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.

Ethan Brown

I was a competitive bodybuilder at the time. A lot of people from the gym knew that I was also a physical therapist and knew a lot about injuries related to exercise. People would come up to me in the gym and ask about different issues they were having. Read more >>>

Kandice Winfield

When I first moved to Northwest Arkansas, I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t have a formal degree, but I decided to go back to school to further my marketing education and to give myself a stronger foothold in a new community. Read more >>>

Erika Millard

I was pregnant with my first child & working for a corporate accounting job that I loved due to the amazing people I worked with, but feeling really torn. Working 50-60 hours a week was not something I wanted to do when my new baby was born. Read more >>>

Mario Casarella

I actually met my very first client in the hair salon I had opened with my business partner in Soho. We both loved flowers, so I began creating floral arrangements to decorate the salon. One day, one of our regular clients called me and asked if I would design the flowers for her wedding in Boston. Read more >>>

Nichole Bascue

Let me paint the picture. It’s 11:42 p.m., I’m hunched over my laptop with a half-empty mug of chamomile tea and the kind of chaotic confidence only new entrepreneurs have. I had no strategy, no sales funnel, no fancy pitch deck—just vibes and a LinkedIn account. Read more >>>

Nadya Vysotskaya

At first photography was just a hobby for me, I loved taking pictures of my friends and sharing them on social media. One day I received a message from a stranger: “I really love your work. How much do you charge?” I was stunned, because I had no idea what other photographers charged and I didn’t plan to be a professional photographer. Read more >>>

Paul Howell

In 1983, I bought my first sewing machine store. It had been shuttered for several months because the previous owners ran it into the ground. One of my first customers cautiously stuck their head in the door and tentatively asked if I had ties to the previous owner. Read more >>>

Lola Oliver

The first real dollar I made from photography didn’t come from a friend, or a family member, or even a friend-of-a-friend, and that’s what made it so special. Read more >>>