To be an entrepreneur you need to know where clients come from.

2019 has been a very good year for my business. Lately, The Weaponry, the advertising and idea agency I started in 2016, has felt like the prettiest girl at the ball. Despite the fact that I am not wearing any makeup and haven’t had my hair permed in months.

Reflecting

As I reflect on this great year, I have been thinking a lot about our clients. Because the key to success as an entrepreneur is your ability to attract, maintain and grow clients. If you are considering starting your own business you need to start thinking more about finding clients than finding Nemo.

Daddy, Where do clients come from?

Clients don’t come from a client factory. You can’t buy them at a store like ClientMart or Clients R’ Us. The don’t grow at a pick-your-own client orchard. And they don’t fall from the sky on clienty days. So where do they come from?

My Client Roster Evaluation

Understanding where clients really come from is critical for aspiring entrepreneurs, startups, or any business who has forgotten how to grow. That’s why I decided to evaluate our client roster to determine where each of our clients actually came from. The following is a list of how we found each of our 19 clients (N-n-n-n-nineteen, nineteen).

How We Met Our Current Clients

1. I was introduced to the Client by a mutual friend.
2. The Client is a former co-worker I have stayed in touch with.
3. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
4. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
5. The Client found us through my speaking engagement.
6. The Client came to us because of one of my co-worker’s relationships.
7. The Client is an old friend of mine.
8. The Client is a new friend of mine.
9. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
10. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
11. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
12. The Client came through a friend’s recommendation.
13. The Client came through one of our other Client’s Recommendations
14. The Client is an Old Friend
15. One of our business partners recommended us to the Client.
16. A former coworker recommended us to the Client.
17. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
18. The Client is a former Client who I have stayed in touch with.
19. The Client is a New Friend.

Key Takeaway

Clients come through relationships. Maintaining and growing your personal and professional relationships is key to business success. When I first launched my business I quickly realized that much of the hardest work of entrepreneurship, which is developing and maintaining genuine relationships, I had begun decades earlier. If you want to start your own business, side-hustle, or simply help your current business grow, start by focusing on your own relationships. Because that’s where all the best things in business and life begin.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this story, please share it with them.

Originally published at http://theperfectagencyproject.com on December 20, 2019.