How do I get clients?
I was thinking the other day about how I get my clients, and it really seems as though I just happen to get lucky.
I’ve never actively searched for a client, I’ve never placed a bid at any of the “freelance marketplace websites”. And yet, it seems like I always have a few things going on and a few deadlines to meet. I’m not complaining, I enjoy doing design work and it pays better than the jobs my friends have.
What I have learned is it’s not about how great your designs are or how big the names on your client list are. It’s about who you know. If someone tells you “Clients aren’t going to knock on your door, you have to go find them,” then they are, quite simply, wrong. Clients do come knocking on the door. Clients do find you. It takes a little bit of work to get your name out there, but clients find you. 100% of my work has come from clients contacting me directly after reading this website or someone I know referring them to me.
Darren Rowse posted a few times about “getting lucky” in business (and blogging, of course). It’s not luck in the sense that random numbers come together and make someone rich, that would be the lottery. It’s timing. Maybe you’ll start a company at the right time, when people are dying for the service you offer. Maybe you’ll happen meet people at the right time, they know people who need work done, people who are “big time” in the industry you’re interested in. It’s about timing and since you never know for sure if the time is right, it’s about getting lucky.
Most of my client work revolves around blog design. Why? Because blogs are big right now, people like a few of my blog designs (not College Startup, I hope) and so they get in touch with me. If I had marketed myself as a blog designer 5 years ago, I don’t think I would have gotten any work. But today, blogging is huge, everyone wants to blog, and people who are serious about it want to be different than the rest of the bloggers, so they seek an affordable, custom template. I happen to design custom templates, affordably. Go figure.
Related Articles:
- Warning signs that you’re getting the client from hell
- Why it’s okay to let go of some of your clients
- How to Part With Your Clients
- How to use Twitter for your business
- Every Business’ Headache: Collecting money from clients
Related Ads:
100% of my customers have came to knock on my door. The mouth-to-mouth advertising is the only advertising I use (5 years already).
Ben:
Well said, well said. I think that if your just keep doing what you’re doing and are serious about your interests, then people will automatically want to work with you and then, of course, they’ll want to tell other people about you… Keep up the great work. You’re definitely right, blogging is really getting there. I’m just happy that there’s still such a long way to go ’til blogging becomes mainstream.
David Askaripour
http://www.cashcampus.com/ftt