Not sure what direction to take career wise

So I have a degree in Writing. A BA but not with honors as I failed to complete the last module. I also have a Masters degree in Writing for Stage & Screen. So education wise it's pretty specialised which narrows things for me.

I've had a couple of things produced (by myself) over the years but nothing you would have heard of.

I'm now in my 40s and make ends meet working in a call centre totally unrelated to my degrees. I make alright money (27-30k with overtime) but I don't have much of a social life as I'm trying to save as much as I can after rent etc.

I'm not happy in my job and I have so much to offer. I'm smart, I work well, rarely take time off sick, always punctual but I don't feel appreciated where I am. I am often passed over for promotion or don't get other roles I go for.

My education is specialised so it's not like I can transfer these to everyday work situations and it's not like you just rock up and start working in films or theatre. I feel younger people have the edge over me when applying for work and really don't know what to do or where to go. Any ideas?

What would you do if money were no object?

samspade said:

What would you do if money were no object?

Click to expand...

In all honesty if money were no object I'd probably be lying around the house all day posting on internet forums and watching youtube. I have no idea what I would do otherwise.

1. Set up a copywriting company.
2. Solicit marketing directors of small, medium sized businesses. Many of them have a budget to outsource copy and keep a list of go to writers.
3. Contact companies that write tech manuals and other manuals, build networks of contacts there.
4. Attend trade shows and promote your services.
5. Find poorly written web pages with lots of errors, and offer to rewrite.
6. There are dozens of ideas for getting work, everything from hitting up ethnic restaurants with poorly translated menus to writing resume's and business procedural manuals, business plans, whole universes of prospects.

Now this won't bring you any kind of ultimate enlightenment or nirvana, but it could get you out of the drudge job in time and double or triple your income to boot. You can crank it up while maintaining the new job until you get established. Good luck.

dasein said:

1. Set up a copywriting company.
2. Solicit marketing directors of small, medium sized businesses. Many of them have a budget to outsource copy and keep a list of go to writers.
3. Contact companies that write tech manuals and other manuals, build networks of contacts there.
4. Attend trade shows and promote your services.
5. Find poorly written web pages with lots of errors, and offer to rewrite.
6. There are dozens of ideas for getting work, everything from hitting up ethnic restaurants with poorly translated menus to writing resume's and business procedural manuals, business plans, whole universes of prospects.

Now this won't bring you any kind of ultimate enlightenment or nirvana, but it could get you out of the drudge job in time and double or triple your income to boot. You can crank it up while maintaining the new job until you get established. Good luck.

Click to expand...

I have no experience as a copywriter whatsoever. I've only written dramatic scripts.

I wouldn't even know where to start approaching marketing directors or setting myself up as a company. Is this what you do?

dasein said:

1. Set up a copywriting company.
2. Solicit marketing directors of small, medium sized businesses. Many of them have a budget to outsource copy and keep a list of go to writers.
3. Contact companies that write tech manuals and other manuals, build networks of contacts there.
4. Attend trade shows and promote your services.
5. Find poorly written web pages with lots of errors, and offer to rewrite.
6. There are dozens of ideas for getting work, everything from hitting up ethnic restaurants with poorly translated menus to writing resume's and business procedural manuals, business plans, whole universes of prospects.

Now this won't bring you any kind of ultimate enlightenment or nirvana, but it could get you out of the drudge job in time and double or triple your income to boot. You can crank it up while maintaining the new job until you get established. Good luck.

Click to expand...

^^ This.

Unfortunately, many just don't have the entrepreneurial mind or "will" to forge a concrete map to perfect change. In the coming months, I feel the need to introduce a step-by-step marketing map--comprised of inner game (will augmentation) and outer game (action plan)--which will introduce new clients to any entrepreneur of any field--which I have successfully used in over a dozen disparate businesses as a venture capitalist in the past six years.

:-) said:

I have no experience as a copywriter whatsoever. I've only written dramatic scripts.
I wouldn't even know where to start approaching marketing directors or setting myself up as a company. Is this what you do?

Click to expand...

I'm not a copywriter, but know that if you can write clear prose, you can tool that towards lots of different kinds of writing. There are likely many resources on copywriting on the web and elsewhere, also technical writing.

Setting up your own business is very easy. It is important for liability limitation and business deductions, but it is not absolutely necessary to create a separate entity. You can set up a business as a sole proprietor and just file your business income on Schedule C to your 1040. In all likelihood you would do an LLC, instructions for which would be on your secretary of state web page in your jurisdiction. It is relatively cheap and easy. There are many resources for starting a simple business all over the web.

