When I started my first business (out of college) I got my first big contract (that made the business and allowed me to hire real employees) by getting people (

When I started my first business (out of college) I got my first big contract (that made the business and allowed me to hire real employees) by getting people (who I knew) to act like they were working in the business when the potential customer wanted to come by to 'inspect the operation'. It worked, we got the contract (over a much much larger established vendor) and kept it for many many years.