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.

Destiny Murray

The first dollar my business earned was very special. It was Fall 2020 and the cold weather was rolling in to signal the upcoming shift from Fall to Winter. As the new season was approaching, it brought with it a sense of newness and desire to uplift and affirm women and girls. Read More>>

Keisha Hester

I received my first client while I was teaching! I taught special education for 12 years. While writing grants for supplies for my classroom, I was approached by a coworker who wanted to know if grants would work for their small business. Read More>>

Chelsea Yvanda Cole

My first client came from a moment of pure boldness. I had just finished a virtual assistant course and reached the point where you’re supposed to “put yourself out there.” I was still trying to figure out who my ideal client was, and as I sat with that question, I kept coming back to the field I was most passionate about: public health. Read More>>

Katie Thode

I started practicing yoga as a 14-year old in high school; it was my gym requirement! I fell in love with the movement then, but did not know much more about the practice for quite a few years. After completing college and then moving forward to graduate school – I have two degrees in Music Education – I really turned to my yoga practice. Read More>>

Jerry Martinez

I was working as a server in a restaurant when a table of three came in. They’d been described as “difficult,” but they weren’t at all—she simply knew what she wanted, and her daughters had food allergies. She was kind, patient, and thoughtful. During their visit, I mentioned that I was a fashion designer working hard on a new collection. Read More>>

Micah Zelle Dennis-Shaw

How I Got My First Client…and Then, Nine Years Later, My First Dollar

Most businesses can answer this question in one clean timeline: first client, first dollar, end of story. Mine didn’t arrive in that order. There’s a nine-year canyon between the moment a young person first trusted me with their life and the moment my organization first earned a dollar. But I wouldn’t change a thing. The story deserves to be told exactly how it happened. Read More>>