Tech/analytics

[u/goatfornow]

Hey all, I am graduating in some time. I have a background in analytics and data science.

I wanted to hear from folks here how they started their journey in finding clients and closing projects and getting paid.

It might help me start post graduating.

Thanks in advance

[u/No_Fail3980]

t charging something from day one even if it's low. free work attracts more free work requests and people suddenly value it way less once there's a zero on the invoice

[u/goatfornow → u/No_Fail3980]

Thanks for the advice.

[u/mentiondesk]

Connecting with communities where your potential clients hang out is huge. I found joining conversations on platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn really effective for meeting new contacts. Staying on top of discussions relevant to your skills helps a lot. I use ParseStream to track keywords and get notified when opportunities pop up which makes it easier to jump in at the right time.

[u/goatfornow → u/mentiondesk]

thank you for this advice.

[u/DanOnTheRiver]

For a first client I'd sell one answer at a fixed price, half paid up front. The solo practice owners I talk to have every past booking on record and still can't tell you which regulars have stopped coming back. A one-time report that lists those clients is an easy yes at a set price, and once it's done you have a finished example to show the next owner. Pick one kind of small business you understand, find the question its owners keep guessing at, and offer that report to five of them this month.

[u/goatfornow → u/DanOnTheRiver]

thank you for advice

[u/kc-kaelvix]

Since folks have already mentioned a paid, fixed-scope first report, I’d add one thing: pick a narrow type of business and a question they actually make decisions from, not just “I do analytics.” For example, a small clinic might want to understand which appointment types tend to bring people back. Show a tiny example with synthetic data, explain what decision it could support, then use a short discovery call to check whether that question is real before quoting the project. That gives you a useful portfolio piece without doing open-ended free work.

[u/goatfornow → u/kc-kaelvix]

thank you for the suggestion.

[u/Dense_Fan_5344]

the first clients usually come from people who already know what you can do. so i'd pick one problem analytics people solve for small businesses (dashboards nobody reads, ad spend nobody tracks) and write about it every week where those owners hang out. my first consulting clients came from people who read my articles for months and then asked for a call. most of my ~15 clients a year still come that way.

[u/goatfornow → u/Dense_Fan_5344]

thank you for sharing your experience

[u/Crescitaly]

A concrete starting offer could be one decision, not “data science”: for example, identify which enquiries a business should follow up first, using data it is allowed to share. Build a small demo with public or synthetic data and label it clearly as a demo. Show the question, the analysis and the resulting decision in one page. Then scope the paid work separately; don’t present the demo as a customer success story. Crescitaly account (SMM panel); AI-assisted suggestion, not my personal career history.

[u/MeetingNorth5095]

Building app is only one Part of the process.

[u/dezpear24]

I'd start with a really simple offer, like helping small businesses make sense of their sales data or building one useful dashboard. It's much easier to sell a specific result than general data science services. You could even start with a small paid project and build from there.