DESIGN | BRANDING | PORTFOLIO | FIRST CLIENT

You need a portfolio to land your first client. But to have a portfolio, you need a client. It is a chicken-and-egg problem, isn’t it?

Cool animation, right? Ok, back to the blog :D

But guess what?

I successfully solved it!

I know you’re here for the fix, not a random story. But I will tell it anyway because:

a) It’s interesting and true!

b) I won’t be able to make my point without it.

c) Medium loves ❤ stories.

You see, I’m not going to tell you some B.S hacks. I’m going to be explaining the exact actionable steps I took. Real hardcore proven steps learnt from my 2-year journey.

Ready to land your first client? Let’s get started!

I decided to start a design business

I took the traditional path of cold calling when I first started.

90% of the businesses didn’t even bother to listen to me.

Yeah, harsh but true!

Speaking of truths, you might be interested in this article:

And the 10% that did listen asked me the one question I had no answer to,

Where is your graphic design portfolio?

There went the 10%! But I had to do something. So, I went for the treasure hunt. Just like Nathan drake — the uncharted guy.

Yup! I am such an unapologetic PlayStation fanboy :D

Here’s another harsh truth: there is no treasure!

I asked people who were in this business and searched mindlessly on the internet. Brace yourself people! Presenting you the typical hacks:

• Recreate a famous logo
• Redesign any website
• Create a mock design project for an imaginary brand (seriously?)

Alright, these hacks worked for you mr.“awsomedesigner” but not for me. Let me explain.

These hacks don’t work

I know this because I tried. I tried playing with famous logos but no matter how much I tried to reshape it, it was still someone else’s logo. It had been made according to their values and their brand.

It was never going to fit some other brand!

What was that secret ingredient I was missing? Hmm…

PURPOSE!

You need a purpose to get motivated! Here goes my EUREKA!

Also, design needs motivation. And that motivation comes from the client. Unless you have a brief and an urge to solve someone’s design problems, you won’t be able to give your best.

After the hacks failed me, I started pondering again.

And by pondering, I mean procrastinating and almost giving up. Which was followed by more procrastinating until it hit me.

My Eureka moment

Instead of cold calling everyone I decided to pick up a niche. Being the curious foodie that I am! I went for food.

Jokes apart, I did my research. But let’s leave it for another blog another time.

So, I picked the food niche and started researching about businesses that were just starting in this industry.

I’ll tell you why in a second.

I made a list and started with the process of cold calling.

Time for another harsh truth. I never run out of those, do I? 🤷‍♂️

Just because they were beginners doesn’t mean they didn’t reject me on the spot!

But I didn’t give up and kept calling until a homemade bakery owner responded.

I started the conversation this way:

I will be very honest here. You are new, I am new. You need design, I need a portfolio. Now because we both need something, let’s collaborate.

Bang, bulls’ eye! Her response was immediately positive.

It wasn’t just because she didn’t have to pay money. Honesty goes a long way. Here is another example of how being honest helped me close a deal:

Now you must be thinking what I mean by “collaborate”.

I suggested I do the work for free on the condition that it will be published.

The return doesn’t always have to be money. Which reminds me of an article I wrote about:

Why I picked a niche

To have a portfolio, I needed at least 2 or 3 projects, right? And that also had to be a beginner business.

To get another client with just one project to show, it had to be of the same niche to help the client judge my work better.

Only ask for publishing instead of money 1 or 2 times. Maximum 3.

After I worked for the bakery, I was able to land a bigger restaurant here in the capital of my country, Pakistan.

Which was paid, by the way.

I was able to build up my rates and in 2 years I have landed a $29,000 client using this strategy. Yeah, no click baits, just plain facts.

I faced many problems

During this phase, people used to demotivate me by saying that the market is very saturated, and I won’t be able to land a client.

Here’s another truth. But this time it isn’t harsh.

Saturation does not exist for the people who are dedicated, always challenging themselves and are good at what they do!

Okay, maybe it is harsh for the ones who don’t fall into any of the three categories.

And how can I forget the creative blocks?

Yes, they are very real.

Here are two articles I wrote on how to overcome this:

I didn’t stop there

I didn’t just update my portfolio; I beat it with every new project. That was the reason for my exponential growth.

And of course, I have also written an article about why you need to beat your own portfolio instead of looking at your competitors:

Before figuring out this strategy, when I was searching for ways to find my first client, I found things like:

• portfolio layout and
• making it look good

That comes after you have applied a strategy to actually have something to put in your portfolio.

So, this is it. I tried my best to pack as much value to this blog in the most engaging way possible. If you came this far, I assume that you are starting your amazing design journey.

Feel free to hit me up in the comments section with your side of the story :)

Hi, it’s Muhammad Usman — A curious foodie 😋 spicing up businesses with the powerful fusion of:

• Branding
• Website design
• UI/UX
• Copywriting

Founder & creative director of a brand design agency by the name of Alif-Ya Studio located in Pakistan 🇵🇰

My aim is to help not only the creatives but also the businesses that want to become design-driven and escalate their sales.