A Year of Rust
I’ve had this post ‘planned’ for many months now.
I’m a huge sucker for reflecting and love putting my yearly reports into blog posts so I can look back and *usually* celebrate how far I’ve come.
This year is particularly special because it’s the year I started Rust Creative.
If you’ve been following on for a while now you’ll know that Rust wasn’t formed conventionally. Hell, this time two years ago I didn’t even know that copywriting was a thing.
And now I’m immersed.
I hope you’ve got a fresh mug of tea, because this post is a big one.
How it started
In December 2017, I suffered a loss that hit me pretty fucking badly. I hadn’t yet experienced grief as a adult and it threw me, to say the least.
After working through and processing it all, I realised that life is too short. It really is. I wasn’t enjoying my job. I was struggling to get out of bed in the morning. I was constantly feeling creatively uninspired. You get the picture – it wasn’t a pretty time.
One of my biggest fears is looking back on my 20’s and regretting how I lived. Or rather, that I wasn’t living up to my potential. At 23, I knew I had to shake things up.
And from there, Rust was ‘born’.
What I’ve learnt
That some people just won’t get it.
They won’t be supportive, and they’ll try to tear you down (even when what you’re doing has nothing to do with them). It takes a while, but eventually you’ll learn that any negativity they have towards you is just a reflection of the insecurities they hold inside.
That you can DIY a website with minimal experience.
Disclaimer: I had a kick ass mentor that I could annoy with questions that Google failed me on, but the majority of rustcreative.com.au was done entirely by moi. And a really cute Divi template.
Making friends with other business owners will be your biggest asset.
Yes, you need clients to make money, but you need friends to keep you sane. The gals and guys I’ve met through Instagram and local entrepreneur groups having truly been my saving grace this year. They’re the people who are happy to talk contracts and pricing and strategy until the sun goes down. They listen, they support, and best of all – they understand the crap you’re going through.
Never underestimate your worth.
I’ve had quite a few potential clients approach me for pricing, and then, once receiving their quote, have decided against my services. Sure, losing a potential client sucks, but if they don’t see the value in what you do they’re not worth your time anyway.
People want to hear your story.
I was super hesitant to bring ‘me’ into Rust. I wanted to create a brand with a very specific aesthetic, and none of that included my face, values or story. Eventually I learned that that’s what customers WANT to hear. They want the behind the scenes, they want to hear your opinion, they want to see that you – a real person – is passionate about what you do. If you’ve been on our gram lately, you’ll notice that I’ve been doing just that, and the results have been awesome.
What’s next for Rust
Going full time in my business is my #1 priority for 2019. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to look, or how quickly I can make it happen, but it’s coming. I can feel it. It will happen.
Once full time, outsourcing will become my new best friend. I’m surrounded by a tonne of brilliant women who know their shit, so why not outsource to the experts? Things to outsource include: Facebook Ads, Bookkeeping, Accounting, Marketing…basically all the non fun (at least to me) things that I know will benefit my business in the long term.
Create more resources for our audience. Whether this be in the form of ebooks, workshops, online courses, blog posts – who knows! But I’m excited to further expand the Rust brand and tackle video in the new year (wish me luck).
I’d like to take a second to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s supported me, and Rust, this year. It’s been a wild ride, and one I never dreamed of embarking on – but boy has it been fun.
Until the next brew,
Viv