Design by Laney

How do you actually get your very first wedding invitation or calligraphy client? In this video, I’m looking back over my decade in the wedding industry to share the exact 10 unique places, networks, and strategies that brought in my first 10 clients.

Building a stationery business doesn't happen overnight, so I’m breaking down a realistic timeline of how my lead sources shifted over the first three years—from working with my personal network to landing ideal stranger clients on Instagram, Etsy, and through vendor referrals. Whether you are just starting out or feeling like things are moving slowly, saying "yes" to early opportunities is the secret to building your portfolio, mastering your skills, and finding your ideal clients.

What We Cover:
✨ The reality of working with family, friends, and acquaintances
✨ Why "friends of friends" make some of the best early clients
✨ Transitioning from your local network to active vendor networking
✨ How long it actually takes to get consistent stranger leads on Instagram
✨ The exact 4 lead sources that still run my business today

If you found this video helpful, make sure to like, subscribe, and drop any questions you have about getting your first clients in the comments below!

~

Links contained in the video and/or description may be affiliate links which earn us a small commission at no cost to you! We appreciate your use of our links so we can continue making free content for you!

----------

Hi, hey, hello! Welcome to the Design by Laney channel! I am a wedding invitation designer & stationery business educator! On this channel, you'll find videos featuring design tutorials, systems reviews, and the most requested tips and tricks for running a creative business - yes, including my favorite printers!

New to Invitation Design?
💌 Check out our *From Start to Suite* course!
https://designbylaney.com/from-start-to-suite

🤓 Sign up for our FREE Adobe Illustrator course series:
https://designbylaney.com/free-illustrator-course

👩🏻‍🏫 Want to learn even more about running a stationery business? Join us in Stationery School!
https://designbylaney.com/stationery-school

💛 Follow Along:
www.instagram.com/designbylaney
www.designbylaney.com
www.facebook.com/designbylaney
www.pinterest.com/bylaney

🖨️ My Favorite Print Shop www.printswell.com/a/laney
📋 Try Dubsado https://www.dubsado.com/?c=designbylaney
📋 Try Honeybook http://share.honeybook.com/laney

Are you tired of trying to force standard corporate client management software to work for your creative workflow? In this video, I am doing a comprehensive review of Vowproof, a brand-new CRM designed explicitly for stationery designers, by stationery designers!

We all know the standard features of classic CRMs like HoneyBook or Dubsado—invoicing, contracts, scheduling, and pipelines. Vowproof handles all of those flawlessly. But today, I’m skipping the basic admin tools to dive into the revolutionary, stationery-specific features you won't find anywhere else.

We are looking at their game-changing built-in client proofing system (complete with interactive pin-point notes and legal sign-off checklists), interactive client portals, visual mood boards, product suite templates, and smart milestones built specifically around mailing timelines. Plus, wait until you see the envelope printing feature that automatically generates print-ready address files directly from your client's guest list!

✨ Ready to try it out? Grab a free trial and save 20% OFF your first year of Vowproof by clicking my affiliate link or using code LANEY at checkout: 👉 https://vowproof.com/?via=laney

What we cover in this comprehensive review:
📑 Built-In Digital Proofing: How to upload multi-page suites, attach revision questionnaires, map specific feedback notes, and get timestamped, legally binding client approvals.
🚪 Interactive Client Portals: A look at the client-facing dashboard where clients can upload files, fill out questionnaires, view older proofs, track timelines, and manage guest lists.
🎨 Visual Mood Boards: How to build out stunning brand palettes, typography inspirations, and design concepts using templates so you never have to start from scratch.
📦 Product & Suite Templates: Setting up base pricing for individual items (like 5x7 flat invitations or detail cards) and bundling them into tier packages to instantly build proposals.
📅 Stationery-Specific Timelines: How Vowproof automatically calculates custom milestones based on your mail dates and flags rush fee thresholds—then feeds them directly into your workflows.
✉️ The Envelope Guest List Feature: My absolute favorite tool! How clients can manage guest lists in their portal and preview their envelope layouts using your custom fonts (like Picket Fence) to generate print-ready PDFs.

🔗 Related Videos & Resources:
Another Vowproof Video: https://youtu.be/YnShDS1rZnI
More CRM Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhXDd9EOenMVBG3SgEAN-uguTnr7R1AKv
CRM Comparison Chart: https://designbylaney.com/crm-comparison-chart-for-designers
*will add Vowproof to this chart soon

~

Links contained in the video and/or description may be affiliate links which earn us a small commission at no cost to you! We appreciate your use of our links so we can continue making free content for you!

----------

Hi, hey, hello! Welcome to the Design by Laney channel! I am a wedding invitation designer & stationery business educator! On this channel, you'll find videos featuring design tutorials, systems reviews, and the most requested tips and tricks for running a creative business - yes, including my favorite printers!

New to Invitation Design?
💌 Check out our *From Start to Suite* course!
https://designbylaney.com/from-start-to-suite

🤓 Sign up for our FREE Adobe Illustrator course series:
https://designbylaney.com/free-illustrator-course

👩🏻‍🏫 Want to learn even more about running a stationery business? Join us in Stationery School!
https://designbylaney.com/stationery-school

💛 Follow Along:
www.instagram.com/designbylaney
www.designbylaney.com
www.facebook.com/designbylaney
www.pinterest.com/bylaney

🖨️ My Favorite Print Shop www.printswell.com/a/laney
📋 Try Dubsado https://www.dubsado.com/?c=designbylaney
📋 Try Honeybook http://share.honeybook.com/laney