We recently connected with Breanna Owen and have shared our conversation below.
Breanna, appreciate you joining us today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
As a mom of three young kids, I went back to college to pursue dual degrees in marketing and fashion. Someday my babies would all be in school and I was looking to add a job title beyond “house manager” to my resume.
The last semester before graduation, I needed to complete an internship in my field. Only problem was – I was finding a hard time finding something that fit my interests, could work around my schedule, and paid in real-world dollars.
As a last ditch effort I called another business owner I knew and asked if her husband – a mortgage lender – needed a marketing intern by chance. And by chance – he did.
Outside of purchasing a home six months prior, I knew nothing of mortgages, finance, or real estate. But I was also beyond the point of being picky. I just wanted to graduate.
We’d met a few times over the years so we easily connected again to go over what he was hoping for and how that could align with my skills and interests and still meet the criteria for the internship credit.
I was able to implement my classroom ideas into real-world application for a business that fed families and made a difference in the community. And it paid for daycare, which was crucial.
After a bit, I found out that while the guy who hired me was willing to do it because his wife asked – he wasn’t convinced we would work well together. It’s funny now, because seven years, four additional hires, and a crazy housing market later – I’m still working with his team leading strategy and content creation as his business continues to bloom and grow.
I never thought I’d stay beyond my internship either. Other clients and opportunities have come and gone over the years. Some for a few months at a time, others lasting a few years.
Today I’m in a place in my business where I’ve found how my zone of genius fits with what I love to do and still serves the businesses I work with to grow. My business has shifted and evolved as my skills have been honed. What I do today is nothing like what I was doing on day one – but it all started with that first step, my first client seven years ago.
Breanna, 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?
My name is Breanna Owen – I’m a left-handed Enneagram 3 and Pure Generator (for the human design fans out there). I’m a person first before a business owner, which means I anchor my business around who I want to be as a wife, mom, sister, friend, and community member. This doesn’t mean I work any less or don’t prioritize my work (it pays for braces, horse camp, and cars for my teenagers after all!) – it just means that I’m intentional about how I work and the type of work I do.
In this phase of my career – I started as primarily a social media manager for a local mortgage lender. A few other projects came up – and I quickly shifted to doing more with email marketing and email strategy. For a while I tried to be a copywriter of anything and all the things…but really found my tried and true was with email marketing.
Today, purpose-driven business come to me when they’re ready to leverage email marketing as a money maker and hit send on their next nurture email with confidence. I work alongside business owners and marketing leaders to craft an email marketing strategy that aligns with their business personality and goals, and connects with their list in meaningful ways.
I’m not a crank. I don’t pump out copy simply because someone asks for it. I dig into the purpose, direction, and goals and work WITH businesses owners so what they send out truly sounds like their business.
I work with some pretty cool businesses and organizations that are making a difference in the lives of their clients and customers. I don’t have the skills to help people become homeowners, fight human trafficking, or transform boring spaces into organized rooms of bliss. But I can help them reach the people who need them most through email. I’m proud of playing a small part in serving people in a variety of ways. Together we can change the world!
I’m a big believer in working smarter, not harder. That’s why I’m #TEAMEMAIL over #TEAMSOCIAL. Am I on social media? Yep! But if I had to choose one, I’d pick email everyday and twice on Sunday. It just makes sense.
So often I hear “I don’t know where to start”, “I have nothing to say”, “I have too much to say”, or “I won’t be able to stay consistent.” But I have a unique ability to find simplicity in the chaos – to narrow down an email strategy – and make the process easily repeatable again and again so each business owner can keep it going on their own. And all in ways that align with the needs of the business and the business owner!
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start an email list, send another email, or ramp up your email marketing strategy – here it is!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
“Say yes first – figure it out later”
I like to help people. It’s probably part recovering people-pleaser, part oldest-child, part millennial faced with multiple “once in a lifetime” world catastrophes that needed immediate attention from ages 16-33. People come to me looking for help and I’ve been programmed to find a way to help them.
Now – that alone doesn’t sound like a “bad” thing. But it can become bad when saying “yes” leads to burnout, extends far outside where I should be focused, and worse of all – robs others of the opportunities to do the things they were meant for.
In short, “Say yes first – figure it out later” isn’t as expansive and all encompassing as I grew up believing. Sure, everything is figureoutable, but that doesn’t make everything mine to figure out. “I can’t be all things to all people” was something I needed to re-learn as an adult with a fully developed frontal lobe.
And in saying no to some things, I’m creating space to say “yes” to things that matter most. The best things for me. And for others who are waiting, willing, eager, and longing to say “yes” in my place.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
I was a stay-at-home mom for a number of years and recognized that the time was coming when all my kids would be in school. I wanted to be pre-prepared for when my days would have more time freedom and I was eager to start contributing to my household budget again.
I’m sure many stay-at-home parents can relate to some extent.
I started by going back to school and then trying different post-college career options. Like Edison with the lightbulb I found many, many ways that being a working mom didn’t work for me.
In the muck of seemingly never-ending uncertainty I asked a peer in the space, “what’s one skill I could invest in to help propel my career forward?”
His answer was unwavering: copywriting.
While I never intended to be a full-time copywriter, I knew it would only help me be better at whatever I ended up doing. So that’s what I did. I found 2-3 different copywriting courses, intensives, or workshops to attend each year.
Through that process – as my experience grew, my confidence grew.
My first year of focusing on getting better at copywriting, my business doubled and I was able to drop some client work that I wasn’t loving.
The second year it doubled again, with mostly work I loved.
The third year…2020, my business activity and income nearly tripled. All from word-of-mouth from previous connections. (I didn’t start actively marketing myself until 2023).
I’ve since figured out my sweet spot of the work that lights me up and the clients who are a joy to partner with. I currently have slower – yet steadier and more sustainable – growth and enjoy a full-time career I never expected.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.breannaowen.com
- Instagram: @OwenYourMark