I promised myself I would get uncomfortable and start putting myself out there as a business owner, well before I felt fully ready.

At the moment, I knew this promise would cost the entire way I saw my time, my intelligence, and my professional capabilities. Today, I’m so grateful I paid up!

Stop Sitting

In the summer of 2022, I started managing a restaurant. Loved the leadership role, loved the hustle, but I quickly knew it was time to go. I told myself, “If I leave this job, I won’t have any money, so I must act on this idea I’ve been sitting on.”

What was that idea?

Well, earlier that year I considered offering a copywriting service to small businesses. I wanted to help business owners spend less time on their websites, programs, and social media…and more time doing the things that only they could do.

That vision had since turned into blog content ghostwriting, which saves entrepreneurs time by giving them an endless source of social media content repurposing.

Plus, strategically written blog posts are great for SEO — and most entrepreneurs aren’t interested in studying SEO when they could be focusing on their specialties.

100% Facts

After leaving my restaurant job in August of 2022, I was pumped to develop a business plan for my new ghostwriting service, however…

A standard 9-to-5 job still sounded appealing, because of the financial stability associated with it.

So, one night I wrote a note to myself (well past my bedtime) and I made it my iPhone background.

The note reads:

Using my time to gain experience and create tangible results will get me a worthy job more quickly than spending 7 days a week on job boards. By giving myself mini projects to work on and share with the world, I’ll walk away with experience, but also an impressive LinkedIn profile and a network of people who align with me and my goals. All I need is 2 months! August 22 – October 22.

Why was this note pivotal for me?

First, it served as a visual reminder that I had something to work on, in addition to applying for jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed.

Plus, the two-month timeline was the kick in the buns I needed to “just do it” because I didn’t want October 22 to find me totally unprepared.

The truth is after being laid off from my brand manager job in April of 2022, I had been listening to a voice full of self-doubt, regret, and embarrassment. My new motivational iPhone background was a small but powerful step toward turning the volume down on that negative voice.

Get Out There

If you were hanging out with me on Instagram, then you know that ready or not, on October 22 I started posting on social media again. No more hiding behind the scenes. KQ Writing Studio was out in the open.

And for the past five months, I’ve been committed to starting each “thing” before I feel completely ready. In turn, this has helped me develop an approachable brand that supports fellow entrepreneurs wherever they are in their business journeys.

Dang, dude — what a time! Let’s get into my five business statistics I’m happy to celebrate after five months in business.

KQ Writing Studio: 5 Months In

12 Clients Served

Between consulting and ghostwriting (plus some VIP monthly packages), I’ve had the pleasure of serving 12 businesses (mostly women-owned).

8 Industries Grown

I’ve learned a ton writing for brands within these fields:

• home improvement
• mental health
• religious & spiritual
• law
• beauty
• environmentalism
• medicine
• mentorship & coaching

50 Blog Posts Outsourced

Busy entrepreneurs have outsourced their blog post writing (x50), and I’m sure they’d tell you it was well worth the investment.

32,000+ Words Written

Okay, wow. That’s a lot of words!

200+ Hours Saved

Who knows how long each business would have spent conducting keyword research, outlining, and writing their blog posts?! I estimate 200 hours have been saved, at least.

Infinite Social Media Posts Repurposed

Thanks to the ghostwriting model of my business, each client has the freedom to repurpose my blog posts to their heart’s desire. This means an unlimited number of reels, TikToks, emails, carousels, etc.

“Yes, take my authorship. And yes, post these words everywhere!” is essentially what I’m telling my clients.

Looking Ahead

I’m grateful for every business owner who has trusted me enough to invite me into their world! And it won’t stop there.

I’m excited to see what the next five months bring. If you’d like to be a part of it, there are multiple ways for you to tap in:

• Free Resource Library
• Blog SEO Power Hour
• Monthly Ghostwriting
• Sustainable Content Marketing Course

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me! My challenge for you today is this:

Take five minutes to reflect on the past five months and all the ways you’ve evolved personally and professionally.

Cheers to our growth!

The post 5 Business Statistics After 5 Months in Business (March 2023) appeared first on Kat Quintana.

Lesson 1: Trust your gut.

Here’s how it started.

At that time, my role as brand manager involved writing tons of social media posts and editing copy for an online coaching program. The business owner had already built the brand and was now entrusting me with crafting words that would represent the brand.

No, that brand didn’t 100% match my vibe. In terms of lingo, aesthetics, and tone of voice, we were similar but different. Still, I appreciated the work we were doing. And I realized the more I put myself in the brand’s shoes, the easier it was to create sales-oriented copy that aligned with the business owner’s vision.

Lesson 2: Empathy works.

As I wondered what I could do to enhance our social media presence, our sales page, etc., other questions popped up:

“What if blog posts helped us become more searchable on the web?”

“What if we could balance our sales copy with [non-sales] organic content that helped our audience feel connected, educated, and empowered?”

I quickly wrote these inspirations and more in my notes app. Ironically, two days later I was laid off.

Lesson 3: Losses are gifts.

So, the question became:

“Should / How do I market myself as a blog content writer for small businesses?”

Here’s how it’s going.

Somehow, my eyeballs are still in tact after spending countless hours learning about SEO, marketing, blogging, and branding.

Lesson 4: YouTube is your friend. 

Beyond the studying, these past six months have reminded me of this:

Like it or not, my career path is unconventional. It’s artistic. Frustrating. Lovely. For the past 15 years as a working woman, all signs have pointed to “THIS AIN’T NORMAL!” Today, I celebrate this as a blessing.

So, what do I have for you creators and small business owners? I’ll call it a real-time educational journey of increasing online visibility through SEO-friendly content.

Need organic marketing tips? How about keyword research and batch writing? I hope to help you in my own scrappy and homegrown way.

If just one creator or small business owner can take what I’ve learned and use it to their advantage, that’s quite enough for me!

The post 4 Lessons I Learned After Being Laid Off in 2022 appeared first on Kat Quintana.