Tag / self-employment

by Ruth Klempner

Terms of Ill-Endearment

And this is where my “layers of comfort” come under siege from Cardonian business philosophy

Below is a post I created and deleted within a day of posting on LinkedIn.

Its been very difficult to work out how to continue with LI, the platform where professionals share their struggles, and their successes.

I describe this post as ill-endearment because I feel that it fails to endear potential prospects to my affordable digital marketing campaign – this is my struggle, but as yet, there is no success story at the end.

In the deleted post below, I share the character trait which, I feel, creates the main weakness in my attempts to succeed so far: Chronic Invisibility!

Deleted LinkedIn Post (15-16.7.2022)

I recently read a post outlining an authors journey over 7 years –

From low paid, direct marketing on the street – to co-owning a thriving new marketing business.

I failed to summon any kind of thoughtful response to this, but I did reflect on how, after similarly working in direct marketing, I cannot yet share the same story of tremendous professional progress myself.

In the same number of years the author became co-founder of a successful business, I developed a series of chronic health problems (some exasperated by stress), which left me unemployed and largely unemployable. BUT –

Being still more largely oblivious to the notion of giving up entirely and embracing aimlessness, my wavering ego sought instead the informed guidance of a successful other:

“What Would Grant Cardone Do?” 

Was a line of thought which asserted itself on those occasions I have felt most self-critical, particularly in regard to my professional ambitions.

American entrepreneur Cardone would, of course, have a thousand answers to how I might personally gain success in business, and as I reread his insightful series of sales books including If You’re Not First, You’re Last (2010), I can see a path ahead of me which will send me crashing through every layer of comfort I know.

“Queen Clarisse, my expectation in life is to be invisible, and I’m good at it” (Princess Mia)

I will tell you that long-term unemployment has left my confidence much in tatters. However, after a very long time without opportunities, 2021 was the year I was finally lucky enough to gain the chance to train as a copywriter.

Ironically, in came 2022 and I discovered that such training actually meant very little in view of the professional and social networks which were first necessary to build a new business, and today – I feel like I am back at square one. 

As you can imagine, long-term unemployment is not beneficial to maintaining professional or social  networks. The very networks which Cardone himself insists are essential for sharing and promoting my business –

And this is where my “layers of comfort” come under siege from Cardonian business philosophy:

Illness, unemployment and natural introversion have caused me to become a prisoner on my own island of Poor Productivity. 

“Being invisible” and choosing to “remain silent until I am successful” allowed me to hide from many of the lonely and unproductive realities of six years with chronic illness –

But now I am so used to being silent, and hidden, and without a social or a professional network, that the thought of actively (proactively) introducing myself as far and widely as possible seems insane.

But THAT is what Grant Cardone would do. And I can either heed, or I can give up on life totally…

This post is about fear, and the great responsibility every professional has to themselves of overcoming it.

I will never be a great copywriter until I can be a great communicator, and I won’t be able to do that until I break through my self-imposed barrier of fear.

It is less of a challenge and more of a life change which is necessary:

Do I have the capacity to change? 

Do you?

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by Ruth Klempner

The Local Writer

I realise that I need to take myself out of the equation.

After composing my message indicating but not directly asking for a free listing in the name of “supporting local business”, I quickly realised this was no way to conduct any sort of business, no matter how broke I am:

Hi, I’m Ruth Klempner, I’m a new copywriter and for the past six years I’ve been on universal credit.

I want to help support other new start ups and small businesses with free/ no strings digital marketing support – would [local newspaper] be interested in helping support start ups and small businesses similarly?

I’m qualified and insured (please see my website ruthklempner.com), and am eager to build my portfolio and support other local entrepreneurs, who may also be on a very low budget.

I am on the self-employed pathway because I am not suitable for most employment options due to chronic health conditions and a long history of unemployment.

Would someone please be willing to discuss the options for advertisements available to me?

Thank you for your time,

Ruth Klempner  

If I’m not even trusted as much yet to gain more voluntary copywriting experience (I refer to my current failure to ignite Small Business Excellence with free content examples), then I need to do something that is completely APART from me –

By this I mean:

I need to be an anonymous writer just writing for the “good of the people”.

This is one accessible way that I can gain the voluntary experience I need to build my portfolio further.

It can be through representative journalism, such as local journalism focused on representing the work and ambitions of local business owners and job seekers. 

I can use free platforms such as new accounts on social media which will mention me by name, but which will not be in anyway focused on my business, but on a free writing service which is available to local business owners and job seekers, from a local writer.

I can write about local businesses in much the same way other local writers and journalists do, and I can build my name not as an ambitious copywriter, but simply as a writer and free service provider to local entrepreneurs and others seeking self-employment.

I will need to travel around the county, and I can do that if I get the right travel pass, and give up “luxuries” such as e.g. cider, coke and ice cream (summer essentials!) in order to help pay the £32.70 per week for it…

I can work out an efficient system to write about and include as much copy and content about local businesses as possible, and present my work simply as a local resource (as opposed to a local resource created by a local business owner with the long-term intent to make sales)…

I remember a phrase Grant Cardone used to describe people who lowered their prices in response to difficult times – “weak minded”.

