Tips for Starting Your Creative Freelance Business or Side-Hustle

These are the strategies I used to grow my copywriting side-hustle into a full-time creative freelance business and leave my 9-5 advertising industry job.

When I was growing up, I was given a very linear path as to how life was “supposed” to go. You go to school, get good grades and follow all the rules, go to college, graduate and get a good job, get married and have babies, eventually retire from the same job you’ve been at all this time, and… the end.

So I played along. But I always knew I wasn’t meant for doing things the way everyone else does them. I always had a little “Amy spin” to things. Like yes, I went to college, but I went to an art school and got a degree in dance.

And then there were my jobs. At one point I was juggling 5 different jobs. I was a dance teacher, I worked at a meal prep business, a server at a restaurant, social media manager, and something else I must have blocked out.

Maybe I was flailing around so much and not “settling into a job” because I didn’t have the right skill sets? So then I decided that going back to school for a degree in advertising would be the answer. So I did that, and it’s there that I learned what being a copywriter even is!

I had finally figured it out. I was going to be a copywriter at a big advertising agency like Chiat Day. After watching the documentary “Art and Copy” this idea was nailed even further into my brain… that’s what I “wanted.”

I kicked ass in advertising school. I loved, and was really good at, coming up with clever and creative ad campaigns, my teachers all loved me, my portfolio was rad, and I landed a job straight out of the gate.

So there I was. In the wild. Employed in the marketing department of an online dance apparel company. On paper the job was perfect. I worked my way up to a “Coordinator” title, my role combined both of my “educations” (dance and advertising), but I didn’t see myself retiring from that place. I was itching for that “agency” vibe that I thought I would love.

So I started applying and found a job at a digital marketing agency as a social media manager, which when I first started, I was jazzed about. I kicked ass at that job too, and was having fun with the agency “culture” (aka we drank wine during work), but as time went on things kept happening that would make me feel like “something’s way off here.”

I thought I knew what it was. I thought it was because my title was “social media manager” and I actually wanted to be a “copywriter” like Peggy in Mad Men. So I went off to find that “copywriter” title. I remember how excited I was when I got the offer and could officially change my job title to “copywriter” on Facebook!

Well, the honeymoon did not last long. I found myself in one of the most toxic agency environments you could imagine. The masculine energy that was running that place almost broke me. I literally had to learn about meditation and study Eckhart Tolle’s “Power of Now” to get through.

It was so abusive I was questioning if I was even a good writer… or not even “good,” but just a writer! I didn’t even make it a year with them, and quite via email without notice.

But it was all going to be okay because I found “the one.” The perfect job for me. It was mostly women in the agency, they had a small team, fun clients, and it’s less than a 5-minute drive from my house. Great.

And then on the very first day, I started what would end up being an almost year-long constant anxiety attack. What the hell? This was supposed to be “it!”

My husband once told me “you’ll never be happy until you work for yourself.” I knew he was right.

Initially, I started recruiting freelance clients because my student loan bill jumped from $50 to $340 and we needed extra income. Deep down, however, I always knew that I could do much BIGGER things if I was on my own.

That side hustle grew enough to let me quite that agency job (I still do work for them but as a freelancer, so it was really a win-win situation for both our businesses).

Here are a few tips and strategies you can use when starting your creative freelance business, too!

 

Post an Ad on Craigslist

This is how I got my very first freelance clients! I posted a $5 ad on Craigslist and the subject line said “Need a Blogger??” and I got a nice handful of responses. You’ll probably get some spam, and you’ll definitely get people who want to pay you $8 for a blog, but you ignore those people and start building relationships with the others.

I recommend mentioning your niche or industries you like/want to write for in the ad, too.

I wrote a sample blog for a bitcoin company once (NOT in alignment with any of my interests LOL) and let’s just say it didn’t go too well.

Get Comfortable with Contracts

I learned this the hard way after getting ghosted out of $300+ from a couple of people during my first couple months doing freelance work. I didn’t have them sign a contract either so that money is still floating around out there somewhere… but definitely not in my account.

I use a simple template that I found on Google, and don’t start work until it’s signed by my client. They usually have me sign something too. It’s just one of those “things” that you don’t always think about as an employee, but as a freelancer it’s good to get in the habit right away.

Work Your Network

There are a few different ways I’ve been able to do this.

First: when I made the switch to freelance, I maintained a relationship with the agency I was working fulltime for as a copywriter and just switched to working with them as a contractor. This helped ease the anxiety of “okay now who’s going to pay me?”

Second: I reached out to previous coworkers from past agencies to see if they had any need for a copywriter. Two of them did, and now I do projects for them regularly.

Third: Cold emailing. I cold emailed all of the Long Beach (and surrounding areas) marketing and advertising agencies to ask if they needed copywriting services. It was mostly crickets from there, but about a month later one of them did reach out to me for a project!I hope that these tips are helpful! And if you would like more individualized advice, I’m opening up space in my business to do 1-1 coaching for other creatives! I’m so excited for the opportunity to help people like me who are currently working their asses off in an toxic agency environment and want to branch out and grow a full-time freelance business. Email amy.a18media@gmail.com for more information.

And just one more thing – I’m a strong “repurpose your content” advocate. It saves SO MUCH time and effort when creating all the social media posts, emails, landing pages, email funnels, etc. for your business. I made this “Spread Your Magic” Free Guide that gives you 20+ Ways to Repurpose Your Soul-Driven Content. YOUR words deserve to be read by more people, on more places and platforms. Grab your copy HERE.