Growth is Only as Sustainable as the Systems You Have in Place

So, you’re not only getting copywriting clients, your business is starting to thrive. You’re profitable, you’re getting referrals, and people are starting to reach out to you directly instead of you spending outrageous amounts of time cold-calling. Your calendar is starting to fill up!

Congratulations, your copywriting business is hitting its stride.

But, are you prepared to maintain that momentum?

If you’re hit with a wave of new clients, how sure are you that you can handle taking on the work? Remember: scaling your copywriting business is about more than just raising your prices

It’s Time For Your First Hire!

If your business is starting to boom, it’s time to start thinking about your first hire. 

Your first instinct might be to hire another writer or an editor to take some of the work off your plate. And while those are great hires when your business is actually ready for it, they shouldn’t be your first hires, and I’ll tell you why:

During a growth period, the last thing you want to do is to have to spend hours upon hours sourcing, vetting, onboarding, and training the right talent. Even if you hire another excellent copywriter to help you, you’ll end up spending more time reviewing work, re-editing to your liking, and re-writing than you can logistically handle during a wave of growth in your business.

Wait to hire other writers or editors until you’re properly set up to do so. 

So let’s talk about who your first hire should actually be.

Think Outside Your Zone of Genius

Think of the tasks in your business that take up your time. The things that are OUTSIDE of your zone of genius, outside of the researching, writing, editing, and proofing. 

These are the things that you should outsource first.

As someone who owns a copywriting business, you probably spend more time than necessary on the administrative side of things, like client onboarding, project management, and invoicing. These things matter to revenue generation and client service, but they aren’t bringing in money directly and they’re not specifically what you’re being paid for.

A virtual assistant or a COO is a lifesaver in your business.

If I Could Go Back into Time

If I could rewind the clock, the first hire I would have made is my COO. Before writers, before graphic designers, before web admins. Because then, I would have had someone to help manage those other hires while I worked on the big picture of my business. 

I can tell you with 100% certainty that my business would have grown exponentially faster had I hired someone to work on the backend of the business WAY earlier in the game. 

I’m going to be super transparent here: my copywriting agency started growing WAY sooner than I was ready for. When I experienced my first huge wave of business, the first thing I did was hire more writers. But even the best copywriters need training when they join an agency because every agency is different. I ended up spending too much time training writers and reworking their pieces than I would have spent had I just done the writing myself. 

AND I was also doing all of  my own administrative work like sending invoices, bookkeeping, managing my calendar, and managing all of the client projects.

When I finally recognized that I was at a tipping point, I hired my COO.

And it changed the game.

Why Hiring a COO Amplified Everything in My Business

The moment I hired my COO (her name is Kallai. Shout out to you, Kallai!), everything became simplified. I had someone managing systems for me. I had someone tracking projects. I had someone creating and sending contracts, onboarding, and collecting payments. I had someone keeping track of the books. I had someone take HOURS per week off my plate while I was able to actually focus on my zone of genius.

And, I had someone who could manage the other members of the team, hire new team members when needed, and everything that goes along with that, like onboarding paperwork, training, and payroll.

Had I had Kallai in the very beginning, I would have eliminated SO much of my stress and I’d have been ready to scale my business far sooner and far more sustainably.

Hire Backup Before You’re Backed Up

The moral of the story here is to hire someone to help you manage the business so that it can actually grow. Hire someone who’s zone of genius is keeping a business running so that you can actually work on keeping the momentum going.

And then, when your systems and processes are water tight, you’ll be in a better position to bring on more team members, take on more clients, and grow your copywriting business sustainably. 

Whether it’s a VA, a COO, or a project manager, having someone work their magic on the backend is going to be one of the best and most significant investments in your business.

And trust me, do it as soon as you start experiencing growth in your business. Don’t wait until you’re completely drowning. Your will absolutely thank yourself later.

Until next time!

-Liz