Same for networking and creating lists of likely prospects for writing services. For example, this site came up instantly doing a dogpile search for "copywriting prospects." You can take stuff from people with preexisting copywriting businesses advertising on the web, maybe even get work from those too. The possibilities are endless and surely better than the drudgery of a call center.

http://www.susangreenecopywriter.com/articles/convert-prospects.html

guru1000 said:

which I have successfully used in over a dozen disparate businesses as a venture capitalist in the past six years.

Click to expand...

I'm an experienced deal and general corporate counsel lawyer looking to network with VCs and others in the financial industry. Would it be possible to add you to my contacts?

That's all there is to it OP ...maybe with a bit more detail and polish, but that's really the core of it. If you make it a goal to gin up 10-20 networking and prospects for your services every day, to contact them in a respectful way, create your message to a degree demonstrating uniqueness and value, provide value to them whenever you can without expecting anything in return, and keep in touch with them every month or so in a warm, personalized way, you will distinguish yourself from lots of folks out there in a good way which will eventually result in clients for your business.

dasein said:

I'm an experienced deal and general corporate counsel lawyer looking to network with VCs and others in the financial industry. Would it be possible to add you to my contacts?

Click to expand...

Most definitely. One of my partners is also a fellow investor, as well as general counsel for a huge real-estate outfit in NY. He prepares all our SEC filings: 506 private placement, Reg D ==> reverse-merger into a shell company most often trading on the OTC BB. I'm a shareholder as well as a hands-on director to the companies we pursue, augmenting revenue via marketing methods to drive fundamental value into the stock price. With full disclosure, of course, we have a network of brokerages for stock support and liquidity.

dasein said:

I'm not a copywriter, but know that if you can write clear prose, you can tool that towards lots of different kinds of writing. There are likely many resources on copywriting on the web and elsewhere, also technical writing.

Setting up your own business is very easy. It is important for liability limitation and business deductions, but it is not absolutely necessary to create a separate entity. You can set up a business as a sole proprietor and just file your business income on Schedule C to your 1040. In all likelihood you would do an LLC, instructions for which would be on your secretary of state web page in your jurisdiction. It is relatively cheap and easy. There are many resources for starting a simple business all over the web.

Same for networking and creating lists of likely prospects for writing services. For example, this site came up instantly doing a dogpile search for "copywriting prospects." You can take stuff from people with preexisting copywriting businesses advertising on the web, maybe even get work from those too. The possibilities are endless and surely better than the drudgery of a call center.

http://www.susangreenecopywriter.com/articles/convert-prospects.html

Click to expand...

How about setting myself up as a movie producer instead of a copywriter?

I just wrote/produced my first short, professional film recently. The company I hired to shoot it just sent me another version and I have to say it's looking pretty good.

I would feel less out of my depth as a producer even though I understand the stakes are higher.

:-) said:

How about setting myself up as a movie producer instead of a copywriter?

I just wrote/produced my first short, professional film recently. The company I hired to shoot it just sent me another version and I have to say it's looking pretty good.

I would feel less out of my depth as a producer even though I understand the stakes are higher.

Click to expand...

It's commendable that you wish to chase the bigger picture, but not at the expense of your diminutive base hits. Generate immediate revenue via solicitations, offering your specialized prowess. Accumulate enough base hits until you generate 10, 20, 30K monthly. Then you will have the luxury of time to pursue more rewarding, and risky, ventures.

:-) said:

How about setting myself up as a movie producer instead of a copywriter?
I just wrote/produced my first short, professional film recently. The company I hired to shoot it just sent me another version and I have to say it's looking pretty good.
I would feel less out of my depth as a producer even though I understand the stakes are higher.

Click to expand...

Agree with what guru said, and to add a maxim of boostrapping, if you are gonna swing for the fences, you better have a source of bread and butter tied down first. Currently, your bread and butter is the call center. You can do better in the butter than that IMO.

It's not an either-or thing. Set a goal for bread and butter and a goal for the big score. The former should be an 80% of your time proposition until you get that end tied down, then you can swing for the fence with a .300+ BA instead of .125.

For every person in your shoes who started a successful small business and succeeded, 2 or 3 failed. For every person in your shoes who set out to conquer Hollywood, 1000 failed. How's your poker game?

Thanks for the input Guru and Dasein:

I only played poker once but I didn't do too badly. I'm a regular Hearts player though and I'm pretty decent at that.

However, point taken. So first things first. To imagine myself as a copywriter seems like a big jump and for some reason my mind just can't picture it plus I am not afraid to admit I am a little scared. Like being faced with a giant meal that I'm afraid I can't consume it would be easier if I broke this down into little itty-bitty jumps:

1) Set up a copywriting company.

