Other times, other manners Ready, steady, go!
Operating from our rooms, we found our first clients. How did we do it? Pretty simple — meaning without using complicated methods.
Finding first clients for a new business is like picking gold pollen in a sandbox without its tools. You have to rummage until you learn what you are looking for. It’s also good to have a customer to start.
This was our case — we knew someone with a profile similar to what we wanted to do, who was considering closing their business. We reached an agreement and took over one small client, which allowed us to cover the initial costs of existence and look further.
Different era…
At that time (in 2009) the Internet was different — Internet forums, Nasza Klasa, GoldenLine (Polish LinkedIn) were popular. Smartphones, mobile applications and websites in the mobile version were almost non-existing. Software house clients were looking for someone to build a website, intranet, online store or various types of portals — things that are relatively simpler compared to what our clients expect today.
…different methods
By searching the depths of various forums and posts, you could find people looking for someone to cooperate with. This is how we found our first clients. All it took was an email, a phone call, sometimes a few, and a very anonymous contact turned into a small business opportunity.
First clients
At that time, we created such things as:
Malowany Królik — a shop with handmade jewellery made for Beata Królik.
Ogłoszenia.com — a free classifieds website built for Alex Pasek.
Brittany House — the website for the Brittany House in Poznań, The Ille et Vilaine Foundation
Learning on the go
All of these realisations turned into a little story that lasted for a shorter or longer period. Each of them taught us something and allowed us to develop further. Some projects did not end up 100% as we would have liked — but that was also part of our learning.