Finding Customers for A Design Agency Start Up

Not providing design services, but data services (data engineering + data science) and in the same boat.

We have also started cold emailing but it doesn't seem to be working.

I also took a look at your site and we actually have a very similar pricing structure as well so I'm wondering if you'd like to bounce around ideas to help each other grow?

Start building a great portfolio, even on personal projects to publish on Dribbble. Post your stuff on social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter. Send kind email to people at agencies and companies to present yourself and your work. Tell them you've just started, link to your portfolio, tell them you'd like to help if needed and offer to do a call. Start a blog or newsletter about design. Invest time in your brand. It takes time. If you do care enough, results will come. Read stuff like The Win Without Pitching Manifesto. Also, The Agile Studio Playbook (I am one of the authors). Connect with other agency leaders on LinkedIn. Never give up.

Check out "The $1.8M Solopreneur Playbook" video on Starter Story's YouTube channel. It's about Brett Williams, the founder of DesignJoy, and it's one of the best playbooks I've seen for creating a Design Agency as a Solopreneur.

Hope it helps 💪

I use several methods to attract clients.

The first method involves sending targeted proposals to clients through communication channels that cater to that specific target audience. For instance, I recently prepared a presentation or offer for a narrowly targeted client. I was looking for female fitness influencers in Denmark with up to 100,000 followers, who are trying to sell content specifically to new mothers. They usually sell courses to them. It’s crucial to identify a narrowly targeted group, understand their pain points, and the value your agency can bring to them. (Communication channel: Instagram)

The second method is quite unique—I started going to job interviews 😊. Yes, you read that right. I currently have two active clients, one of which I signed onto my service in this manner. I respond to job vacancies and, when I reach a certain stage of the interview, I start to propose the value to the business by explaining that they don't need an in-house designer, which is very expensive, and it would be cheaper to utilize my services. It's important to understand which company you're interviewing with and to do some research and brainstorming about what might interest them. (Communication channel: LinkedIn)

So far, this has worked for me, but my other clients have come through referrals from acquaintances or through a referral program that I launched. These are all former clients, startup acquaintances, and companies I’ve collaborated with. I share a portion of the revenue from each subscription signed, allowing them to earn a passive income from every client.

Hi Marco, would love to chat to see if we can help each other (I'm the founder of https://pre.dev).

Hi. I think you can look at freelance exchanges such as upwork and others