Ever wake up in the morning, head to work, and all you can think of is “UGH!”?
Like many people, Tori went to school for something she was told she’d be good at—sales—got a corporate job after college, and … very quickly realized she was an introvert.
She hated sales.
So, Tori made the difficult decision to let go of the path she thought she’d be on her entire life.
But she quickly realized it was a win-win: She could learning copywriting and change her life for the better. Or, worst case, she could gain more skills that she could use in any career.
On this episode of the Build Your Copywriting Business podcast, Tori is sharing how she made the switch and what her days are like now.
Kate and I are super inspired by Tori’s mindset.
💎 “There’s something inside of us, we all know what our dream is … I look forward to life in a way that I didn’t before.”
💎 “If anything, you fail and you can go back to old habits or old positions or try again in another capacity.”
💎 “The ability to have autonomy over my schedule, over my life, it makes me a better, happier, more fulfilled person and I think that pours into every area of my life.”
Those are just a handful of gems she dropped at minute 15 of this podcast—yes, that’s just one minute of the conversation!
She has incredible insights to share, so I’d really encourage you add this one to your queue. (Or watch on YouTube so you can see Tori’s fabulous red sweater …)
TUNE IN: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher
Looking for closed captioning or a transcript? Watch the episode on YouTube!
A Sneak Peek at the Episode
[02:20] I always liked to write. I was told I was a good writer in school growing up. But just like everybody, people saying, The arts don’t make money. You have to write a bestselling book to make any money as a writer. So I went to school for business and I knew my entire four years in undergrad that I was gonna be in sales.
[03:02] I had a couple sales positions after college and very quickly realized at my core, I’m an introvert and I hated sales. I had this very quick career crisis. I was miserable. I was anxious everyday. I woke up and dreaded my job.
[03:40] I am just not built to be in the corporate setting. I tried something different than sales. I’m a dreamer at my core. I have got to figure out a way to do something that I don’t hate. I can’t live my life like this.
[04:41] I was feeling so anxious and depressed about work, all I really wanted to do after work was just journal and write about things that would take my mind away from the job that I hated. I started getting your ads, so there are ways to make money as a writer, I guess.
[05:43] What feels right now is a big chunk of money and either it’s gonna change my life for the better, or I’m just gonna gain more skills. I bought it for myself as a little early Christmas present. I did the course and I started to have something to look forward to again.
[06:18] I started doing some small freelance projects where I’m like, can I get a client? Let’s see if I can even get a client. I started getting small projects. I left my full-time job. Two years later, I could break into tears thinking about how blessed and grateful I am. It has changed my life for the better.
[07:30] I think about how every step in life, even things that don’t work out, are building blocks. It’s a way to learn. I gained so many amazing skills from college. And from my sales positions, I’m so grateful to those people who mentored me and saw something in me.
[08:34] I knew immediately that I was gaining some really valuable skills from the course. Even if I would’ve never switched to copywriting business, just the ability to be able to communicate in a written format. Especially somebody who is in sales or marketing or any realm really. You learn how to tap into people’s emotions.
[09:50] I love the ability to build my own day out and build my own schedule, structure around those clients that are consistent, that I’m doing work for. I like to work out early in the morning, but being able to wake up, do my workout, and then like start on my own time is so nice.
[10:41] I typically will catch up on my email. I have an email for my business, and then I also have an email for a couple clients that I do part-time work for doing copy on their team. Then I usually carve out the late morning of my day for project work.
[11:10] I do a lot of project work in the late morning, early afternoon, it’s a little bit quiet. Clients are at lunch. And then end of day I go back to emails, administrative work, et cetera. It’s nice to be able to decide when I wanna do those things.
[13:09] Time is the biggest resource and I feel so much freedom in how I spend my time now, and I’m so grateful for that. Now, I’m able to flex my hours to better care for our life and our family and just be that foundation at home for us.
[15:30] I don’t have somebody to report to every day and I don’t have a certain amount of hours I have to check everyday. I think a lot of people can relate that they say that a job is a job, but our work is so much of our life. Everything’s a job. Some days I wake up and I don’t feel like doing my work.