From your initial list I think this is the first thing I should do for now. Do I need to do this legally and formally or can I just 'be' a company right now?

Begin wih a DBA, acting as a sole proprietor. Think of a name; e.g. Smile Copywriting. I agree with Dasein, later better to form an LLC (google forming LLC in your state or Delaware; you will spend $300) as opposed to a corp, as to eliminate e superfluous expense of a corp tax return each business year. You can file LLC income in your personal tax return, via Schedule C, if you elect.

Next, secure a virtual receptionist to answer your phone, with call forwarding to your cell phone, should you decide to take the call. This service should cost you no more than $10 a month. Optimum cable, along with a myriad other hosted servicers can provide this virtual service. Google "vertical receptionist." Most will provide you wih a phone number to conduct your business, as well.

Next, go to a local printshop and print business cards. I prefer brick and mortar print shops as opposed to online sites such as Vistaprint, as the job is done more professionally. This will cost you roughly $100 for 1-5K cards.

I'm sure you have a computer and printer in your home, correct?

Next, and most importantly, you will need a concrete marketing campaign. I don't mind sharing my sales protocol with you--free of charge. But It will take at least 30 minutes of my time to post a blueprint intro. Accordingly, before I do ... you will have to make one commitment to me: Whatever I provide to you, irrespective of how outside your comfort zone, you will try at the very least every day for 20 business days, with daily/weekly logs in this thread. Ready for such a commitment? Let me know.

guru1000 said:

I don't mind sharing my sales protocol with you--free of charge. It will take at least 30 minutes of my time to post a blueprint intro. But before I do, you will have to make one commitment to me: Whatever I provide to you, irrespective of how outside your comfort zone you will feel, you will try at the very least every day for 20 business days.

Click to expand...

Ok. I will make that commitment every day for 20 business days.

Smiley, I don't have the answer for you, but I can relate. And I'm 33 years old. I don't necessarily enjoy my job either, and it seems I can't catch the breaks. Over time I feel like I slack in certain areas, although I have full confidence in my abilities. Funny enough, the most satisfaction I feel is when I go outside my comfort zones. And, like you, if I could do whatever I wanted, I most likely would be playing golf or watching TV. I don't particularly like solving problems. But there again, the best I ever feel is when I tax myself physically and sometimes mentally. Actually, taxing myself mentally just wears me out and still do not feel accomplished. But working a manual labor job sort of sucks when it's 7-6 sort of thing, all day every day.

All these things these guys are suggesting to you, sure, they are good ideas, but they don't address the real problem. What makes them willing to go DO this stuff? DOING is the problem. The motivation to DO it.

I am in engineering currently, but only because when I went to college, I was good at math and it seemed like a good choice. I really didn't give it much thought, I just figured I could make a decent living. Well, what I didn't realize, is that attitude won't ever help me excel. So the way I see it, I need to go get a government job somewhere, or I need to tweak or change paths. I've thought about going back to college and getting a geography/planning type minor, which interests me. But you don't want to rack up a bunch of debt on something that may or may not get you paid more.

speed dawg said:

All these things these guys are suggesting to you, sure, they are good ideas, but they don't address the real problem. What makes them willing to go DO this stuff? DOING is the problem. The motivation to DO it.

Click to expand...

Exactly, will augmentation (your thoughts, your motivation, your resilience, your paradigms) is a material component. We'll delve into inner game, mentioned in Post 6, following the action plan. One can't succeed on its merits without the staple of the other.

In the same boat myself, and especially after being newly single at 36, I've decided to chart a new course as someone recently recommended to me (thanks, C!). Keep at your job, save some dollars, and create something that can earn you a living but that you look forward to each and every day. And I surely doubt there is nothing in you that you don't look forward to with some eagerness. These jobs on the market are drudgery for the most part, with very few having quality people in the companies to make it worthwhile, so the best advice I received was to create my own business out of my likes- those things I really like. The tricky part is looking deep enough to find out what you can do day in and out.

Sounds like copywriting could be worth your while if you dig that sort of thing. Good luck, man.

Ok. Well my father was self-employed and I've written and produced various professional stage plays and a short movie so the will and discipline is there. Just need to apply that to a more realistic or immediate way of earning some money.

So. To set up the company is first. I shall set about doing that by Monday. Then I shall address point 2.

Ok. So I've applied and paid to register my limited company (My Name Copywriting LTD) with the government. I now have to wait 2 working days to see if it is accepted.

Once I have my response from the government we can address point 2 (or not depending on the outcome).