values and strives for. After a few rounds of interviews, I was offered the job. Read more>>

Patricia & Bill Clum

People have always been attracted to the feeling they have when they sit with us. It’s really be a life time of wrong turns, making mistakes and ultimately always coming back to ourselves, our hearts and finding the next steps from our centre. Our back ground is so full, Bill had is own business for many years, after he took early retirement he continued to take the time and energy to learn about himself. To learn about his own spiritual heart and what passion was awakening within him. Read more>>

AnnMarie Halterman

Well, how I got my first job in the arts world is a bit unusual. The NEA (which I learned after my first encounter with the chairwoman) stands for National Endowment for the Arts. As a federal program, the NEA was in need of a strategic plan for a new program. As it happened, the NEA leadership came across a strategic plan I had volunteered to write for a nonprofit. Read more>>

Jennifer Pando

I got my first job in the field of laser tattoo removal after the COVID-19 Pandemic. I owned a successful but exhausting photography business for 13 years and during the Pandemic I realized now was the time to open new doors of possibilities to my future. I thought of what I could do to help people, and I knew a lot about the tattoo industry as I had been involved in the industry for many years. Removals is something I had always been interested in but did not ever hear of anybody that offered the service. Read more>>

Jeanette Canela Montgomery

When I first moved from Los Angeles to Arizona, it was supposed to be for one year while I studied for my GREs. I decided to apply for part-time jobs in law offices + local non-profit agencies, as I had just graduated from UCLA with a degree in International Development Studies and Anthropology. It was a humbling experience when I was continuously rejected; some wouldn’t bother calling me back, some saying I was overqualified. Read more>>

Mac Carvalho

My first ever job as a fitness instructor was at a local reiki studio! My first class was a Saturday morning at 9am and had 2 people…my grandmother & the owner which ended up being a family friend of my moms. It grew so much that we had to clear out the storage unit to fit in the amount of people that we had! But as time went on, I grew and wanted to grow more as an instructor. Read more>>

Rachel Ward

I started Gemara’s Gems in 2002. I was selling two dozen toe rings plus a display postcard and stand for $80. I had just moved to Florida from Los Angeles and didn’t really know anyone or my way around. I would hop in my car each day and while driving around, stop at every hair & nail salon I saw. I would walk in, ask to speak to the owner, stick out my foot and say “have you ever seen these?”, while pointing to the crystal flower toe ring sparkling on my toe. Read more>>

Parissa Chubak

I became a jewelry designer late in my professional life. I was a banker, an oil & gas and a power developper most of my professional life. Jewelry was always a passion for me. I always liked to change the design of my existing jewelry. Read more>>

Rehan Jalali

My goal was always to be the best in my field. I was constantly gaining knowledge and reading/researching day and night. I was writing for all the magazines at that time and stared gaining a reputation as an industry expert! With all that notoriety as an industry expert, I got the attention of Sly Stallone. Yes Rocky himself! He sought me out as a product formulator and marketer for his new company at the time. He became my first major client and opened up all of Hollywood for me. His advice in those early days was invaluable and really helped propel my career! Read more>>

Tatianna Scott

My first client was via the Etsy platform. I was of course very nervous in that it was gonna be a case of me sending something I handmade to a stranger in hopes they would enjoy it as much as I did. Knowing there were other shops they could’ve chose from that were more well-established or perhaps had a better layout.. but alas, it was me they chose! I remember the nerves I had waiting for them to leave a review hoping they would be content. Read more>>