[18:00] I have a small agency model a little bit. To be able to have better handle on the project as a whole ’cause I have fallen into like a creative director role in some of these projects. I’ve able to have designers that work part-time for me. So I have made over six figures in revenue this year.
[18:50] It was on my goal list to be on the CCA podcast one day. I was never somebody to write goals down. I just had ’em in my head. The CCA actually what forced me to start writing my goals down. So to go back on those pieces and like I did this, it’s really cool.
[20:05] I had a really hard time with making big goals and I would say, my husband, my family were the ones that were like, if you’re gonna do this, go all in and really encourage me to set my mind on things that are big and scary.
[20:30] Just put it out there, think big. You start to write it and you’re like, I’m scared writing it and I don’t wanna write it ’cause then it’s real and I have to think about it and look back at it. What’s the worst that could happen? You fall short and then you just keep chipping away at it.
[21:20] My goal next year is to have a few people on staff full time. So start hiring some people. I want to start taking more of my time into leadership. It’s a passion to not manage a team ’cause I don’t wanna be a manager, but like I really wanna coach people and lead people and make an impact on people.
[29:05] It is not sunshine and rainbows all the time. Nobody’s telling you this is a quick six or get money, get rich fast. It’s not that you have to put in effort, you have to put in work.
[29:30] You can make money really fast, in copywriting business, you can make it fast. You can be really happy. But just like anything else, it is work. And you can’t make the big moves until you make the small ones.
[29:41] Just treat yourself to that 10 or 15 minutes a day. Whatever your individual path is, just create a plan and just make a promise to yourself to execute it.
Must-Hear Takeaways
As with every episode, we highly encourage you to listen to the entire conversation! But here are a few of the highlights:
” All of it was for something, but it led me to this place where I’m like, thank God I took a chance. It’s just sometimes you hear these stories about successful people and they’re like, sometimes you have to take really scary risks.” – Tori
” I’m able to tackle these personal and professional goals head on and reach my potential in so many capacities in a way that I wouldn’t have if I were still in corporate America, because you just feel like you’re always working for somebody else’s goals.” – Tori
“Just the ability to have autonomy over my schedule over my life, it just makes me a better, happier, more fulfilled person. And I think that pours into every area of my life.” – Tori
“I just can keep going in whatever direction I want to. And I think that’s the beauty of copywriting is there’s so many different paths that you can take.” – Tori
“All multi-billion dollar global agency, they all started with just one person and a couple of people. Not only is it possible for you; You take the steps you can get there and it really is as big as you want to make it, which is amazing.” – Nicki
“I just had a project where I’m like, oh my gosh, I haven’t done that in a year and a half. I don’t even remember how to start. I went back and watched one of the bonus courses on how to do it. But the community is what’s so invaluable about the CCA.” – Tori
“You can’t get to that point unless you take one step. I face resistance every single day. The more you can put yourself out your comfort zone, the better. I hate that part of it, but gosh, it pays dividends.” – Tori
“To teach yourself a new skill is a self-care. If you just treat yourself to that 10 or 15 minutes a day of the course, it will add up. Whether or not it changes your life, it’s gonna give you a resume booster, it’s gonna give you new skills.” – Tori
“I owe so much to the CCA. I truly would never have had this. It has changed my life completely. The work you’re doing is so meaningful. It has taught me a lot more than just how to write.” – Tori
Mentioned in the Episode
- Tori’s portfolio: yourwritefit.com
Related Links
- Can an Introvert Be a Successful Copywriter?
- The Fastest Way to Grow Your Copywriting Business
- Ep. 95: Hitting 6 Figures As a Copywriter in 6 Months – Stacy’s Story
- Set Your Copywriting Business Up for Financial Success
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About the Build Your Business Podcast
Ready to turn your love of writing into a successful copywriting career?
Join professional copywriters Nicki Krawczyk and Kate Sitarz to get the tips, tools, and training to help you become a copywriter and build a thriving business of your own. Nicki and Kate have 20+ and 10+ years of experience, respectively, writing copy for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between.
Whether you want to land an on-staff job, freelance full-time and work from wherever you want, or make extra money with a side hustle, the best place to start learning is right here.
