“How I Found My First Web Design Client (and Lessons Learned)”

#ui #design #website #career

I absolutely hate cold calling.

It makes you feel like one of those scammy salespeople. Business owners are often irritated that you’re distracting them from work, and you only have about 30 seconds to prevent them from hanging up. Yet, that’s exactly how I got my first client.

My first few cold calls went nowhere. I was scared and couldn’t convince anyone to let me work on a project for them. I started searching on Google and Facebook for business owners in my hometown who didn’t have a website. That’s when I found a carpenter whose wooden signboards I really liked. I decided to design a website for him in Figma without expecting anything in return. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a one-pageer, but I put in my best effort to make it look professional. Then came the scary part: making the cold call.

I had been watching a lot of sales content on YouTube, so I had a basic idea of how a cold call should work and how to structure it. Even so, I was terrified for no real reason. Finally, I mustered the courage and made the call.

The first step was to introduce myself, just my name, and explain how I found him on Facebook and why I admired his work (which was true). I believe it’s important to use proper manners when talking to someone who has no idea who you are or what you want. To my surprise, he sounded like a nice guy. I told him I had been following him on Facebook for a while, noticed he didn’t have a website, and decided to design one for him. This approach worked because it showed that I had already done something valuable for him, completely free of charge, and he could check it out in his spare time. He said, “Yeah, sure, show me what you’ve designed!” The next day, I received another message from him, and we started working together. I had never been so excited before.

There were a couple of things to tweak, and he also wanted to discuss a few details in person. Since we lived in the same city, I offered to visit his workshop. That meeting turned out to be one of the coolest encounters of my life. For the first time, I had the opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with my own client. As it turned out, he was a genuinely great guy. He gave me a tour of his workshop and showed me all those impressive wood-cutting machines he used. It was an eye-opening experience.

Remember when I mentioned how scared I was to make that cold call? Looking back, it feels so stupid and irrational. Until that point, I hadn’t really understood that business owners are just regular people, trying to get their work done. I believe you shouldn’t be overly “professional,” especially when working with small business owners. It’s much better to approach them as a real person rather than sounding like a script-reading machine. I get a lot of those poorly scripted sales calls myself, and my response is always an instant “NO”.

One of the most important lessons I learned from my first clients is the value of frequent updates. It’s better to keep your clients informed about your progress regularly rather than waiting until everything is pixel-perfect. Clients want to see results and know you’re actively working on their project. They don’t know you yet and have certain expectations, so consistent communication helps build trust.

Another valuable lesson is the power of overdelivering. What might seem trivial to you, like spending 15 minutes creating a cool interaction, can feel extraordinary to your client. They don’t know how much time or effort it took, but they’ll appreciate the extra value. Doing something beyond their expectations not only impresses them but also shows you genuinely care about their project and aren’t just in it for the money.

If you want to truly stand out, consider doing something unique and detailed.** For example, I create a copy of the website design with reduced opacity and annotate it with red arrows and notes explaining every design decision.** Why does this header use this wording? Why is this section necessary? What purpose does this element serve? I make it clear that there are no coincidences in my designs — everything has a purpose. Will the client actually read through all of it? Maybe, maybe not. But the effort demonstrates how much thought I’ve put into the project. And when people pay for something, they want to feel confident that they’re getting real value.

That kind of approach helped me land my very first client. It’s definitely easier to build trust and increase your chances of success when you’re not empty-handed. It also feels less like a scam, especially if you’re new to making sales calls.

However, there’s a significant downside: there’s no guarantee it will work. You could potentially, and quite likely, spend a lot of time on a project that the person might not even look at. Time equals money, so it’s important to weigh the risks before investing your effort.

Thanks for the read and see you next time!

Bonus point! Once the project is complete, ask your client if they know anyone who might need your help. It doesn’t cost anything, and may get you a new client :)