Perhaps that encapsulates me perfectly – weak minded and unable to assert myself. Or perhaps I’m simply not a natural at sucking up to people, or endearing them in any profitable way, however sincere or insincere.

Perhaps it is that I simply don’t have the same ambitions as most other copywriters –

I certainly don’t have the same relevant and up-to-date CV, and this makes me hesitant to chase the same dreams.

Following my long experience on benefits and following my recent double rejection from DWP “Self Employment Coaches”, I know that I certainly want to help others in similar, lack-of-useful-help type of situations to myself.

And I can certainly do this as a “local writer” –

So maybe I do need to step down from my ambitious pedestal (yes, even seeking employment, any employment, may be reasonably counted as “ambitious”), and seek more, relevant writing experience as a randomer.

Cardone may call me “weak minded”, but as much as I am a natural writer, I am not not a natural entrepreneur. And maybe my route to “gainful self-employment” will take me through a long (but hopefully very productive) detour down local voluntary writer/ marketer lane –

Maybe in order to be somebody, I have to literally be nobody, and hope that others will build an image of me entirely by means of their own opinions and experiences, and through their own conversations. 

Forget this website, forget my work and my samples – maybe I need to start again and have others make a name for me, organically.

Who am I? 

I’m just a local writer.

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by Ruth Klempner

“Mental Health at Work”, a summary

“You don’t need to rush. You’re doing a lot just being here with me.”

– Dad, poorly and 71

I’ve tried not to be overly personal with any of these posts because I’m here as a professional –

But “mental health at work” is a thing, and it could be deemed appropriate or acceptable for me to discuss some of the human challenges which influence my journey as a start up (and low budget) business owner.

I have once shared that long-term unemployment can leave you very isolated. Without the cash to go out and enjoy good times with friends, nor pay for presents or holidays, let alone contribute fairly to normal things like food and fuel, connections quickly begin to breakdown.

I’ve met a couple of women I’ve cared about very much, and been unable to develop healthy or equal relationships with them. The second woman I actually warned in advance that I didn’t know when I would be back in employment (and so was unsuitable for a relationship), and we had a bad relationship for a long while before mutually agreeing we were no good.

I remember my nan always told me, “Make sure you have your own money”, and I did manage that for some years before illness and mild disability struck.

And now I can choose to look at myself and see “Failure”, or I can see “Survivor”.

Either way, I’m broke. My CV is shot, my connections are mostly dead and I’m introducing my unemployed but self-employed self much like a girl shouting down a dark corridor hoping that somebody at the end might be listening.

And all of that can make you despondent, or determined –

And I’m determined. My determination is tempered (or interfered with) by such as “imposter syndrome”, but any self-appraising individual can be guilty of accusing themselves of occasionally not being up to the task at hand.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained:

None of us has the time to tell ourselves, “I’ll never be able to do this”. If we only live once, then why not put our all into our one go at life?

I can find a pit and shrivel up and die in it, or I can say, “Sod everything – I’m alive and healthy enough, and I’m going to keep fighting.”

And that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll just have to keep jabbering into the ether and trust that if I cast a wide enough net, healthy leads will follow.

I hope that whoever reads this post will not think less of me for sharing what I have labelled as “human challenges”.

Nobody has a straight path through life or maybe not even through their career, and I only have sought to share a piece of mine –

My business exists to strengthen the work of entrepreneurs similar to me: Those who are striving and who could benefit from accessible, skilled support in order to help their business be as successful as it can be.

I’m Ruth and I do digital marketing through copywriting –

Feel free to get in touch and introduce yourself and your business!

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by Ruth Klempner

Small Biz & Start-Up Support Service

I said I needed to be creative and think outside the box…

I had an idea – perhaps it is a delusional and entitled idea, but it makes sense in my head:

  • I am offering accessible digital marketing and copywriting services to small business owners
  • I’m eager to help those right at the beginning of their journey e.g. start ups etc
  • I qualify as a “start up” myself as I’m at the beginning of my business journey
  • I’m eligible for support and advice from various outlets including job centre schemes and small business support initiatives in South Yorkshire
  • Why can’t I be an “outlet” of support for small businesses – I am after-all, offering free (no strings) support to other start ups like myself, and accessible, negotiable prices for all my products
  • I have experience, I am qualified and I am insured
  • Perhaps I can direct my marketing around being a “service for local, small business support”?

An obvious issue with this is that no “support service” would be called “Ruth Klempner Copywriting” –

But that’s not my URL… My web address is actually ruthklempner.com.

And “Ruth Klempner” can be whoever, or whatever, she wants.

I mentioned previously that my marketing needed to be more sharply focussed on those who are Striving. What if I can also focus it sharply on providing a SERVICE of SUPPORT for small businesses and start ups?

I am yet to begin an earnest social media campaign – I wanted to contact businesses 1-2-1 and begin my digital marketing concurrently but the latter has fallen behind amongst other tasks.

I’m going to brainstorm how this new idea might take form, and who I might be able to contact about it e.g. Anyone representing start ups who might agree to “refer” businesses to me.

…

I said I needed to be creative and think outside the box, well, this is just one of those (possibly outlandish but not really) ideas.

I will just continue being bold and blatant, and if I see a way a “support service” could be done, I might just do it.

And BTW – that refund just came through and so I will settle up with the Italians tomorrow 😉

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