How To Get Your First Client as a Creative Entrepreneur
As a creative with a lifelong bestie—since 2nd grade, to be exact—who’s also a creative, I’ve always wholeheartedly believed she’s capable of making a career out of anything she wants to.
I mean, as creatives, we’re naturally outside-the-box thinkers and find ways to make a living doing the things we’re most passionate about.
And it only helps Morgan’s case that she’s ridiculously talented with a camera in her hand.
So when she told me she was starting a new side project purely as a creative outlet, I knew she’d be able to monetize it eventually (if she wanted to).
But honestly, even I was shocked it happened so soon...
For some context, Morgan lives in Columbia, South Carolina and wanted to start sharing local places to visit and things to do in the city, so she decided to start an Instagram account dedicated to it.
We were chatting on FaceTime about it, and the idea pretty much came to her because—besides wanting a space to be able to create just for the sake of creating—she loves trying new local places and always sees accounts for other cities but had never come across one for Columbia.
Morgan started this account on July 20th, and by July 30th, she’d already had her second inquiry about collaborating.
In just 10 FREAKING DAYS!
After thinking about it, it really does make sense that she got results so fast.
No, she didn’t go viral.
And no, she didn’t pay for followers and engagement to give the facade of social proof.
What she did do, though, is set herself up for success.
And you can totally replicate her process.
So here are 5 steps to getting your first client ASAP:
Step 1: Find a gap in the market and make it your niche
Morgan noticed there weren’t really any accounts sharing things for locals to do in her city, so she became that account.
Step 2: Seem established off the bat
She started her account with 12 posts to her feed on day 1, so she already had a full Instagram grid when people came across her profile.
Step 3: Build a connection with your audience
Morgan didn’t hide behind the camera. She showed her face and gave a bit of background info about herself to build an emotional connection with the people on the other side of the screen.
Step 4: Reach out to people you could see as potential clients
She unintentionally did this by following local businesses and tagging the places she visited in her posts naturally. This helped get her account in front of the people she wanted paying attention.
Step 5: Show examples of your work
Morgan started her account by documenting places she was already going. Even though she didn’t have collaborations yet, she posted like she did just for the sake of sharing places to try out. This way local business owners visiting her page could get an idea of what a collaboration with her could look like!
And if you wanna show examples of your work and build trust through a website, my One-Day Website service might be perfect for you.
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Hey, I’m Giuliana!
Branding & Squarespace web designer obsessed with helping female entrepreneurs elevate their online presence to reflect the energy they pour into their clients.
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