Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Grow Your Local Business

Episode: How To Market Your Business Before You Have Clients
Host: Leslie Presnall
Date: September 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, local marketing expert and life coach Leslie Presnall tackles a common obstacle for new business owners: "How do you start promoting your business if you don’t have any clients yet?" Leslie breaks down essential mindset shifts, dispels common misconceptions, and shares concrete, actionable strategies for building momentum—even when you feel like you have nothing to show. Drawing on her own experiences launching programs from scratch, Leslie empowers listeners to get visible, share their expertise, and proactively build the foundation for a steady stream of local clients.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “I Need Clients to Start Marketing” Myth

[01:08–03:10]

Leslie addresses the common belief that you must have clients, testimonials, or a portfolio before you can market your services.
This belief leads many new business owners to “stay stuck at zero” and not take action.
She reframes this challenge: “Every single business owner on the planet started in this exact position.”
The key is not to make lack of proof a problem or a reason to stay invisible.

2. Getting Started Without External Proof

[03:11–05:32]

Leslie shares her own story of launching the LocalPreneur Academy with zero students and zero testimonials.
She recounts:

“I just had to go out there and start telling people that this was what I was really good at, that this was my expertise…” (Leslie, 03:48)
Leslie’s first step was to personally reach out to five business owners, sharing her experience and inviting them to join.
The lesson: Be your own proof and use your past experience, skills, or any results you’ve achieved for yourself.

3. Use Your “Extra Time” as an Asset

[05:33–08:25]

In the early days, you have more time than clients—use it wisely!
Action ideas by business type:
- Bakers: Spend time baking and documenting your creations—share photos online.
- Social Media Managers: Build your own presence with fresh content.
- Estheticians/Photographers: Invite friends or family for sessions and showcase those transformations.
Notable quote:

“You get to be your own client, or you get to go out and invite your friends, family, neighbors, strangers off the street to come in and be your clients in the beginning.” (Leslie, 07:38)

4. Creative Content is Enough

[08:26–10:12]

You don't need endless before-and-after posts or formal testimonials.
Even a simple selfie or a reel explaining what you do is valuable.
Focus on consistently telling your audience:
- What you do
- How you help
- What problem you solve
- Repeat this daily, regardless of client content.

5. Daily Mindset Shift & Practical Action

[10:13–11:18]

Leslie’s actionable question:

“Ask yourself every single day, how can I tell my people how I can help them today?” (Leslie, 10:15)
Client work to share is not a prerequisite for marketing—and cannot be an excuse for invisibility.
If you’re local and looking to grow, consistently share your offer both online and offline.

6. Three-Step Action Plan

[11:19–11:58]
Clear, actionable plan for beginners:

Decide who you can help.
Tell them how you can help.
Invite them to work with you.

“That’s it. Simple, repeatable. It works.” (Leslie, 11:54)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“One of the biggest lies that new business owners believe is that you need clients before you can start marketing… It keeps so many people stuck at zero.” (01:10)
“Every single business owner started a business without clients… None of it. So the solution here is just not to make this a problem at all.” (02:06)
“I just had to go out there and start telling people that this was what I was really good at, that this was my expertise, that I could help them grow their local business…” (03:48)
“You get to be your own client… or you get to go out and invite your friends, family, neighbors, strangers off the street to come in and be your clients in the beginning.” (07:38)
“It really does get to be as simple as you just posting, telling people, here’s what I do, here’s how I can help you, here’s a problem that I solve.” (08:46)
“The point is you cannot stay stuck here. Not having client work to share cannot be the reason that you don't show up in market. You have something so good that you have to be out there offering people.” (10:38)
“Decide who you can help. Tell them how you can help them. Invite them to work with you. That’s it. Simple, repeatable. It works.” (11:53)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

01:08 – Myth: Needing clients before you can market
03:11 – Leslie shares her own beginnings: outreach without proof
05:33 – Using your time wisely and being your own client
08:26 – Creative approaches to content and consistent messaging
10:15 – Daily mindset and action question
11:19 – Simple, repeatable three-step plan

Takeaways for New Local Business Owners

No one starts with proof—don’t let this stall your marketing.
Use your early, client-free days to proactively create work samples and share your abilities.
Don’t be afraid to leverage your own story, practice your skills, or showcase results with friends/family.
Stay visible, share simply, and invite people to work with you—start before you feel ready.
Success is built on consistent, simple action: define who you help, communicate how, and extend invitations.

