I’m spending some time in Amsterdam, also working on building some new business connections here, which got me back to thinking:

When we’re starting out, we’re usually presented with a dilemma.
How do you justify being the expensive option when the competition has multiple years head start?
How would clients trust you when you have no experience?

And of the course, the eternal catch 22: How do you get experience when you have no experience?

Here’s the deal: Clients don’t want experience. They want results.

If you can prove that you can solve their problem(s) in an effective way and clearly demonstrate that you have delivered results, clients will be willing to overlook a lack of experience.

This happens all the time. It’s literally how I booked my first jobs.

So here’s what you can do when you’re just starting out:

Create a service or product that solves a very specific problem.
Offer it to 3-5 beta customers for free, in exchange for feedback.
If they like it, get testimonials from them.
Put the work and the testimonials on your website.
Proven results.

Now, does it take time? Of course it does. But it’s faster and much more effective than what people mean with “things will come” and “just getting experience”.

George Kroustallis // Minorstep

P.S. Here’s a facade I shot yesterday in Amsterdam. The Dutch are not only super nice, they also do a lot of world class architecture over here.