How Long Does It Take Designers To Get Their First Client After Going Solo?

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Leaving a firm is a strange mix of adrenaline and dread. You hand in your notice, tidy your files, and picture the day you’ll stand alone in your own studio. For some designers, that first project comes quickly. For others, the waiting stretches long enough to make you question every decision that led you here. You start wondering whether you should post more, reach out to that builder again, or make peace with the idea that this part just takes time.

There isn’t a universal timeline. There isn’t a tidy average either, no matter what online forums try to imply. What actually matters is what you do in the in-between: the days when you’re technically open but not yet booked, the days when you’re both the founder and the intern sweeping up dust. Those early months say a lot about the business you’re building, even if they don’t feel glamorous at the time.

Have Faith That If You Build It, They Will Come

When Laura Umansky talks about her early days, she doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of starting without a single client committed. She walked out of her previous role and didn’t bring a roster of loyal homeowners with her. She was building from zero. Her approach was straightforward and, as she admits now, “a bit bold for the time.”

“I had a build it and they will come approach when I started out,” she said. “When I left my previous firm, I didn’t take any clients with me — I was starting from scratch. That’s why I invested in a small retail storefront and studio: I wanted to be visible, approachable, and give people a reason to walk in and chat. My first client came quickly, within just a few weeks of opening.”

It’s tempting to read that and think the key is a lease on a pretty street with nice foot traffic. Maybe it is for some people. For others, the idea of taking on rent that early feels like the kind of gamble that keeps you awake at night. Laura acknowledges that, too. “If you don’t want to invest in a storefront or studio — premium locations can be costly — focus on your personal network instead.”

In her experience, a designer’s earliest clients often come from relationships that don’t look like “marketing” in the traditional sense. A friend with a fixer-upper. A builder who needs a design partner on a spec home. A past client who followed you quietly and reaches out the moment you announce you’re on your own. None of these channels show up neatly in a spreadsheet, but they work.

Build Your Referral Network, Too

Laura’s experience reflects a broader pattern you see across the industry. In a 2023 article for Business of Home, Marina Felix writes that most designers still point to referrals as their primary source of new work. Boston based designer Noelani Zervas called word of mouth “the gold standard” and described how one early project with a local real estate broker continued to connect her to new homeowners over time. 

In that same Business of Home piece, Los Angeles designer Chrissy Jones shared that about 80% of her leads come through Instagram. She treats her profile as a portfolio, a place for project images, design tips, and bits of firm personality. She also pairs that digital presence with very old school tactics, like direct mail to recently sold homes that match the profile of her ideal projects.

Others lean more heavily on relationships. West Hollywood designer Karen Harautuneian described her practice as community driven. Years of collaboration with allied professionals keep her pipeline full. Oregon based designer Samantha Struck talked about grassroots networking and filling a gap in project management services in her market.

The Real Question Isn’t When They Come. It’s What You Do With the First One.

You’ll hear this again and again from established firm owners: the first client matters less for the paycheck and more for the foundation it creates. Laura still remembers exactly what she told herself in those early months.

“Treat your first project like it’s a million-dollar job. Photograph it, share it on social, and build momentum from there. My motto then — and now — is ‘do great work and tell everyone about it.'”

There is something almost old-fashioned about that advice in a world obsessed with algorithms and funnels. But most designers who made it through the fragile early stages will say a version of the same thing. A well-executed first project can feed referrals for years. A rushed one slows momentum before you’ve even had a chance to find your footing.

This is also why it’s helpful to expect a bit of lag at the beginning. Not because you’re doing anything wrong, but because those early seeds take a while to sprout. Someone you met casually at a neighborhood event may reach out months later. A friend of a friend may follow you quietly on Instagram until the day they decide they’re ready. The timeline is unpredictable. The commitment to treating every inquiry with seriousness is not.

Why Some Designers Have to Wait a Little Longer

Every firm’s origin story has its own set of circumstances. Geography plays a part. So does the market you enter and the way you introduce yourself to it. A designer in a tight-knit coastal community might land a project within weeks simply because their name has circulated in the same circles for years. A designer in a brand-new city may need a season of patient visibility before anyone understands their style or expertise.

