I started independent more than a decade ago (the landscape is different now), simply noticed folks who had a skill or cool output (art, music, etc) on aggregators & was like “Hey I like your stuff, but you don’t have a website/logo, want one?” via email

I've had a pretty high success rate cold emailing companies I wanted to do work for. Just got to be prepared with your pitch and make sure you have a solid site and mission statement put together.

I made a list of 300 designers I knew personally/who trusted me. I made a plan to email each to ask them to refer any work to me that they were too busy or expensive for. I got through 25 emails and was booked for the next 6 months.

It’s always about your network and referrals from that. Create one and nurture it.

For us, our first clients were either people we knew, or recommendations from people we’ve worked with in the past.

referral friend connection, twitter, dribbble and behance✨

Speaking on uniqueness — when I think “Rogie,” I can immediately think of what your website looks like. That’s a brand! 👏

I love this idea!! Thank you. Ooh I think I need to network and know more people first 😂😂

I started one year ago and I confess the first clients were former colleagues from past work experiences. 

In general posting and being active on LinkedIn/Twitter really helped me a lot!

Designers who start their own agency or go independent: where do you find your first clients?

Asking for a friend.

Responding to an RFP. Often times it’s not the most glamorous work, but it’s an easy way to get your foot in the door.

I used to find startup client from an App called Shapr, not sure if Shapr still exists. Then it comes from my previous full time employer because they really liked me.

In the mid 2000s I built a small agency that grew to 300 clients. I literally started by walking into small businesses and explaining why their current websites were terrible. Once I built a few, word of mouth helped carry me forward.

Love this question. 

My first clients were from people I know/cold reach out to folks online. 

I tried to get some on upwork, but I didn’t get much luck.

I started by getting my my name out there: putting up any projects that showcased my skills — my portfolio was both my website as well as the case studies on it. 

My website was unique and highly styled so it had that going for it. I wrote, blogged, etc so that also brought vis

Yep as others have mentioned, your network. And I don’t mean start going to networking events. Past colleagues are often the best source of good leads. Be sure to maintain those contacts, and let them all know you’re making the leap!

That started my clients and interest, but following that, most all my clients were referred from other clients or connections I’d made. Almost all my good new clients came from referrals from other clients. 

I can’t stress enough how important the human network really was/is

And by aggregators, specifically, I mean Flickr, deviantArt, random forums, un-customized Cargo sites, Blogger, Kickstarter… also for longer contracts, I’d interact with those “brands” as an enthusiast first and the founders would pay attention and extend an opportunity

Existing irl relationships, then online relationships, then 🤷🏻‍♂️

Through former colleagues who went brand side. Also former clients where it was ok to work with them after leaving a full time role. Leverage your network.

Through a friend who wasn’t a designer but was freelancing (marketing) for a company she really enjoyed working with. When they started looking for a contract designer, I knew it was the right chance to make the jump.

For me, leveraging existing relationships + putting yourself/work out there.

Perhaps you can find new clients amongst your older contacts/employers?

3 main ways to go about it - niching (by design style, field, and topic), strategic lead gen, and pitching all the time. Combo of 3 is what helped me grow my agency from making $200/month to $15k/month

Personal connections and word of mouth is crucial from my experience!

Reached out to other agencies doing work that I resonated with and wanted to be a part of. 

No sales pitch, just shooting DM’s on IG to founders and letting them know they do great work and would love to be involved in any way I could. Some responded and some didn’t.

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