[a_shane]

I started freelancing 5-6 years ago, doing copywriting projects mostly. Website copy, monthly blog posts, that kind of stuff.

After a few months I realized that none of the clients I was working with had an actual digital marketing plan in place; they were just farming out copy projects because they "knew the needed to have a blog."

I pitched all of my existing clients and spent the next year building up a side roster of additional clients who relied on me for their digital marketing strategy, copy, and social media management. This pivot away from being just copy-based to strategy and execution/management earned me enough recurring monthly revenue that I was making more from my side project than my 9-5, so I quit.

I've been running my company, Starling Social (https://www.starling.social) for just shy of three years now. I have a Copywriter, an Account Manager, and it's looking like I'll need to hire an Ads Specialist in the not-too-distant future. Life is pretty great.