What to Do When You Have No Orders

From the outside, creative careers look glamorous: freedom, doing what you love, big paychecks. But for many, the reality is different: constant income rollercoasters, an empty calendar, and the nagging anxiety of "why is everyone else making it work except me?"

Let's break down why you might not be getting clients, how reputation actually works, and what's really behind those "six-figure creative careers" you keep hearing about.

1. Why you're not getting clients right now

No clients almost never means "I'm bad at what I do." Most of the time, it's about the system around you.

1.1. There's simply no market where you are

Sometimes it's not about you — it's that there aren't enough people around willing to pay for what you're offering.

• A small town where local businesses have different priorities.
• Clients who don't understand the value of your particular format.
• People used to getting things for free or thinking "my cousin's kid can do it cheaper."

In this case, the honest question is: is there actually a market here for what I do? If not, you need to either:

• expand your reach (go online, target other cities or countries),
• adapt your product to the people who are actually around you,
• or make a conscious decision to move somewhere with real demand.

1.2. Poor client experience

Many creatives get stuck thinking "I make great work — that should be enough." But for clients, it's not just about the final product. It's the entire experience of working with you:

• how easy you are to communicate with;
• how you respond to messages;
• whether you remember deadlines;
• whether it's clear what you do and what it costs;
• whether you radiate calm and reliability.

Even incredibly talented people lose clients when they:

• miss deadlines,
• go radio silent,
• get rude or passive-aggressive about revisions,
• break agreements.