TCC Podcast 175: Laid Off to Freelance Success with Derek Hambrick

For the 175th episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, Kira and Rob talked with copywriter Derek Hambrick about his path to freelance copywriter... including his first failed attempt and what made him successful the second time he gave it a go. We also talked about: •  the path he followed from communications to copywriting •  the surprising emotions Derek felt when he was laid off… panic and excitement •  how he relies on relationships to find clients for his business •  what he did to step up his copywriting game as he went out on his own •  the importance of giving and altruism to Derek’s ROI •  the process he follows as he works with his clients •  why he chose his niche and the impact its had on his business growth •  the pros and cons of working in the higher education niche •  how he moves from one client to the next and gets referrals •  the changes he’s made to his mindset in order to think bigger •  his experience in The Copywriter Underground and what he gets from it •  how to get the most from a course or community you belong to •  the mistakes he’s made as he moved from full time to freelance •  what comes next… how Derek keeps growing To hear what else we talked about, click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript. Or better yet, subscribe with your favorite podcast app and never miss an episode.   The people and stuff we mentioned on the show: Ry Schwartz Joel Klettke The Copywriter Underground Cantilever Creative TCCIRL Copywriting Event Kira’s website Rob’s website The Copywriter Club Facebook Group The Copywriter Underground   Full Transcript: Kira:   This episode is brought to you by The Copywriter Club In Real Life, our live event in San Diego, March 12th through the 14th. Get your tickets now at thecopywriterclub.com/tccirl. Rob:   What if you could hang out with seriously talented copywriters and other experts, ask them about their successes and failures, their work processes and their habits then steal an idea or two to inspire your own work? That's what Kira and I do every week at The Copywriter Club Podcast. Kira:   You're invited to join the club for episode 175 as we chat with copywriter Derek Hambrick about moving from full time work to freelance, choosing his niche and what that did for his business, what he did to find his first clients and how he finds people to work with today, his experience in The Copywriter Underground and what he's doing differently in 2020. Welcome, Derek. Derek:            Hey guys, thanks for having me over. Kira:   Yeah, I feel like we have wanted to have this conversation with you for a while. We've been able to hang out with... Well, I was able to hang out with you in person not too long ago and chat with you then, but we really wanted to record this and find out more about you and your business and what you've done because it's worked well. So, why don't we kick it off with your story? How did you end up as a copywriter? Derek:            Yes. So, I always knew I wanted to work with words for a living, but didn't know exactly how. Long story really short, I found myself working at Delta Airlines, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life, but I figured Delta was a big enough place that I'll probably find it there and get paid as well along the way as I figured that out. I remember working on the International Concourse, writing a few articles for newsletters, that kind of thing. Nothing big. But one evening the last flight pushed out to Santiago, Chile. That was done. Went back to the break room, working on an article, looked at the clock and an hour had gone by. And at that point I realized, ‘My God, I must really enjoy this.’ And that's when I realized I've got to find some role, some place capacity for me to write for a living. So I applied for a bunch of corp-comm jobs, marketing roles and that kind of thing. Nothing really panned out because I didn't have a degree is what it turned out to be. So I got one. Working full time, went back to school. I got a communications and rhetoric degree from my Alma Mater. Essentially once I got that... by that time I had landed a corporate communications job, but figuring that I had my degree, I had some experience, I'll go ahead and make my own way in the world as a writer. So, quit the job, jumped out of the eighth floor of corporate communications and into the tea cup of freelance. And to paint the picture of it, this was back in 2008. So, it was not the best time financially to start your own business. And that turned out to be my biggest failure was trying to go out of my own way too early and really without any kind of plan. Went through our savings, racked up some debt, wasn't good. But some good lessons. So, that's a positive of there. So what did I do? I decided to go in-house, get a full-time job, benefits, had a family at the time, still do. But I had people depending on me as the main breadwinner. So, for security and to provide for them and also get some more experience, I got a job at a big four professional services firm as an editor. Great organization, got some more experience, but I was really feeling that that writing itch, just wanted to write versus edit and proofread and that kind of thing. So, a few years after getting that role, I left the firm to a senior writing gig. And it was great, but it was very short-lived for a number of reasons on both sides of the conference room table. So after that point, what I did was go to a number of smaller agencies from gig to gig essentially. Some really bigger names like Home Depot and whatnot, but also some local brands and businesses, Peachtree Bikes, FORM yoga in Atlanta. I was just piecing things together. Even had to deliver pizzas at one point to pay the bills, but decided to go back to the firm in a marketing writer capacity, which had me doing some internal external kind of stuff. Again, building a lot of experience. While at the firm though, could kick myself for doing this, but I took another role, which was decidedly less writing, more project management communications in the broader sense, which was good. And it had his own lessons but wasn't really writing. So, a few years later, I left the firm again and took a job as a ‘copywriter’ officially. And it was great for about a year until I got a call one day and said that they had eliminated my role. So at that point, I decided to go ahead and say, ‘You know what? I'm going to take my side hustle, I'm going to move this thing front and center.’ I had known for a long time that at one point I was going to be my own boss running my own company and writing for a living. Kind of determining the terms rather than having them dictated to me. This was my opportunity. There is a moment where I thought, ‘Well, maybe, okay, I really should go and stay in-house with somebody, again, for that security.’ Right? But honestly, that lasted for about 15 seconds. And I said, ‘You know what universe, this is what I need to do.’ And so the business Cantilever Creative officially began and celebrated a year back in November of 2019. Rob:   So, can we go back to that moment when you were laid off? We've talked with other people who have found copywriting after being laid off in a few episodes ago. Kira and I talked about how I had to lay a bunch of people off and was laid off myself from a job like that. Tell us what did that feel like and was it a moment of panic or were you ready to go? Was it a moment of excitement? Derek:            Well, Rob I guess it was a very, very short period, minutes really of panic when I got that call. Like I said, I hadn't expected this, right? It hit me out of the blue. The work was good. It's just they got rid of the role and I'm a casualty of corporate America. But I was really excited after I got over the anxiety. It's like, ‘Well, wait a second. Wait a second, wait a second. Derek, you got this man.’ You have to understand, I mean, as soon as I'd started that job and here's the really cool thing. When I started that job, I had a commute and I wanted to use a commute to my advantage. So what turned out to be like an hour and a half every day, I listened to y'all. Honest to God, the first week I started there I was like, ‘Okay. Well, let me see what kind of podcast I can tune into.’ Did a Google search, Copywriter Club popped up. Rest is history. So, pretty much every day to and from work, I was listening to these great copywriters, Rye and Joel and everybody else. Just learning from them. I felt like I got a masterclass in the car to and from this work, the work that I was where I was. But to me, there was an excitement because I had had basically a year of experience and education under my belt. I built this incredible network with The Copywriter Club and The Underground. And honestly, I just, I felt ready. I felt prepared. I felt like, ‘Heck yeah, man, you can do this. Let's make this happen.’ So, yeah, there's a moment of panic. But at the same time, there's this lasting feeling of exhilaration. Like now's the time. You can do it. Let's go. Rob:   So obviously there was a pretty big difference between the first time that you went freelance and this time you've been a lot more successful this time. What have you done to find clients and to really get your business moving? Derek:            Yeah. So, how do I find clients to keep my business moving? I had had, think like a lot of us, I had a freelance side hustle going even while working the full time jobs, whether it be like one of the like for pocket money or something to keep things creative. So, I'd had that going along all the while. And for me in business and life really, relationships are so vital. Finding those connections and really treating relationships preciously. That applied to these freelance clients as well. So, when I found out that I didn't have a job anymore,