How I went from being a broke-ass clothing designer to a well-fed writer
It has been almost a decade long journey.
Hello (all ~310 of you!),
The Note I posted asking everyone where they’re writing from still seems to be working its magic! In the last week or so, I’ve gone from 180 to around 310 subscribers. Welcome to my tiny corner of the Internet!
In case you missed it, I listed a few themes I’m considering for this newsletter in last week’s post. Feel free to get involved in the comments over there so I can make sure to write things you actually want to read.
But first, let’s dive into this week’s post…
I thought it would be good to start by sharing how I started my freelance writing business (since freelancing is a topic most of you seem to be interested in).
It wasn’t a long-term dream or goal. I sort of fell into it and I think it was a combination of putting myself out there, leveraging my prior work experience, luck, and not knowing what to do after failing miserably at trying to grow a Shopify store.
Here’s a quick (slash slightly humorous) summary.
Started a clothing business without a plan and ZERO sales and marketing experience.
Spent way too much money on inventory, turned my living room into a warehouse, and also became a model because taking photos of clothing on pretty people is f*cking expensive.
Convinced my parents to buy me a professional camera for my 30th birthday because those things are also f*cking expensive, and so are photographers.
Taught myself how to use social media, calculate profit and loss (it was mostly loss by the way), and create written content for blog articles, website pages, email campaigns, and the list goes on.
Lugged a big ass suitcase across New York City (and to other cities) to sell my clothes at fitness studios and other pop-up events. The subway ride was more expensive than my profits, btw.
Attended trade shows where I secretly wished I didn’t have to talk to anyone the whole time. This was not the best choice for an introvert.
Stopped having a life.
Got sick of wearing the same clothes every day (and the dozens of bins of inventory in my living room).
Gave up.
Took a leap and asked Shopify if I could write some blog articles for them.
The rest is history.
Just kidding. Well… All of the above is true, but I wanted to start on a less serious note because I think it’s important to remember that we’re all on a different journey, under different circumstances, and it’s usually far from perfect.
I’m not really comfortable telling you to do X and you’ll get Y. So instead, I’m sharing my story in the hopes of inspiring you, but also to be transparent about the fact that it’s not always easy. I should also share that while my family and partner at the time did not fund my clothing business (I saved up for it), they did help me with some of the day-to-day living expenses when I was busy losing all my money, like food and other essentials. If I didn’t have this type of support, I’m not sure if all of this would have been possible. But, you never know! I might have still found a way because corporate life is not for me.
What has worked for me might not work for you, but I will share as much as I can to spark ideas and help you find your path.
How it started
My entrepreneurial and freelance journey has been full of zigzags and unknowns. But I wouldn’t have it any other way because it brought me to where I am today. I wasn’t successful overnight. It took me about five years to figure out what I actually wanted to do and then it took another three years to make a living on my terms.
Here’s a quick timeline:
But first, a quick note from Whiskers: I’m just a cat supporting my human’s independent writing journey. Sometimes I review her drafts and make suggestions, but I mostly just walk all over the keyboard while she writes (blame the typos on me). Anyway, please subscribe to her Substack and consider upgrading to paid so she can buy me more treats.
You can even choose your budget:
I’m sure my human would love an allowance for coffee and snacks (that she can share with me), but we appreciate your support whatever you decide!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Humor in Progress to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.