Creating your own business. How to find the right clients?

Welcome to Fluther @nunoAfonso!

This question has some great links- especially the last post by wrgb. It has web sites where you can freelance and get clients.

I assume you need to find clients locally:

The University crowd is very often in need of graphic designers.
The Sports crowd (local not professional) is very often in need.
There are also businesses but they are harder to target as often if they are in need they will go for a company who has made a name for themself so it may be better to start with other crowds first and then expand to the upper-scale clients.

The most important question for every business. There is no easy answer for this one. There are 100’s of suggestions on how to accomplish this. Happy searching.

Perhaps there’s a couple more questions you should be asking yourself (if you haven’t already):

Do I want to offer my services locally, nationally or globally?

If you were to offer your services locally (depending on you area) you might find that there isn’t enough demand for graphic design. Expanding your client base nationally or internationally means you’ll have a greater potential of clients but it might become less personal (rapport is a good thing for repeat custom). And there may be an increase in costs. Of course with video conferencing and Skype to Skype calls there isn’t too much of an issue with national/international clients but it’s still something to think about.

Who’s my target audience?; Do I want to design for a niche market or have a broader scope of work?

If you targeted a niche (and untapped) market you could well become the “go-to guy” for that client-set. If you narrow down too much however, you may be excluding potential business and not get enough clients. Of course, if you do decide to focus on a nice market it is a good idea to take occasional work from other markets to keep your portfolio varied and attract work from business not attached to your niche.

Be serious.
Provide best in class services.
Offer unparalleled customer care.

Word of mouth will do the rest.