Building a Business: How I Started + How I Find Clients
As promised, I’m here to share my journey with you guys as I pursue working for myself, allowing me to stay home with my daughter while also making an income. It’s been such a whirlwind these past two months that I didn’t even know where or how to begin with this post, but I’ll begin with how I “launched” my business and found my first clients. For those of you who are new here or may not know, here’s a rundown of my backstory so you know how I got to this point:
I have a bachelor’s degree in public relations and I’ve worked full-time in a few different positions in PR, digital design and social media. I started my blog in 2015 and began doing freelance graphic and web design on the side four years ago under my business, Bone & Bloom. After having my daughter this year and doing a hybrid work schedule for six months, I realized it was financially/logistically best to make the switch to fully remote work, so I began looking for a new job that would allow for that, while also considering taking my freelance business full time instead. I registered Bone & Bloom as an LLC two months ago and things started rolling with that much faster than any other job opportunities.
Now you’re up to speed!
HOW I STARTED
While simultaneously applying for jobs, I applied for my LLC online the day after I lost my job, and I call that… bounce back energy? I always thought that if I were to pursue taking my business full time, that I would do so while working another job, but that’s not how the cards played out for me. I suddenly had zero income and a family to provide for, so I hit the ground running, and that leads me to my biggest tip. Don’t overthink it and just get started. Do your research on what needs to be done for your particular industry/business, make a to-do list and start crossing things off. There will never be a “perfect time” to begin and you’ll never know everything, so use the information you do have to do as much as you can. Oh, and unlike me, ideally have another job with income coming in while you build your business. 🙃
The next thing I focused on was my website. I purchased it the day I applied for my LLC, built it from the ground up and had it live 48 hours later. For most industries I can think of, even with the rise of social media marketing and networking, I feel that a website should be on the top of your priority list for a few reasons:
- It gives you somewhere to direct potential clients to if they want to learn more about what you do.
- If you’re a designer, like me, it gives you a professional space to house your portfolio and feature testimonials (both are equally great for booking work).
- It makes you look and feel legit, therefore giving you confidence — which is maybe one of the most important things for trying to start a business and putting yourself out there. If a cool website helps you feel amazing about yourself and your work, making you pitch yourself better, that makes it worth every penny!
Next, I began reaching out to people, which leads me to my next topic. 👇🏻
HOW I FIND CLIENTS
I asked on my Instagram what you guys wanted to know about starting a business, and this was the most common question I received. First important thing to note: no one will know you’re available for work if you don’t put yourself out there and tell them. Connect with people you’ve worked with in the past and see if they have any work they need done. Set up social media accounts for your business, post often and use those to connect with potential clients too. There are freelancer websites like Upwork that I’ve heard of people having success with, but these have been the best avenues for me:
Prior relationships
This includes people I’ve worked with at past jobs, people I know through blogging, family friends, etc. Make those around you aware of what you’re doing and let them know that they can reach out to you if they or anyone they know may be interested in working with you. A great way to spark the conversation is to reach out to people you’ve done work for in the past to write you a testimonial — not only does that provide you with a quote from them to feature on your business website and social media, but it allows you to casually give them a heads up that you’re pursuing more work if they (or anyone they know) are interested.
Referrals
I’ve had clients who have worked with family members of mine, are family members of people I’ve worked with at past jobs, people who follow bloggers I’ve done work for, etc. If you do great work for people, it will pay off, as you’ll be top of mind if someone they know mentions needing services done that you offer.
Social media
If you put yourself out there on social media, telling people about your services and showing your past work, chances are you’ll begin to find prospective clients. I recommend following other people in your industry and posting client testimonials as you go along. If you tag your clients in the testimonial and portfolio posts, they may share it to their social accounts, exposing you to their followers and therefore getting more eyes on you and your work, hopefully peaking others’ interest in the process.
LinkedIn outreach
One of my largest clients reached out to me on LinkedIn, so be sure you have a presence there. I recommend making a page for your business and sharing that content to your personal page where you have more connections who will see it. You can also activate the Open to Providing Services setting on your personal page, where you can list the type of work you offer. Check your LinkedIn frequently and use it to connect with others — since everyone is in a business-mindset when they’re on this platform, it’s a great place for outreach.
In the next installment of this series, I’ll talk about the services I use to manage clients and more of the ins and outs.
Before I sign off here, I want to touch on why I’m sharing this journey in the first place. The reason is, like me, I know there are so many of you out there that have been considering doing this for the longest time, and I want you to know it’s possible and you can do it. I really mean that, even if it’s done mostly out of necessity, like me. I’ve always had the idea in the back of my head that I would one day work for myself, but I didn’t know when that would be and the timing had never felt right in the past. I’ve always been a frugal realist and not much of a risk taker. However, becoming a mother really gave me the push I needed to strive for more in life (shoutout to you, Clay — you opened my hips AND my mind, girlie 😆).
Anyway, I’m incredibly new at this, I have so much to learn and I have a lot of hard days, but I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. I know this is just the beginning and there will be more bumps ahead, but at the same time, I also find comfort in knowing that this is just the beginning. This is such unknown territory and it’s impossible to predict what it’s going to look like a few months from now, but I’m enjoying all the extra time at home with my daughter each day, learning a ton and getting to experience some really cool things.
Thanks for following along with me. Look out for Part 2 soon!