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Reality Blog: Big Results Begin with Small Steps

19 Responses

  1. Thank you for writing this post! I appreciate that you are also working another job (career) at the same time! I am also a Realtor and struggle with writing and real estate. At this point I am contemplating writing a book series based on a Realtor. I also want to redo my website and put up a money making website all while working on getting clients. Seems like a lot but I believe I can get that done.

    1. You’re welcome – I’m glad you got something out of it! You have a lot you want to tackle, but it will all happen if you’re up for it. Make sure to plan your time according to your priorities (which is very easy for me to say, but not always easy for me to do). Keep me posted on how it’s going for you!

      All best,
      Candice

      1. I guess I’m still struggling with specifics — it’s hard to plan knowing how unstable my life and schedule are at present — but it’s the second-last day of January and I at least have a direction!

        I’m interested not simply in web writing but also in translation, localization, and “transcreation” (the love child of copywriting and translation). I’ve let my freelance translation goals slide by in the past because I didn’t believe they were possible (no training, no certification, no money for training or certification) but this year I’m going to start laying foundations and making it happen. For that I’ll need:

        1) A revamped freelance website specifically oriented to this business (already have one, but it’s badly in need of updating)
        2) Relevant work experience/samples in the travel & tourism industry (must pick a sub-niche)
        3) Stronger language skills (focus: German, secondary focus: Russian)

        I’m a bit overwhelmed by the planning process, but at least I’ve got an idea I can get excited about!

        (I really admire your specificity….wow.)

        1. Randi,

          Thank you for your compliment. Frankly, I don’t know that I would have been this specific in my own goal-setting if I did not need to be for this blog. It was scary for me to put it up there – and it’s going to be scary for me to A) try to make it happen and B) keep you all posted about it.

          It speaks volumes that you actually went back weeks later and did what you were going to do. While you may not have a timeline, you now have a plan. That is HUGE. It is more than most people have. And it is going to be a big part of your success.

          I can’t wait to hear how it all goes for you. In the meantime, I’m going to look up localization and transcreation. I’m not familiar with either but am intrigued.

          Best!
          Candice

          1. I’ve started keeping a freelancing journal for 2016 — my own personal reality blog. 🙂 It’s really helping me organize my thoughts and make plans. Good luck to you!

            And now I need to catch up on the more recent blogs…

  3. Hi Candice. Fully understand the small step approach. In my case, I’m taking several small and not so small steps. I’m recently retired (Aerospace executive), moved coast to coast, started the retirement life (tennis etc, you get the picture), got hooked by AWAI big time last fall, became Infinity Member (signed up for almost everything), start accelerated copywriting live companion next week, 25% into Joshua’s get clients roadmap (lots of goals in that program!), started warm emailing 4 prospects, whew! Soon on priority list is website and linkedin profile. Sooo, my goal is to FOCUS and PRIORITIZE start up effort with aim to be up and self-marketing by 30 June, paid clients by summer (Jul-Aug). Tough to set financial goal when it is all about timing (ie how many months left in year to accumulate income). I want to start quickly but get it right, out of the gate. Will be reading your blog regularly.
    ps yes getting an online photo is on the to-do-list

    1. Thanks for your comment, Robert. Personally, I’ve sometimes found it to be easier to make a lot of changes at once as you’re doing – you’re so busy focusing on getting it done that your brain doesn’t have time to rebel! I I wish you the best of luck in achieving your goal. Please let me know how it goes for you over the next several months.

      1. Thanks Candice for your support. I will keep in touch. One follow on question you may or may not be in a position to answer: Does AWAI have any affiliation with, or recommendation on Copybogger? I have enough AWAI material to keep me busy for at least 26 hours in a day, but while building my swipe file, I have come to believe that Copyblogger has a pretty strong presence in the “content marketing” domain and seem to have a lot of value to offer, especially with their “Authority Membership”. They also offer Rainmaker in the web platform business. Just curious.

        1. Copyblogger’s Brian Clark worked with AWAI on their Content Marketing program. Copyblogger is an excellent resource when it comes to content marketing and I know a few AWAI members who have gained a lot of benefit from the Authority Membership. Rainmaker is good, too 🙂

          2. Thank you Heather for your endorsement. It is always good to have a reference and confirmation of value before proceeding. My priority is AWAI first, then to augment with Authority Membership. I am leaning towards Rainmaker over vanilla version WordPress because of my target niche in the Aerospace sector will expect high-end webpage look & feel and I think Rainmaker has some extra functionality. I am not sure I am up to the extra effort to sort through plug-ins etc with WordPress.

  4. The two words that come to mind in terms of becoming a self-sustaining copywriter are “commitment” and “priorities.” I’ve watched how committed you have been to this process over the past 8-9 months. And I’ve watched as you’ve juggled priorities, to be sure you were being fair to your ‘lawyerly’ responsibilities, while still giving copywriting the time and energy it needed to get some momentum. (And, yes, momentum is key.) Congrats, Candice. In contrast, I recognize that my priorities have been (by necessity) elsewhere. They’ll turn around but, for the moment, I’ll enjoy YOUR progress … vicariously. All the best!

    1. Thanks, Sharon. I appreciate your comment and am grateful to have your support. You have a lot of non-writing things going on, but I have no doubt you will focus more on developing your writing business more when the time is right. And I look forward to hearing about it when you do!

      All my best to you as well,
      Candice

  5. Coming back to this article a year later (I had it bookmarked, for some reason…maybe as a model?), I’m still stunned at your bold goal … and I’m a bit embarrassed that I let life push mine aside!

    But it’s time now — I’m losing my job in December, and it looks like an opportunity to be tossed right into open sea of freelancing. That’s a time for bold goals if I ever saw one.

    I’ll have to keep this bookmarked for reference. You’ve been doing so well this year!

    1. Great, to hear from you, Randi, and thanks for the compliment. Don’t be embarrassed – this is normal. But I think you’ve had a better year than you realize! I loved the Barefoot Writer feature on you a few months back.

      I will be addressing my progress toward my goal *very* soon (can’t believe it’s November already!). Maybe we can start the next year off setting a new goal together?

      All my best,
      Candice

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