We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jack Pittas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I have this thought at least a few times a week. Overall, I can say with complete certainty I am MUCH happier as a business owner.

Don’t get me wrong, running your own thing does come with stressful periods from inconsistent income and tons of uncertainty.

But in those times, I always remind myself that driving a long commute to a job I hate working for someone else will always be worse. Before starting PK Cyber Solutions, working at another company, I distinctly remember constantly being annoyed that I had to stay in the office until a specific time, regardless of my productivity. It always felt like I was punished for being efficient. The PTO policy was also garbage.

That’s not the case now. I’m in a situation where I have complete control of my time. I can do “slow mornings,” run errands mid-day, and take last-minute trips if needed. I also no longer base my day on hours put in but rather on the number of urgent tasks or deliverables completed. And the compensation is simple: The better I perform, the more I make.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am the co-founder of PK Cyber Solutions Inc. We write B2B content for tech, cybersecurity, IT, GovCon, and SaaS companies. This includes blog posts, web pages, whitepapers, case studies, eBooks, infographics, and anything else a brand would use to showcase its expertise.

As you can see from the company name, it sounds like some type of consulting or IT firm. That’s because we initially started as a cybersecurity and tech company in 2020.

The full story: My career began as a commercial lines insurance producer (basically the sales side of insurance). Most of my book was cyber & data breach coverage for businesses where I took a keen interest in the cybersecurity world.

So, a friend and I launched PK Cyber Solutions and provided small businesses with cybersecurity and compliance services, as well as software development support.

Shortly after, however, I realized a huge need for experts who could write technical, complex content for decision-makers in small businesses or larger enterprises.

In fact, many of my conversations with potential clients start with something like, “We were working with a freelancer or generic marketing agency, and the base level of knowledge just wasn’t there to maintain quality.”

That’s what sets my business apart: You essentially have an SME writing your content.

I also take pride in offering ad-hoc (as-needed) per-project pricing. My clients definitely appreciate knowing exactly what they’ll pay for a project upfront without any minimum costs. So whether it is a CEO who wants a one-time ghost-written article or a company with an entire editorial calendar, we can help them out.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Good old-fashioned networking. Most of my business now is referral-based or white-labeled (subcontracting) through marketing agencies. I find these relationships by attending events and doing one-to-one calls with business owners and BD reps. In fact, about half my week is spent doing these one-to-ones.

You meet someone on Zoom or in person and learn about their story, what they do, and their ideal referral. Then, I’m able to connect them with other people or groups in my network (as well as potential clients). The more you give, the more you get.

I’m also a partner for another company called Ace Business Development. It offers outsourced networking and sales outreach services. PK is also a client of Ace, so the founder will attend events for me to generate strategic connections and new opportunities.

Certain online platforms are also a good source of clients if they’re quality-focused. I, for instance, use nDash, which helps brands and agencies create written content. It lets me filter out project types to “stay in my lane” and stick with my topic specialties. This platform is quality-focused, so clients pay more for better content, and I can stick with my standard rates.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I mentioned, we originally were a cybersecurity and tech consulting business. But in 2021, my business partner wanted some stability and decided to part ways with PK Cyber Solutions. This prompted me to continue the business but exclusively as a content writing service.

At first, this was a little tricky. It was an entire rebrand, and I had just spent the whole first year selling and advertising as a consulting business. Plus, we had many clients we helped who still wanted cybersecurity support from us. (It’s a good thing I had a reliable network to refer them to).

Luckily, I already had a solid book of business on the content-writing side. So, all I had to do was continue growing that area and expanding into new subjects and asset types. Starting a business is hard enough. And pivoting it a year in didn’t make it any easier. But I’m happy where it is now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pkcybersolutions.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-pittas-422aab115/

Image Credits

Sydney VanFleet & Jackie Plummer