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

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?

When I started Amanda Wowk Creative (AWC) seven and a half years ago, I wanted to strictly write about travel. And for a time, I did. In my portfolio of clients, I wrote and managed the content strategy for several travel tech companies as well as a luxury travel company. I also wrote for a consumer brand’s travel blog.

Conventional freelance writing wisdom supports this: Find a niche and make a name for yourself.

But then the world stopped traveling.

So while I always knew I had to diversify my portfolio—to hedge the possibility of a client losing budget, yes, but also to fulfill my own desires to write about myriad topics—it became crystal clear that I had to reexamine what a diversity of clients would look like.

Ultimately, it meant not only diversifying the type of clients I worked with (global tech companies, small businesses, startups), but also the industries those clients operated in (travel, experience management, education, healthcare, tech), as well as the type of content I write (data stories, medium-form blog content, long-form eBooks, and so on).

Today, my anchor client—my OG client—is a travel company. But tomorrow, the world could change in an unprecedented way, so I have to always be prepared for that dramatic shift. Safeguarding my business means I won’t go all-in on one industry, or one client. This approach protects the sustainability and longevity of my business, while also allowing me to explore a diversity of professional experiences.

Amanda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Amanda Wowk—a NYC-based freelance writer and founder of AWC. I started AWC in October of 2015 while I had a full-time corporate job as an internal communications professional. AWC was my side gig for about a year and a half; I did my client work mostly after my 9-to-5 job and on weekends. It was a grind, and I’m grateful that at that time of my life I could prioritize it, however this type of lifestyle (over a longer period of time) is not sustainable—or glamorous.

During that time I built up my portfolio of clients, set financial goals, and told myself when I was making consistent income—and meeting those financial goals—I would quit my day job. More than seven years later, I haven’t looked back.

The freedom that comes with freelancing is my “why.” Freedom to pursue new clients and projects; freedom to say no to work that isn’t the right fit; freedom to work where and when I want to. It’s not an easy lifestyle—there are drawbacks—but the pros heavily outweigh the cons.

As for the work I do, I write medium- and long-form content. This includes writing blog content, articles, eBooks, newsletter and email marketing content, and more. I also manage content strategy for some of my clients.

In the past few years, I have fallen in love with data storytelling. Part of that love stems from my background in psychology and human behavior (I studied this in undergrad), but also a passion for marrying together statistics with a compelling narrative.

I do this for several clients now—and I would love to do more of it.

I am most proud of my evolution as a business owner. As I mentioned, I did not study business (or English or journalism) in college. I am 100% self-taught. I am an avid reader (which lends to my writing skills), but I also pay attention. That’s my super power as a writer—as a creative—but also a solopreneur. I listen to what my clients’ needs are; anticipate where they might need help next; infer where there might be potential for growth with that client.

When I find the right client(s), I want that relationship to last; I want to keep working together for as long as we’re both benefiting from it.

That’s another thing I’m proud of: the clients I work with. Right now, most of my clients are a result of a referral, i.e., a former client who left one company and got in touch at their next company; an internal referral (department to department, as well as brand to brand); or an entirely new client referred by another happy one.

To me, that is the greatest compliment—and I am grateful to those who took chances on me in the beginning, and continue to be my biggest supporters to this day.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that I wasted time earlier in my career not following my dreams as a writer and entrepreneur.

Because the truth is: Every skill, every experience, even every misstep or mistake (nay, lesson) is useful—you just don’t know it at the time.

The backstory: I worked in the corporate world for nearly a decade—first in recruiting/human resources, then communications—before I became a freelance writer. I had invested so much time (nearly 10 years) but also money (a master’s degree) in one path. And so I resisted pivoting to an entirely new career because, frankly, I felt like it was too late (reader, it was not too late).

Fast forward to today, and I can see how the work I did and skills I developed only make me a better writer, creative, and entrepreneur.

For example, those years spent interviewing candidates? I use those skills now when I interview subject matter experts for the content I write for clients. (Tip: The questions you prepare are great, but it’s often the questions you follow up with that get to the real answers you need.)

The lesson: Your past experiences are all part of the process. Nothing is ever a waste.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Freelancing is a story of resilience.

In the past seven and a half years, I have experienced a client shutting down (giving me a week’s notice); ending a relationship with a client that wasn’t the right fit for the first time (it was not well received); and late (late!) payments—and navigating the uncertainty of when I would get paid

I’ve also experienced trusting my gut to avoid taking on new clients who wouldn’t be the right fit; asking for more work from clients who were the right fit; having stories I wrote mentioned in The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, CBS News, Fortune, CNBC, Forbes, AFAR, Reader’s Digest, The Hill, and more.

Freelancing means doing the best work you can—now—so you can build the best relationships you can. You’re constantly building off of that foundation, with the aspiration to not only find better, more lucrative, more fulfilling work, but to also better understand and meet the needs of your clients.

Freelancing is an ever-changing landscape—and to thrive in it, you must constantly learn, change, and evolve, too.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandawowkcreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandawowk/
• Other: https://amandawowk.contently.com