Getting your first paying client is a massive right of passage for any entrepreneur or freelancer. This is the first step in the process towards making your business dreams come true.

Oftentimes, this goal is more of a mental one than it is a strategy one. Because really, anyone can go out there and get a paying client for their services, but there’s a lot of mental stuff that we got to work through to make sure that you’re going to actually go out and do it. So first, let’s talk about the step-by-step strategy side and then we’ll address the mental state you need to get yourself into to make it happen.

Step #1 – Craft Your Services

Step number one is, you’ve got to craft your services. So what are the basic service packages you want to offer? It’s a good idea to get as clear as possible about this and what you’re planning on including, so that you’re not customizing things for every client. And, you have a better idea of exactly what types of clients you want to work with.

Now when you’re starting out, and you’re brand new, and you have no experience, you’re probably doing to do a hodgepodge of different things, and that’s totally okay. It’s exactly what I did and what I recommend for newer entrepreneurs. But if you do have some experience in your field, you do want to hone in on those packages because it makes you look more professional if your services are pre-packaged.

Step #2 – Hone Your Craft

Step number two, which actually should probably come before step number one, let’s be honest, is you’ve got to hone your chops. So if you are completely green, and I’ve been there, and you don’t have any experience, you’ve got to go out there and get some experience working with clients. And the best way to do that is to get a few beta testers. So when I was starting out in business, I wanted to write resumes for job seekers, and I did a call-out on my Facebook profile, like my private, personal page, and asked people if I could get volunteers to have me help them to revamp their resumes.

I did that for three people and then I put the prices up for my services, and I already had a bunch of other people who had already inquired, and so I got paid clients from the people who weren’t able to snag one of the three free spots. I did a very similar process when I started doing my copywriting services. I found three clients for free and then I went and put my services up there, and I got clients from referrals, based on the clients that I had beta tested with.

Step #3 – Make an Offer

Step number three is you’ve got to make an offer. Making an offer is giving people a reason to work with you now. It’s giving them an opportunity. What I teach in my program, Yay for Clients, is I have my students make an offer to the people who are already in their network. So you want to know, “Who are people who I already know, who would be a great fit for my services?” And send them an email.

If you have an email list, you can actually do some email marketing around this. If not, you can email people personally and make them a specific offer. Tell them, “I’m going to work with like five people at this price point before I put the price up to the full price, and I would love for you to be one of them.” That’s making an offer.

Really, quite honestly, getting your first client can be really simple. But, like I said, there’s some mindset work we’ve got to do. The first thing you’ve got to know is that, yeah, it’s going to be scary to ask people to pay you money. You’re not going to get your way around that, so stop waiting for it to feel okay, and waiting to feel ready, and just go out and do it.

Give yourself a deadline, tell some people you’re going to do it, have some accountability, hire a coach, join a program like Yay For Clients, where we’ll hold you accountable to make sure it happens. And then go get that client. You have to put yourself out there, you have to feel vulnerable. That discomfort that you feel is a good thing, it means you’re on the right track.

Here’s what I can promise you. After you get this first client, you will have a boost to your confidence, and it will make it that much easier to get your second, third, fourth, fifth, tenth, hundredth client. What we’re doing here is growing your comfort zone. Remember, that you’ve got business dreams, you want to make a full-time income for your business. And in order to make that happen, you’ve got to start with that first person.

If all else fails, take my favorite piece of advice, which is, “Just fake it ’til you make it.” Whenever I feel nervous, or scared, or I have a lack of confidence, I ask myself, “What my future self would do, or what would somebody who felt good about this or had a lot of experience doing this, how would they act in this situation?” And then I act as if.

I promise you, that no one else knows how nervous you are, or inexperienced you feel. We all have felt the same way. In fact, I just did a video on how to overcome imposter syndrome and stop feeling like a fraud. I highly, highly recommend that you watch after watching this video.

But first, I would love to know in a comment below, “What kind of business are you starting, my friend? What are the services that you want to offer?” I want to hear from you in the comments, so that I can come and cheer you on.