Can I be honest? I’ve always been unsure whether or not it would be obtainable for me to be a writer and a copywriter at the same time. Ever since I started my career in copywriting, I’ve wanted to also write my own work. You may be thinking, isn’t it all the same? In the beginning, I thought there wasn’t much of a difference or overlap either, but there definitely is. 

Writing on behalf of others is an entirely different ball game than writing on behalf of yourself. Writing for a business is entirely different than writing from the heart. 

I do believe I was blessed with a natural ability to speak on another person’s behalf — pair that with an understanding of marketing and communications and you have yourself a pretty good fit for a copywriter.

I’m proud of the work I do and the business I’ve built, but is it okay to say I want more from the words I write? 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the creative industry it’s that there’s a whole lot of us yet none of us really feel like direct competition. We all provide such a different experience and innate touch to our work. Creative work is connected work. I may be writing as someone else but the way I place each word throughout a sentence is going to be different from the next person. 

It’s personal.

That’s what’s so powerful and fascinating to me about the written word. We all could be given the same draft, brief, or outline and yet, we will all write an entirely different piece every single time.

So, for me, there’s been this fine line — copywriter or just writer. And for some reason, I could never feel as if I could tap into both simultaneously. Well, until now.

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Becoming The Collective Source 

Expanding 

I always knew my freelancing career would evolve into something else. I’m not referring to growth — I’m referring to this work moving right past me. I feel, as though, that’s what really happened when becoming TCS.

I had been in business (legitimately) for one year, operating as Kate Inspired. Prior to that, I spent my days as a full-time freelancer through Upwork. Even prior to that, I worked at a local digital marketing and communications agency, starting out as an intern and making my way to a marketing specialist within the first three months. 

All of these milestones were inevitably preparing me for this season, yet (between you and me) I didn’t really want to see it. 

Becoming Kate Inspired was the mountain for me. And I hiked it. 

I wasn’t ready to climb another. 

Little did I know, I wasn’t intended to climb another mountain but instead, lift out my hand and bring others to the top with me. 

I worked 80-hour weeks before considering the idea of writing collectively. 

Then, I reached… and onboarded my first writer in February 2020. And it was electric. 

We were collaborating and scaling in little to no time. There was more passion and movement running through the business than ever before. Constant conversations. Indescribable drive. So. much. persistence. Focus. Flair. You could feel it, even as an outsider. Things were just happening. 

Within one month of pairing my creativity with another writer, I knew what was meant to become. It’s funny, isn’t it — how something can evolve right past you yet still be evolving through you?

And you’re probably now thinking, wow… she reached and found her way but here’s the thing — this was happening between February and August of 2020. It’s now two years later that I’m finally publishing this article, so what took so long?

Well, as we say to our clients all the time, the story just needed a little reworking to get the right message across.

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Glory to God

Two things that reign very true during this season of business and life — God never gives you more than you can handle and he always has a more grand plan in store. 

“Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John 13:7 

I’m a firm believer in divine intervention. It’s my way of knowing that everything does, in fact, happen for a reason because God always has a plan for my life and the ultimate say on how it inevitably goes. I was sooo ready to launch this business to the world back then. I was so certain I had it all figured out. I deeply believed I knew exactly what direction and vision I had for all of it. 

And that’s entirely why it wasn’t right. 

It blows my mind how quickly I can forget my place in all of this but here’s the thing about God — He’ll always be ready for you when you’re ready to listen. 

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Redefining through Redemption 

If you’re a fellow believer like me, maybe you remember the moment you were saved. Well, I’m pretty sure this business got saved by the grace of God, too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we were money laundering or pyramid scheming anybody. But, I do believe we had our eyes set on lust rather than heart and there was a little sprinkle of idolatry in there as well. 

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the money. The success. The desire for more. The reputation. Ya know, the flashy, worldly things. 

I’m just a small-town girl that made average grades and was raised in an average middle-class family. I really had to immerse myself in business development and leadership because I truly knew nothing about it! (This is embarrassing to admit but I didn’t even know what the term entrepreneurship meant until I started freelancing.) 

But boy, once I discovered this path, I sure dove in. I loved it, and I still do. But just like anything of this world, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important. And for me, Jesus is all I need to desire to see. 

So, now, we lead with that top of mind. We may have called ourselves the same name over a year ago, but I can promise you we have been redefined through redemption. To be able to do the work I love while also sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is something I will never quite be able to put into words. 

But, I will say, the words I long to write seem to flow a little bit more easily these days, and I’m given the privilege to work with others who are earnestly searching to find the words, too.