After she netted a client who had repinned several photos of her work, one designer decided to give Pinterest a second look. 

Five years ago, Liz Caan was so skeptical of Pinterest that she told a local magazine that it was a waste of time for designers. “I was quoted saying, ‘I hate Pinterest—people pin recklessly, it’s terrible, I don’t even look at it,’” says the Newton, Massachusetts–based designer. “And now I’m like, ‘OK, fine, I get it.’ It is actually pretty good.”

What changed her mind? Meeting a dream client who called after pinning project images that Caan had posted and tagged years before then all but forgotten about. Here’s how the positive experience turned her into a Pinterest convert.