X10 Things I've Learned In 6 Business Writing Consultancy Years
As my 6th business writing consultancy year is in full swing I take a look back at some key lessons and learnings that all started on a shoe-string budget
6 years ago this summer, I set up a free website, signed up to socials, prepped an email signature at speed with a free provider and started posting and writing to connect with audiences I hadn’t yet gained access to and with people I didn’t yet know.
The beauty of not having all of the answers when you dive in head first is the blissful naivety of what you don’t yet know and what you haven’t yet learned. I say beauty because much like life if we had all of the information, risk and disadvantages to hand we probably wouldn’t ever move from our comfy armchairs and sofas.
The big difference for me was trying to find a voice in what felt like a sea of content on the internet that was awash with the rise of influencers, business experts and memes and quotes that appeared to drive the volumes but not always the connections or true communities.
There’s a lot of distraction when you take that step to go it alone. I have over 20 years of business experience behind me and whilst with many of my sales roles it would feel as if you were running your own mini business in reality, it wasn’t your dream, it was fulfilling someone else’s and with their safety net in place.
When you go it alone there’s quite a lot of inner chatter, external comments and those that don’t see what you do as work because it may not fit into a neat and tiny square box of what you were doing or what you were expected to do.
With a quiet rebellious nature and attitude of, ‘I’ll just do it anyway,’ I said to myself, if I can earn what I made when I worked at the estate agents part-time I will have succeeded (defined) by my own terms. (In fact, I earned more and year on year the growth has been greater than the year before.)
If you’re stepping out, branching out, moving on to pastures new, want a new side hustle or maybe you want to start a business that runs with your own big idea — well, that was also me (so I’m routing for you) and that’s why I’ve taken what I feel to be my top 10 learnings and I’ve written them here — maybe they might hold some pearls of truth for you too;
Money. Despite what many may say you don’t have to spend much if you’re looking to start your own writing business, especially if it’s an on the side project or a slow burn whilst you build up business momentum and profit. (Naturally this will vary dependent on your niche and how its regulated). I set myself up on social media channels and then carved out a free website. I used WordPress and am only now having a new bespoke website built professionally. (More to come on this in the summer, as the month’s roll on by). The only things I did buy was the domain names at first ( I even had a free business email address initially.) As time has moved on I’ve shifted to a paid business account with WP and now use Gmail as well as using The Copy Shop on Substack to connect with other likeminded individuals — mainly because I also wanted to learn from others and to be well read from a variety of sources rather than just the intentional bias of certain newspapers etc.
Join online & useful community groups where your audience might sit and where you can gain knowledge and understanding of platforms and how other startups have succeeded. I was a part of a Shàà Wasmund’s (MBE) 6FC club for a while which was highly impactful and full of great tips as well as dollops of wisdom. ( I even gained a long-term and very lovely client this way.) I’m also now a part of a Maureen Kane’s LinkedIn Breakfast Club which is a powerful networking group to be a part of, with some great offerings and services to help make your business life easy — especially when your business starts to flourish and your time becomes squeezed and ever more precious.
Work on your digital footprint. A very wise Haddy Folivi (PR Guru) said being online is in placing your digital footprint in productive places. So that when someone searches for you they will see what you’re about, what you’re writing, what you’re doing and your authority within that field. Commit to your social media with what you can regularly give to share your expertise, so that your audience can come to expect when to see your posts and articles etc and if you’re on LinkedIn (LI) for example, you can ‘ring’ their bell in their profile to see all of the new content that they publish. LinkedIn is my main source of gaining work and building an audience. One very wise business friend (thank you David Schulhof. Director of Digital. PHA Group) told me to make sure I complete my LI profile in full — and I shall pass that wisdom on to you too because those lurkers will check you out first before they seek to do any business with you.
Keep it simple. My whole ethos of my business is simplicity. Meaning it doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful or to sound good. Not detracting from technical expertise, great knowledge or indeed in-depth research of course. When working with clients it always starts with a brief. When writing my articles, it always has a theme related to my business and a call to action. When publishing, it’s always on the same day each week. When arranging writing days, it’s on the same days. When arranging calls, it’s on certain days to allow for projects to run around them with the benefit of time and so forth — you get the gist of it.
Schedule your working days and tasks. If you know me already you know I love a to-do list, a diary, my phone calendar and a post-it note for good measure. I will highlight important scheduled tasks in bold marker pens and will set alerts on my phone calendar as back up. Planning my week around available time and projects to complete is what gives me the time I need to write and publish or complete a client deadline. Being strict with myself has kept me and my clients on schedule and enables me to work in creativity and research.
