How I went from a pandemic graduate to a young entrepreneur

Guest blog by Rebecca Clark of Powered Up Content

This year I'm celebrating 5 years of Powered Up Content. Although it wasn’t actually Powered Up Content then. I had just taken my first freelance gig through Upwork without my own website or anything. The job was about £10 for a 1000-word blog - bloody ridiculous. But I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t know that I needed a business name and brand, how to charge what I was worth or where I’d be in 4-5 years. 

Now I have a brand. I have a business. I have an amazing client base. More importantly than I realised in the moment, I have control over my future. 

My reasons for going it alone

Picture it. We’re back in May 2020. Yes, the depths of the COVID pandemic. I’d handed in my undergraduate dissertation rather unceremoniously because I was spending the ins and outs of lockdowns back at my parent’s house. No more student nights out! I’d finished my Creative Writing degree but now more than ever, I had no idea how I was going to find a writing job. The world was a little preoccupied

I could wait it out. I could take whatever job came along first. But one day something in me told me to try freelancing. 

I had never wanted to be a business owner. At least not a typical one. Years of watching The Apprentice with my dad had put me right off. How did they get shouted at by Alan Sugar and not burst into tears?

But I did want to fulfil my childhood dream of becoming a writer, use the skills I had honed at university and something more…

I wanted a good life for myself. I didn’t want to wait for the good to happen. I could be waiting forever! Freelancing and then establishing Powered Up Content felt like moving into the driver’s seat of my life. I wasn’t waiting around for things to get better. I was making them better. It felt so freeing, especially in a time of restriction, uncertainty and fear. 

Navigating the highs and lows

Then before the end of the year, I became a 21-year-old millionaire… I’m kidding, we’re not quite there yet! I didn’t walk out of uni and into a 7 figure business. The reality is I had a hell of a lot to learn before I made a decent living out of freelance copywriting. 

Getting out of my own way

Despite doing something that required a lot of bravery and self-belief (I still look back at my 21-year-old self in awe for having the guts to go it alone) my self-image was atrocious. The way I thought about myself was a massive hurdle in business for a couple of reasons.

First, I doubted myself so much that I let what everyone else did and said affect me even when they had no business giving me any guidance about how to be successful. Secondly, I saw signs that I was an unworthy failure in everything and nothing so I’d panic and give up too soon. Basically, I got in my head and that made it harder to see what was working and double down on it. When I gradually built up my sense of self, the way I promoted myself and worked with clients changed for the better. Everything flowed easier. 

Dance like no one is watching

Gratification in business is very much delayed! That was a big learning curve. I needed to build my brand, business and online presence before I was going to get the results I wanted. It takes time especially when starting from scratch. 

Just because no one was enquiring about my services didn’t mean I needed to rearrange my packages for the hundredth time. Just because no one was responding to my content didn’t mean they weren’t thinking about working with me. I had to do it and let go of the outcome because the outcome was coming later down the line. If I gave up now because ‘it wasn’t working,’ I would never get there. It was time to dance and not worry if there were people watching.

Enjoying business owner life

But it wasn’t all knocks, blows and hard lessons. Here are some of my favourite things about running my own business so far:

• Telling people I work for myself. They’re always very impressed. 

• Feeling like I’m part of something meaningful and using my words for good. 

• Choosing my schedule. I did a digital nomad trip in Budapest and often get ahead on my work to go to a concert or something else fun in the evening. 

• Helping other women to make money. Money gives us independence, freedom and options. It’s so important.

• Working with people I never would’ve met otherwise and learning about new topics I had no idea about. 

• Writing. I just love writing and coming up with words, phrases and ideas. 

My #1 piece of advice

How did I go from a fresh-faced graduate with no money and no prospects to earning a decent living through my own copywriting business? Good question. A lot of things contributed to my growth over the years. The advice I would give to anyone and everyone is to go networking. I wouldn't have the business I have today without networking. When I started, I had no connections and no idea how to run a business. Networking helped me improve both. 

I found groups where I felt comfortable. (You might have to kiss a few frogs before finding ones that suit you.) Then I turned up every week or month. I showed my face, told my story and got to know people. Gradually, I built a network of people who liked and trusted me. And vice versa which was really helpful because I had no one else to talk to about business stuff. The people I met at networking, some years ago, are still my best clients or have referred me to my best clients. 

It was also a great learning experience for how to run a business. I’d hear what other people were up to and what was working for them. Often I’d find out about workshops and other opportunities that helped me to put the pieces in place. When you’re around other people with similar goals, you pick up a lot about different ways you can get to the goal yourself. 

Honestly, having people to talk to stopped me from giving up on myself so many times. I’m introverted bordering on a hermit. But I can’t deny that we need community, belonging and support. 

My story has a lot of intrigue - 25 year old entrepreneur who started straight out of university in the middle of the pandemic. But underneath are the plot points I know many other business owners experience. We want to take back control of our lives, strive for something better that we can’t get through conventional routes and do something that matters. We love so many things about being our own boss but that doesn’t make it easy. Sometimes it’s fricking tough! I still don’t know a lot of the answers. I do know that building a support system has helped me find a way forward every time.