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Grab your dreams - whatever
they are - and Go for it in 2010!
Hiya CopyStar,
Man, can you
believe we're in 2010? Wasn't it YESTERDAY we
were dreading the "Y2K bug" as we headed into a
new MILLENIUM?
10 years sure have FLOWN by fast!
In fact, it was a century ago - yep, waaay back
in the 20th century - in 1999 - that I took one
of the BIGGEST leaps of my life!
January 1, 1999 was when I said "Sayonara" to
Corporate America and "Aloha" to my new life as
a freelance copywriter. And now ELEVEN years and
one gorgeous grandson later - I'm still lovin'
that decision!
Even though giving up a hefty and predictable
paycheck was scary as heck - it was the best
career decision I ever made. And I'm thankful I
had a few folks on my side cheering me on - and
giving me the kick in the pants I needed to take
the leap.
I'm talking about awesome people like:
-
My husband Mick - who said "Hey honey, we
started off in a one bedroom roach-infested
basement apartment in Hyattsville, MD and we
were happy - so we can always go back to it
if we have to"...
-
Clayton Makepeace - my mentor - who said,
"You got talent kid - now when you get some
guts - look me up"...
-
Denise Owens - my friend - who said, "Giirrrllll...are
you serious? That's awesome - you can do it!
- and I've got some food in my freezer if
you run low!"
Honestly, without these folks - I may have
chickened out and never fulfilled my dream. So I
know how important it is to get a little nudge
or push when needed!
So I'm calling this issue your official "Kick in
the Pants" - to get you off your butt and GO for
your dream! And this is the absolute best time
to do so.
Here are 3 reasons why:
#1: No job loyalty! Gone are
the days when you can work for a company and
know they really care about YOU. Sure, you can
work for nice folks - but the bottom line is
we're in a recession. If the company's not doing
well - no matter how much they love you -
they've got to watch their bottom line. And that
may mean putting YOUR bottom in the unemployment
line! Having your own business means you control
the shots - and fires!
#2: Lay offs and downsizing!
People are getting laid off or they're worried
about getting laid off. If you got downsized,
riffed, laid off, or fired recently -
congratulations! It won't do you any good
feeling down in the dumps about it. So look at
it as your opportunity to get started on your
new career NOW instead of later! Many folks will
tell you that getting fired was probably the
best thing that could've happened to them (yours
truly included!) So take advantage of your newly
liberated free time and find your passion!
#3: You're not getting any younger!
And you're probably as smart as you're ever
going to get anyway - so if you've got an idea
for a business or you want to launch a
freelancing career, THIS IS IT! Now is the time
to Make Your Plans and Work Your Plans!
Let me tell you about Sandy...
You've
probably heard me talk about Sandy Ferguson
a lot in the past few years. That's because
Sandy has become my "secret weapon" for
copywriting. She's my researcher - and man,
can she dig up some juicy stuff for me to
use in my copy!
What you may not know is that Sandy is a
bona fide "scurdy cat"! She hates to take
risks and she gets nervous about the
unknown. But about 5 years ago, Sandy had
the blessing - or curse - to hang out with
me at my house.
I was working on a project with a client and
was hitting a creative wall. I needed solid
research to be able to write a successful
launch package and I just wasn't getting it
in the current research kit. My client
agreed this was a problem and went searching
for a researcher.
That's when I thought about Sandy.
Through the years, Sandy has "dug up" all
sorts of great stuff on the web. She could
find every sale at every one of her favorite
stores - and she ALWAYS FOUND a little-known
coupon to save her even more moolah!
Plus, she was very detail oriented. She
would sit down for hours to crunch the
numbers on her family budget to "find"
hidden money to take a short vacation or pay
off a bill. She was amazing.
So when I shared my dilemma with her, I also
told her she was the kind of person who
could be an excellent researcher.
Her face went completely white (and she's a
black woman!) And I think at that moment,
rigor mortis started to set in.
After a few more hours of talking and
convincing her she was "a natural" - she
agreed to meet with my client. He hired her
on the spot - and that began her career as
an Internet Researcher - a title we came up
with so she could explain to her husband
what I was getting her into!
Since then, Sandy's picked up a boatload of
clients - and helped me create some of my
BEST promotions ever! And guess what?
Sandy's recently been asked by the American
Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) to
create a new course on how to become an
internet researcher!
Yep, she's taking the knowledge she's gained
and is going to share this valuable info
with anyone who thinks they've got what it
takes to be a researcher too!