Not everyone will be or should be your client. Some people may ghost you, some people may only want to see what you charge and some people may just not be the right fit — so they’re not your people. If they can’t afford your services and if they ask you to work for free with a return that just isn’t worth your time and effort — then they are not your people. The good news is when you strike it out alone, you get to set your boundaries and whatever is right for you. I don’t work for free although I have done once when I began because I wanted the experience and exposure and I have also worked for a client who didn’t pay me once too (separate clients) — which is why I set terms for payment upfront now.
Talk to someone you trust. We are most definitely not islands, we are humans and crave and need connection of a sort whatever our personality or personal preferences. My husband is a great sounding board as he also runs his own business with other directors and when I need or want to talk through my ideas, challenges or roadblocks, he is willing and happy to listen. What you will need is someone or some close confidant/s to share and discuss ‘business or related stuff’ with when you need to vent, to chat and maybe when the loneliness of working for yourself means you need to talk with another person instead of listening to your own inner monologue for a change.
Have faith in yourself. It’s okay to doubt. We all do. But it’s also okay to have doubt and still be ploughing straight ahead into the unknown business world that you’re not fully into yet but are transferring your years of experience into. As a very lovely lady called Katherine Guenioui said to me after I was introduced to her by my equally very lovely sister-in-law, ‘you’re not starting again,’ because what she was saying is you have built up contacts, expertise and know-how over your lifespan both in and out of work to date — which is true, invaluable and also a huge confidence boost and mindset switch when you shift towards that way of thinking.
Take the rough with the smooth. Not every waking day is going to feel like a warm spring day where the birds are singing and you whizz through all of your work, get a pat on the back from your client and finish your deadline on time at the end of the day before inevitably, if you also have a family like me and have chores, dinner, kids and a dog to also contend with. Some days will feel hard but persevere. Don’t be afraid to go all in. Be kind to yourself if a project doesn’t pan out as you’d hoped. Take the lesson (often gained once digested and the moment has passed) and move on to the next because when you win, all of the moments that felt like a hard slog will melt away to be be chalked up as experience and will undoubtedly become immaterial to the joy of reaching that mountain top of glory.
Define your own success. Remember, however far down the line you get, it might get blurry as you get stuck into your work days and you may forget why you started this in the first place. Take stock and reflect. It’s not society and various influencers that get to decide what is right for you just because their voice is the loudest and their following is the biggest, it’s you. You know why you started running your own show and what you want to gain from that which may or may not be based around money. Don’t let the ideals and perceptions of others deter you from that and definitely be careful of your own mental health and wellbeing. Our path is our path and someone will always have something to say or some perceived wisdom to share — not all of it will be useful but the good news is you’ll be dancing to your own drumbeat and if it’s not relevant or helpful, you can push it aside, shake it off and discard it like yesterday’s fish and chip paper.
I feel I could go on but there always has to be a stopping point and 10 learnings seems like a well-rounded enough place to pause. Here’s to the next 6 years to me and to all of you. I started my business because I wanted to grow something of my own that could work around my life and my family. I work hard and enjoy helping my clients and now my children want to step in and gain experience too, like my autistic and creative son who designs all of my graphics for me now and my bright and sparky daughter who has just started doing some social posts for a client of mine too. It wouldn’t be fair to not mention our minuscule, hairy chihuahua like diva Bruno, (he’s pictured below) who is the best company and business buddy a gal like me could have and also the best living hot water bottle there is, vital for those cold days when you’re saving on the heating and need a furry hug to lift your writing spirits.
Life can take many forms and shapes as we move through it but the best moments are when you know why you chose to do what you do in the first place and it’s far better to have tried than to have not tried at all, whatever the outcome or next steps.
I wonder if you had to write down what you had gained and learned from the past 6 years what you would say about yourself and your business?
NB: All Artistic Credit goes to my creative, autistic son as work experience (and because he likes it) from his college Creative Media course.
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About Simply Amber Lou
Simply Amber Lou business copywriting services was founded by Amber Smith and is the home of business copywriting, content writing, course creation, copy power hours, copy packages, bespoke & bolt on services and copy audits, guided business copy teaching programmes, notebook designs and writing consultancy.
Our aim is to help business leaders to define their online voice and grow their audiences by writing sharp, smart and captivating content with over 20 years of professional business expertise.