We were lucky to catch up with Cheril Clarke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cheril thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Yes, I am thrilled to be a business owner and control my fate. I have thought about returning to the traditional workforce and even interviewed for several high-level positions this year. Some companies were global titans and leaders, and others were great start-ups. However, the process reminded me of why I founded my firm in the first place: freedom, flexibility, no income cap as it is tied to my work creativity and work ethic vs. a “going rate” for a particular job title, and most importantly, no endless string of meetings about meetings. As a founder, I control the speed of client deliverables and how often my team needs to meet. I can be nimble, agile, fast and strong—all things that feel impossible in traditional corporate settings.

I’ve run my agency, Phenomenal Writing, for almost ten years, and what prompted a desire to go back was wanting change (working from home wasn’t new for me) and having more considerable resources at my disposal. After many interviews (all the way to the C-suite), it turns out that I am better off independent. I just needed to find new ways to make my business more interesting to me, so I created an entirely new division that is focused on what I’m most passionate about these days, which is Web3 and blockchain technology. It’s called Web3 Comms and focuses on helping Web3 projects better communicate their products and value through storytelling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

How I fell into executive speechwriting and ghostwriting is best told in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7gxRF9zTxg&t.

I’m most proud of carving out my path my way. My writing background is creative, and transitioning that to the top of corporate America makes me proud. It’s important that clients and prospects know that I am committed to telling phenomenal stories. I’m passionate about making people feel connected. That’s it. It’s not about arbitrary word counts or lengthy or brief content; it’s about how my writing makes people FEEL. Feelings are what provoke action, and most clients want to drive action. That’s my specialty, and I do it through 20+ years of experience in storytelling.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

A commitment to always delivering phenomenal work on time every time. Consistency, integrity and knowing how to manage my time to meet even the tightest deadlines (or declining work if I know that it’s impossible to guarantee high quality within a given time frame—sometimes prospects want miracles in 12 hours)

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Through personal touch. Gift-giving can be extremely meaningful and unforgettable when done right. I note my client’s birthdays or other important milestones and send the most unexpected, personalized gifts (when I have the information to make that possible). I avoid sending branded swag because I don’t think clients get excited about a pen or mousepad bearing my company name. No, but they will get excited if I send a photo of THEM on unique material from an event that’s tied to work we did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://phenomenalwriting.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherilnclarke/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhenomenalWrite
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zED7MBfA2ha41sbCcet1w
• Other: www.web3comms.agency

Image Credits
Jack Manning for the photo of me.