Inspirational Biz Owner Spotlight : Katrina Pace
I love building relationships and networks with other business owners, who compliment my services, to help my clients achieve their marketing goals.
One of these people who make my clients website build process soooo much easier is Katrina Pace – a website copywriter – writing copy that converts. If you’ve ever tried writing your own website copy, then you’ll know how easy it is to feel overwhelmed.
So, check out Katrina’s awesome answers to the five questions I gave her – I’m always interested in why and how people start their businesses, and there’s always something to learn from the experiences they share!
And when you’re ready to get your website copy to convert – you’ll know who to go to!
What inspired you to start your own business?
Like many other business owners, I started my own business quite unintentionally, and it just kind of grew! I had no idea of what I was letting myself in for. I left paid employment to finish writing up my Master's thesis and then took a role as a staff writer for a magazine. I was asked to write blogs for a colleague, and somehow, over time, that grew into a copywriting business! Working from home fitted well with having kids. I'd had a few years of having them in holiday programmes and working around them. It was quite stressful. So, working for myself gave me flexibility with younger kids. That was seven years ago.
What challenges or obstacles do you face with running your own business, and how do you overcome them?
Being on my own was one of the first obstacles. In the beginning, often, because of a lack of funds, you have to do everything. This allowed me to see what I liked and what I didn't like, but also, I think not being able to delegate certain tasks slowed the growth of my business. Now I know what I can and can't do and what I do and don't like doing! And have a great network to delegate to.
Not knowing what I didn't know until someone said, "You don't know that?" was also a challenge. So I joined some great business groups - in person and on Facebook and learned a lot from what others had gone through.
What have been the most effective marketing and promotional strategies for your business?
Networking has been by far the most effective and successful marketing for my business. I grew my client base from 3 Facebook groups and the people I found in them. They're all business support groups that are filled with my dream clients. I go in and share useful information, answer questions and take advantage of market day posts to share blogs or lead magnets. I network people together because I've been in the groups for a number of years, act as a cheerleader and add value where I can. Now, I'm well-known in these groups and often get work or referrals from them.
Now I'm more on LinkedIn and also have formed a number of strategic partnerships with the help of my business coach. These are people who refer clients to me, and I refer clients back to them.
What advice would you give to business owners who are wanting to move their business to the next level?
Get a business coach! I just spent 12 months procrastinating over getting a coach to help move my business up a level. And wasted 12 months. Within one session my coach saw exactly what was missing and now I'm on track again! Delegation is also important. If you can, delegate tasks you don't need to be doing so you have the time to focus on what it takes to take your business to the next level - whatever that might look like.
What are your future plans and goals for your business?
My plans are to keep nurturing the strategic partnerships I have set up in my business and supporting the web designers I work with so they can offer their clients a more comprehensive service to their clients and get great website copy that simplifies their processes and helps their clients get the results they're looking for.