Sandy was scared - and she did it anyway!
Now, she not only has a thriving home-based
internet research business - she's about to
BLOW UP and become a full fledge guru for
AWAI!
Sandy - can I have your autograph NOW before
the crowd lines up?
To call Cynthia
Paschal Hill a "ball of energy" would be a gross
understatement. This woman makes ME feel like
I'm on "slo mo'!
Cynthia is
passionate, loving, thoughtful, funny as heck -
and just an all around wonderful person. She was
also broke.
She tried several
different careers: Administrative Assistant.
Medical Assistant. Massage Therapist. Personal
trainer. Medical Director. And even a Temporary
missionary!
Although she
liked most of her jobs, she just wasn't finding
her passion. (What she didn't realize was all
these past jobs were training and leading her to
eventually create not one but TWO new
businesses!)
Cynthia wanted to
control her own destiny and she wanted to use
the skills she gained from her previous
employers. That's when she got the idea for
Healthy Connections Corp. (www.healthyconnectionscorp.com)
Cynthia created a
business that provides on-site corporate
wellness programs. She puts on health fairs,
workshops, and organizes health screenings.
These programs help increase employee morale and
decrease healthcare costs.
The good thing is
that she could organize all these nationwide
trade shows in her home-based office in New
York. Her company was doing so well, her husband
Ainsley eventually quit his job to help her run
the company.
Like I said,
Cynthia loves challenges. So, now that Healthy
Connections Corp. was fully functioning, she
turned it over to Ainsley. After a few months of
maternity leave - this self-proclaimed
choco-holic launched a brand new business: vegan
chocolates!
Yep, because of
her passion for health and nutrition, she began
experimenting with raw chocolates and now has a
line of guilt-free, healthy and delicious
tasting chocolates.
And these
chocolates are all sugar-free...dairy-free...
and gluten-free!
You can check it
out at:
www.veganlicious.com.
So are you feeling inspired yet? Need some
more success stories?
Well, there's my
daughter Milan who after graduating from college
- listened to her mother - and turned down a
full time salary at a prestigious marketing
company to give freelance copywriting a try.
Three years later, she's married, has a baby and
writing killer copy from home! Check out her
stuff at
www.copymillmarketing.com.
And there's my
other daughter Tiara who dropped out of college
after 2 years to pursue her passion as a graphic
designer. Two years later, while her classmates
were looking for their first jobs - she already
had a viable copywriting and graphic design
business and traveled to Sri Lanka, Ecuador,
Peru, Ireland (twice), England, Mexico,
Australia and New Zealand. Yep, she just took
her laptop with her to finish her projects along
the way! Take a look at
www.crowninkdesigns.com.
And not to
mention, my buddy, Lynnette Taylor - who wanted
to stay home with her boys - and still bring
home some bacon.
She's a whiz with
websites so she channeled that talent into
designing and maintaining websites for small
businesses - yours truly included! In fact, if
it wasn't for Lynnette - you and I wouldn't be
talking right now CopyStar! You can check her
out at
www.taylormadesolutions-4u.com.
So am I beating
you over the head enough CopyStar? You're never
going to succeed unless you try! Why keep
reading about these other success stories - go
out there and make your own!
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Dallas
has his first "sleep over"!
Yep, my grandson's parents went away for the
weekend and Dallas spent the night with me and
his "C-Pop". All I can say is that I had a ball
with him for the weekend - but I was really glad
to give him back to his folks! Phew! Did I
really do this baby thing FOUR times?
Dallas - who is now 11 months old - is into
EVERYTHING! No cell phone is safe in his
presence. We tried to give him a toy cell phone
- but he knows the real McCoy! He tries to
unload the dishwasher and empty out the fridge.
Pots and pans and plasticware are his favorite
toys.
He learned to crawl up stairs - but hasn't
gotten the hang of coming down the stairs yet!
His vocabulary is growing - and he lets you know
who he wants, what he wants and when he wants
it. I just LOVE that boy!
By the way, my grandmother "Mama Da" is doing
great. Just took her for a physical and the
doctor says her lungs have recovered from the
pneumonia. And she's up and about trying to get
back into her daily routine. Mama Da turns 99 in
February!
I tried to get Dallas to sit still long enough
to take a picture with his great-great
grandmother - but this is the best I could
do...
"Dallas and his great-great grandmother,
Mama Da"
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