We recently connected with Codi & Renee Chen and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Codi & Renee, thanks for joining 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?
We are definitely happier as business owners than when we had full-time employment with someone else. Although owning a business can have significant ups and downs, our freedom and autonomy are priceless.
Renee (she/they) grew up as a first-generation American, and her parents owned several restaurants in and around Houston, Texas. She saw the hard work that goes into owning a family-run business and the value of working for yourself. She attended Sam Houston State University and dual majored in International Business and Economics. From there, she managed and opened several coffee shops for various corporations; however, the wear and tear of building someone else’s dream for years took its toll. She decided to break away and follow her own dreams of traveling the world, so she quit her job and moved to South Korea to teach English as a second language.
Codi (she/her) grew up in Southwest Michigan with a mother who was a nurse at the same hospital for over forty years, another mother who worked in the same factory for almost thirty years, and a father who was an entrepreneur. She saw that working for the same company your entire adult life could be reliable, steady work, whereas her father continued searching for his big break. Codi attended Western Michigan University and earned a Travel and Tourism degree, knowing she would eventually become a full-time writer. After traveling extensively for a few years during and after university, she moved to South Korea to teach English as a second language.
We met and fell in love in Seoul, and over the next few years, we lived and worked together, traveling to different countries on our vacations. We loved our life there and decided that we wouldn’t return to the USA to work unless our careers positively impacted the community. After several years of living abroad, Renee was called back home for an opportunity to work with youth in foster care and open residential treatment centers. We packed our bags and moved back to America, both getting jobs within the same company.
The work was deeply important, but the burnout rate was tremendous. Although we worked well over forty hours a week, we could barely afford to pay our bills. Codi started technical writing and transcribing for the nonprofit, but we lost almost all our income when the company closed their doors a few years after opening. During that time, Renee was also recovering from surgery, and she wasn’t even medically released to work when we lost our jobs. We spent all our time applying for various positions, but nothing was sticking – not even online ESL teaching jobs.
With nowhere else to turn, we started reaching out to multiple companies to see if they could benefit from the technical writing and transcribing services Codi was already doing. Quickly, other residential treatment centers saw the benefit of our work, and soon after, our business, HeartWorks Writing, was born.
We have both seen the feast-or-famine reality of entrepreneurship, and we’ve both had experience working for others. When we had full-time employment, we thought that we were following a safe, secure path toward our future; however, we experienced first-hand that having a traditional job can be just as volatile as the insecurity of owning your own business. We discovered that we would rather put our time and energy into building our own dreams rather than being at the mercy of someone else.
Three years after starting and growing the technical writing portion of our business, we sold it! We began receiving requests for other types of work, such as copywriting, editing, grant writing, and ghostwriting, and we have found that work enormously fulfilling. We love working with individuals, nonprofits, and small businesses to help get their stories and messaging across.
We were initially scared of the insecurity that entrepreneurship might bring, but we found that the real risk came when we put our life’s work in someone else’s hands.
Codi & Renee, 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?
After selling our technical writing business, we were called to more creative pursuits. People approached us for book writing, editing, copywriting, and coaching. We’ve led several groups throughout the past few years, such as a program called wRITE to Heal, where people dive into different themes and explore their own inner thoughts and world. We also led a Memoir Mindset course, where we helped people start writing their memoirs. We love helping and guiding creatives with their questions and need for direction. At this time, we offer individual book coaching sessions at any phase in the writing process, and we specialize in content coaching for those just starting their social media journey or for those who need fresh ideas, new directions, or to narrow down their themes.
We’ve also been contracted to ghostwrite someone’s memoir, as well as several children’s books. These clients have incredible stories in their hearts but struggle to put it all on paper or round out the details past first drafts. Codi has always known she would be a writer, and we are honored to be entrusted with these stories. Renee is essential in the idea process of the project and editing any work that has been done. Her eyes and ideas are invaluable, making this a beautiful partnership.
Beyond that, we offer copywriting and editing services. These people have incredible products and missions and need help getting their ideas into words to reach their target audience. Whether through social media posts, newsletters, website copy, and beyond, we are dedicated to helping our clients achieve their goals.
We genuinely love what we do and have built incredible relationships over the years. We gain most of our clients through personal connections and referrals, which is such a privilege. We only work with people and companies that align with our own personal missions of inclusivity, positivity, and those trying to make a difference in the world.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Both of us have worked for small businesses, large corporations, and for ourselves. By far, it has been most rewarding working as a creative for ourselves. Being an artist and creative gives you the license to show up exactly as you are and have people understand, respect, and expect it from you. We are not expected to cover up our tattoos, wear suits, or keep specific hours when working for ourselves. The freedom we have found has been liberating. Artists are expected to work odd hours and lean into their own flow to create what’s best for their clients. We are not expected to sit in an office for eight hours each weekday and clock in our time. We typically work on a per-project basis, meaning that whether it takes us a few hours or months to finish a project, we are paid for the final product at the price we set.
We believe that the world needs more creatives and artists flourishing in society. Whether you’re a baker, writer, painter, quilter, or gardener, we need what you have to offer. Art is not a finite resource that we only need a little of. Unlike a microwave, where you only really need one in the house, we are constantly delighted with all of the art available to us. We don’t just need one book, and that’s all we’ll ever need for the rest of our lives; we want to read many books. We don’t just have one piece of art hanging in our home; we want art to cover our walls and adorn our shelves. So many people have different tastes in art that vary; therefore, there is something for everyone out there. We love being a part of that process and contributing to the world.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
It took us a while to unlearn the hustle and grind culture. Even before we owned our own business, we had side hustles we were trying to grow and earn an extra income from. No longer was a forty-plus hour workweek enough to cover our living expenses, which we know so many people out there can understand. It felt like we had to hustle, hustle, hustle to make any kind of dent or impact on our finances and, therefore, our lives. You could often find us up until two or three o’clock in the morning, plugging away at our business.
On one hand, it felt like a badge of honor, and we were like others desperately trying to make it. We read books and listened to influencers who gave advice about how to start your own business and grow it. However, after we learned the backstory of many of those influencers, we realized that what they had did not actually align with our goals. We wanted a peaceful life full of things that we loved – not grinding ourselves down so much that we enjoyed nothing. Often, those influencers had dual household incomes and were free to let one partner carry the financial load while they built their dreams. Other times, we discovered that those influencers were fueled by drug addiction, which was not a road we wanted to go down.
We had to take a look at what we were consuming and what we wanted to be our reality. If reaching our goals meant breaking our souls, we didn’t want any part of it. What’s the point of achieving your goals if you’re miserable throughout the entire process? It’s not sustainable. We watched friends and family before us run themselves into the ground on the premise that “someday” they would travel, see the world, and reach these other personal goals. We’ve seen those same people get sick or face a terminal diagnosis, only to hear them say they wish they did it differently.
Today, we’re very conscious of when we are hustling versus simply working hard. We measure our success based on our sense of excitement, peace, and alignment first and foremost.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heartworksw.com
- Instagram: @heartworkswriting @codielizabeth @dagratitudegangsta
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codielizabeth8 ; https://www.facebook.com/renee.ney.5
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codichen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL14Dkz6FK8alVm-ZVMEbxYSgdF7OJcYap
- Other: HeartWorks Writers Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/heartworkswriters