Friday, I lost hours scrubbing the loo and shower. Why? Because Instagram convinced me I needed an electric brush.
Naturally, I didn’t read the instructions—I just charged in. The watermarks vanished, and suddenly I was moving from sinks to taps to the dreaded rubber-and-aluminum strip on the shower door. I was unstoppable.
I could afford to spend three hours on a random cleaning frenzy because I’ve built a business that gives me that kind of freedom. My pipeline doesn’t dry up if I take an afternoon off. Clients still come in. Opportunities still land in my inbox.
Back to my shower: It reminded me of childhood, dismantling toys just to see if I could put them back together. I always did but there were always “bonus” pieces left. The same instinct drove me years later to try upholstering furniture. First chairs, then sofas.
If you’ve ever upholstered a sofa, you know: you must dismantle it. I did. Somewhere between the screws and staples, one rogue drill bit fell inside the frame. Now, every time the sofa moves, it rattles—a permanent soundtrack to my DIY fail.
And that’s the point: life and business are often like that. Messy. Imperfect. A little rattly.
The women who wait for things to be “just right”? They’re still waiting. The ones who leap without overthinking? They’re the ones building businesses.
Quote of the Week
“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
Pablo Picasso
Imperfect Action Beats Perfection Every Time
Here’s the thing about my rattling sofa: it works just fine, even with a rogue screw bit rolling around inside. It doesn’t need to be perfect to do its job. And neither do you.
When I first started writing on Threads, I didn’t have a strategy. I just started. Same with this newsletter—if you dig up my first issue, you’ll probably laugh out loud. But here we are: one year into writing online, six months into publishing weekly emails, and something remarkable has happened.
Last week alone:
- Three podcast invitations.
- One guest article commission.
- Two inbound consulting requests from past clients (“Here are our documents, can you take us?”).
I didn’t plan that pipeline. I earned it by showing up, even imperfectly. And yes, to my own irritation as a dyed‑in‑the‑wool A‑type planner, life keeps rewarding the spaghetti I throw at the wall.
That’s the piece most women overcomplicate. I hear it all the time:
“I’m going to start my business, I’m just registering my domain first for my website…”
Nope.
When I hear this, I want to scream.
You do not need a website. You need visibility and conversations with other humans, not AI.
Trust me on this – this comes from the woman who pulled in nearly $100k with nothing but a Yahoo email and a bank account. No website and no slide deck. And I did it while nursing a baby eight hours a day.
Your first clients aren’t about polish. They’re about proof you can solve a problem. And they are far closer than you think.
Research backs this: a study by the Institute of Management Consultants found that over 70% of first contracts for independent consultants come from existing networks and referrals, not cold marketing.
The problem with consulting and coaching isn’t getting one client, but the feast‑and‑famine cycle that happens when you finish a project and have no pipeline.
The antidote isn’t over‑planning. It’s building opportunities into your everyday activity.
Because I took action instead of waiting, opportunities started landing without a logo or a website. That same principle applies to you. If you want to avoid the feast-and-famine cycle, start by looking where the easiest wins already are.
Which brings me to….
10 Places to Find Your First High-Ticket Clients:
- Current employer – Odds are, they would be happy to hire you on a consulting basis.
- Former Colleagues – They already know your value.
- Ex‑Bosses – They may not hire you directly, but they’ll recommend you.
- Industry Slack / WhatsApp Groups – The places where real deals get shared.
- Alumni Associations – Your network has budgets, not just nostalgia.
- LinkedIn Comments Section – Visibility lives in conversations, not just posts.
- Past Clients in New Jobs – If they trusted you once, they’ll trust you again.
- Referrals from Personal Network – Your cousin’s friend might be the COO you need.
- Podcast Guesting – Small shows with engaged audiences punch above their weight.
- People Already Asking You for Advice – Turn those DMs and coffee chats into paid engagements.
Notice what I did not mention? Instagram or a website.
Your first five clients won’t come from strangers. They’ll come from circles you already move in, if you make it known what you do.
Bottom line: imperfect action creates opportunities. Your next client isn’t “out there.” They’re one degree away, waiting for you to make the first move.
Own It
So, let’s get real: your “sofa rattle” will come. Maybe it’s a LinkedIn post that falls flat. Maybe it’s your first proposal that doesn’t land. Maybe it’s a discovery call where you stumble.
And that’s good news.
Those rattles mean you’re in the arena. They’re the sound of movement. And unlike corporate, where mistakes were career‑limiting, here they’re just tuition.
Don’t aim for silence. Aim for action.
You’ve spent 20 years holding things together for everyone else. Now it’s your turn to dismantle, reupholster, and maybe leave a drill bit inside.
That’s how businesses and confidence are built.
Scrubbing my shower for three hours was only possible because my business doesn’t stop when I step away. Clients still reach out, opportunities still land, and the pipeline keeps moving.
That freedom came from choosing action over perfection.
If you want a business that gives you that same breathing room → Book a Call
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a steamer to test. And a coffee.
Your next move? Book your strategy call.
Claudia
