10 years ago this month, I found myself back in the U.S., fresh off a difficult year of teaching English in South Korea (plus another 3 months of backpacking in Asia with my newish-at-the-time husband), sitting down in my still-bare living room googling “how to make a living writing online.”

Amazingly, I’ve managed to make an entire career out of that single Google Search… and am still here, much to my own surprise, a decade later.

Here’s what I’ve learned since then. [Part 1 of 2!]

1) There’s more than one way to succeed. And more than one way to define success.

In a world full of “must-do” tips, templates, launch plans, and courses promising overnight success… just because it worked for some guru doesn’t mean it’ll work (nor is right) for you.

And beyond your how, there’s also your why to consider. Some business owners want to scale, hire, seek investors, and eventually sell.

Others (*sheepishly raises hand*) just want their business to give them enough intellectual challenge, satisfaction, and income to happily support themselves, their families, and – uhh – their obsession with plane tickets to far-flung places and adult gymnastics classes.

Both are valid definitions of success. Even if all those sleek, aspirational posts on Instagram suggest otherwise.

2) Everyone has their own trajectory (and most are messier than they seem at first glance).

Some people seem to go from zero to successful overnight. Or at the very least, that’s how it looks from the outside.

And then there are the rest of us.

For reference, my own path to running a copywriting business included:

➜ A not-great stint as a substitute teacher at a high school where I did not look much older than the students (0/10, do not recommend, no respect from those kids at all)

➜ A brief but memorable side hustle as a sample girl at a fancy supermarket (7/10, do recommend… free leftover cheese!)

➜ Working for anyone and everyone, no matter how red flag-y (Sarah: it may have been nearly 10 years, but I still haven’t forgotten that you still owe me $400!)

➜ An unprofitable, ill-fated detour into translation work and wildly underpaid content writing on Upwork

➜Plus basically making every other rookie mistake you could possibly make before I (sorta, kinda) figured out what I was actually doing

3) Few business “shoulds” are true shoulds.

When you start a business, you’re handed a very long list of things you *should* be doing.

Post on social media (across as many platforms as possible)! Network constantly! Start an email list! Create new offers! Launch! Run workshops! Show up everywhere all the time!!!

If there’s anything I’ve learned over 10 years, it’s this: you don’t need all of it.

You need some of it, of course, though which parts depend entirely on you, your audience, and how you want to run your business. (I, for one, barely touch social media for business purposes.)

That said, a few things really are non-negotiable at a certain point: building genuine relationships, refining your craft, creating valuable offers and an excellent customer experience… and yes, getting your copy right. (Sorry not sorry!)

4) Comparison-itis will be the death of you.

I’ll be honest: I’m still not immune to this one.

Earlier this summer, I attended Kit’s Craft + Commerce conference, where I found myself surrounded by spectacular business owners and couldn’t help but feel… a little behind? Like somehow, after a decade of doing this, my business should look more like theirs.

Did this mean that I didn’t want it badly enough? That I wasn’t willing to work for it?? That I *insert additional self-deprecating question here*???

It’s times like these when I have to remind myself of a few things, such as lesson #2 above. Because the thing about comparison-itis is that it can be awfully sneaky.

Rather than presenting as an overt display of jealousy, I find it tends to show up as a quiet, low-grade hum that operates in the background. Chipping away at your confidence, crowding out your instincts, and slowly steering you toward decisions that have little to do with what you actually want.

Speaking from very recent personal experience: it’s just not worth the real estate it occupies in your head.

5) Wanting to burn it all down and become a dog sitter is apparently a universal experience, even among the most accomplished of business owners.

I’m just… going to leave this right here.

~~~

Okay, my fingers are tired of typing and my mother-in-law is calling me to join her for another cup of (very strong) Brazilian coffee out on the porch.

5 more lessons coming next week. Stay tuned!

~Nicole

Nicole Elliott Human-First Conversion Copy & Messaging Strategy Non-salesy sales copy that sells w/out the sleaze   hello@nicoleelliott.co www.nicoleelliott.co

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