The answer is there is no “one way”. I’ve been running my own design consultancy for almost 12 years now.
I’ve had clients that I previously worked for at a Corporate level. I’ve done trade shows and cold calling. I’ve got friends and friends of friends make referrals and send me business. I’ve had random people contact me via email.
Business development is a tricky thing and even going on 12 years into it I don’t think I have the perfect solution and the landscape is always changing. 12 years ago, there was no instagram and (I don’t think) LinkedIn. I’ve tried some things that don’t work and some that do.
The challenge I find is to always keep things moving. Try something, evaluate, fine tune the approach and then move on. New content, new channels, etc.
Bottom line, do good work and recognize you are in the service industry. I’ve actually been shocked at how bad some sub contractors and other small business professionals are at professional communication, managing deadlines, etc. Doing the right thing and in a well considered approach may be basic, but the bar can be pretty low. Know your strengths and point of differentiation. At a recent meeting, I made a huge impression just by having a high quality print (my Studio Overiew newspaper) leave behind as most consultants just email a PDF and many designers in my niche field have pretty terrible graphics and marketing pieces.
As Michael says, some business relationships also take time to foster. I’m now close to signing one of my largest contracts ever with a client that I’ve been in talks with for over a year. I approached them through a mutual friend as gave them my pitch as I saw the potential they had and indicated how I could help. They were not used to using outside help, so lots of hand holding and presentations was necessary. Will see where things go, but new relationships take time.
Finding clients is one thing, but the other is also finding the KIND of client you want and the TYPE of relationship that works for you and your business. This takes time. My business is built on a full service type of offering (from strategy and branding to design, development and graphics/marketing) so I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of long term, retainer clients. Some 7+ years going. This makes running my business easier on one hand, but also more difficult when those projects eventually move on. Some consultants I know only work on shorter projects and jump from thing to thing always needing to find the next paycheque. Depends what works based on your skills/offering/business model.
R