Your niche matters too. If you specialize in construction-heavy custom homes, the sales cycle naturally stretches longer. If you focus on consultations, room refreshes, or builder partnerships, the pace can be faster. You might be quick to compare yourself to others. But try to recognize the ecosystem you’re stepping into so you don’t frame normal variation as failure.

Studio owners who started during economic uncertainty often describe a longer waiting period followed by a sudden spike. Business has its own timing, and it rarely aligns with the calendar you write for yourself in January. The key is to use the slower periods wisely: refining your materials, tightening your process, and getting very comfortable explaining what your studio stands for. Those habits help when the clients begin to come faster.

Keeping Clients Is a Different Skill Entirely

Landing the first one feels monumental. Keeping clients after that is another discipline, one that takes emotional steadiness and clear boundaries. Designers sometimes assume the hardest part is convincing someone to hire them. The harder part, as many discover, is maintaining a constructive relationship once the project is in full swing. Laura U Design Collective COO Melissa Grove has seen that play out many times.

“It’s good advice to always consider the fact that clients have busy, complex lives” she says. “Things pop up that can derail any project, from financial hardship to loss of a loved one. It’s cliché, but you truly never know what someone else is going through and the negative things can make their way into the working relationship somehow.”

The work is personal. Homes are so emotional for clients. And when clients are stressed, you feel it. Melissa has watched designers take comments personally even when the tension had nothing to do with them. The problem isn’t empathy; it’s what happens when empathy encourages you to blur much-needed boundaries.

“You must keep it professional,” she said. “This is so important because it might seem like a great idea to discount a few hours or bend your process to meet a client demand. This never works out. At best, the client appreciates your gesture, but at worst, it can lead to being taken advantage of.”

Ensure Your Process Protects You

Designers often talk about systems without acknowledging what those systems are protecting: the trust your happy clients have already placed in you.

“You must be a fierce advocate for staying true to your process and your core values and never allowing a client to sway you. When you do that, you risk damaging your relationships with happy clients. And it also puts a lot of strain on your team,” Melissa says.

Getting that first inquiry is one thing. Being prepared (emotionally, mentally, etc.) to take it on is another. In a 2024 column for Business of Home, business coach Sean Low answered a letter from a designer who had just landed their first formal client after doing projects for friends and family.

Apart from the legal and financial basics, he urged the designer to think through their process before saying yes. He described four stages that every project passes through once a client signs: idea, design, production, installation. It sounds obvious when you read it, but many new firm owners have never written those stages down or decided how they want to move through each one.

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Low encouraged designers to map what is being asked of them in the idea stage, what the design will express, how production will be handled, and how the final reveal should feel. The point is not to impress anyone with a complex diagram. The point is to be the guide. As he put it, the difference between a side hustle and a real business is your philosophy about how the project will go and your willingness to own that journey.

He also recommended that as soon as a client signs, you lay out in writing the key dates and the money timeline. Which milestones matter. When approvals are due. When retainers and progress payments will be invoiced and why. He views those dates as more than logistics. They are story beats. They give the client a sense of where they are in the process instead of leaving them to guess.

It might feel heavy to think about milestones and cash flow when all you want is that first yes. Still, this is exactly the preparation that will keep you from feeling overwhelmed once the project begins. If you wait until after the first call to scramble for a contract, a process, and a fee schedule, you will feel that scramble in your body. Your client will feel it too.

Remember, Momentum Isn’t Linear

You get the first project and imagine the next three will follow in the same cadence. Sometimes they do. Sometimes you hit a slow month and wonder whether you imagined your early success. 

Veteran designers will tell you not to panic. Growth in this industry has a somewhat unpredictable pattern. You’ll see flurries of activity followed by oddly still periods when everyone seems to be on vacation or dealing with family plans or waiting on a contractor who can’t start for another eight weeks.

“It took me about two years to make a livable salary and closer to year three before I felt financially comfortable,” Laura said of starting Laura U Design Collective.

Your job is not to control demand; it’s to stay visible and credible while the market moves at its own pace. You can’t script the exact day someone signs your first contract. You can decide what you build while you wait. Strengthen your relationships. Clarify your process. Share the work you already have, even if it feels small. When that first client does arrive, you’ll be glad you spent less time counting weeks and more time building something solid for them to walk into.