For further learning or support on this journey, Leslie invites listeners to her LocalPreneur Academy program.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, before you dive into this episode, I want to invite you to a free live training that I'm hosting on Tuesday, September 30th, where I'm going to share how to get fully booked locally in three simple steps. The truth is, most business owners really overcomplicate how to get in front of more local people and how to bring in clients. So if you feel like you've been spinning your wheels and you're still invisible, or if you just feel confused and overwhelmed with how to market yourself locally, I'm going to break it down in three simple steps that you can repeat over and over. Whether you're just starting out and you want to bring in your first local clients, or you're ready to get fully booked within the next year. So click the link in the show notes to sign up and save your seat. It is totally free and I'll see you there.
[00:50]
B
You are listening to the Grow youw Local Business podcast where local marketing expert and life coach Leslie Presnol shares the strategies and the mindset to help you reach more people in your city and bring in a steady stream of clients. All right, let's dive in.
[01:08]
A
Hello. Welcome to episode 135. Today we're going to talk about how to market your business before you have clients. One of the biggest lies that new business owners believe is that you need clients before you can start marketing. And it keeps so many people stuck at Xero, at not showing up, at not talking about their business because they're thinking, I don't have clients, so I don't have photos, I don't have testimonials, I don't have before and after stories, I don't have samples, I don't have a portfolio, I don't have anything to share. So they don't think they have anything worth posting. The thought just is, I don't have anything to share, I don't have anything. I don't have any clients to talk about. Which stops people from. From marketing at all in the beginning. And when you stop marketing, you end up staying stuck without any clients, which is a terrible cycle to be at. It just keeps you stuck without any clients. But I really want you to consider that every, and this is great news. Every single business owner on the planet started in this exact position. Every single business owner started a business without clients or without photos, working with clients, without content, with clients, without examples, without proof, without testimonials, without a portfolio. None of it. So the solution here is just not to make this a problem at all. The Solution is to know that this is part of the process and to move forward. Marketing anyway, to move forward with posting, with talking to people about your business, telling them what you do, inviting them to work with you. That is how you get out of this stage faster. So when I first launched the LocalPreneur Academy, I obviously started without any students, right? It was brand new. I didn't have the hundreds or thousands of wins or testimonials that I have now. I didn't have any proof of students getting any of their first clients or getting fully booked. I just had to go out there and start telling people that this was what I was really good at, that this was my expertise, that I could help them grow their local business and get clients in their city. I knew local business owners were struggling to get clients. I knew they were struggling to get seen. I know that I knew they were struggling with what to post and how to stand out. And I knew that I was really good at solving that. So I just started showing up and asking them if they wanted my help with that. When I first launched my program and opened the doors, I actually emailed five business owners and I told them all of these things, like all the ways that I could help them, and I asked them if they wanted to join my program and they said yes. I didn't have any of the proof that I could send them of people's results. I didn't have screenshots of all these wins that people were getting that I get to share today. I just had to be my own proof. I just told them what I had done for myself over the past decade. And that is how it starts. And the same gets to be true for you too. When you are starting out, you have more time than clients, which means you get to use your time to be your own best clients. And that means to create the work, to create the samples, to create the examples that show your skill sets, that show what you're good at. So, for example, if you're a baker, that means, and if you don't have clients coming in, orders coming in, then that means you're spending your time baking and decorating and taking pictures and sharing so you can show people what you're good at. Or if you're a social media manager, you want to be spending your time posting content, building and growing your platform so you can show people what you're good at. On the flip side, here's another alternative. And this goes back to when you're starting out, you have more time than clients, which means you can also use that time to to work with your invite like your friends and family in for services and get them amazing results transformations that then you get to turn around and share and talk about. So for example, if you're an esthetician, then, and if you have more time than clients, then that means you know you're inviting your friends and family in for services and, and you're getting them results. Maybe you're taking pictures, you're getting content with them, or you're hopping on social media and you're talking about how you're helping them and the transformation you're getting them. Or another example would be if you're a photographer, you know you're in, you're offering to take friends, family, neighbors, photos, you're doing model calls if you need to. The point is, is you don't have to sit around and and wait for clients for you to show your work either. Like you get to be your own client or you get to go out and invite your friends, family, neighbors, strangers off the street to come in and be your clients in the beginning. And then finally you also get to get creative with your content. This is kind of the best news ever. Every single post also doesn't need to be content with clients or content showing your work or testimonials or before and after huge transformation. It really does get to be as simple as you just posting, telling people, here's what I do, here's how I can help you. Here's a problem that I solve. It could be a reel with you talking to the camera with nothing even going on related to what you do. It really does get to be that simple. It could be a selfie with the caption of you talking about here's the problem I solve. Like that's does get to be that simple. So here's what I want you to do. Ask yourself every single day, how can I tell my people how I can help them today? Even if you don't have a single photo or a video with a client, even if you don't have a portfolio, even if you don't have samples of your work to share, there is always something available to you. Like it really does get to be that easy. The point is you cannot stay stuck here. Not having client work to share cannot be the reason that you don't show up in market. You have something so good that you have to be out there offering people. So you just have to get out there and tell them about it. Whether that's online or offline. Just tell your people how you can help them every single day. Okay, so if you're in this place right now, here is your action plan. Number one, decide who you can help. Number two, tell them how you can help them. Number three, invite them to work with you. That's it. Simple, repeatable. It works. All right, my friends, so if you are working on getting your very first local clients all the way to getting fully booked and sustaining it, I would love to help you inside the LocalPreneur Academy. This is my lifetime program where you get my step by step process for how to reach more people in your city, how to grow your local following, how to position yourself locally and how to sell confidently so you can get your first client, your first few clients all the way to fully booked. So if you are ready to stop spinning in what to do and how to do it and actually start filling up your calendar with clients, check it out, click the link in the show notes and I will see you inside. Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode, I want to invite you to check out my program, the LocalPreneur Academy. This is the only program for small business owners who want to become the local go to in their industry with a steady stream of clients. You can find more information@lesleypressnell.com and I'll see you inside.