We were lucky to catch up with Julie Cortés recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

When I first started my freelance business, there were no guides … no classes, books, coaches, clubs, trainings of any kind. I basically had to make it up as I went along. That meant, a lot of mistakes were made. About five years into my solopreneur journey, it dawned on me that there was this void: a void in education, community and even respect for the self-employed.

So, I did something about it.

Since then, I created a professional organization for freelancers, developed a college-level course, opened a coaching arm to my business, and began speaking on stages near and far … all about self-employment. I figured, if no one else was doing this—and there’s definitely a need for it, why shouldn’t I?

Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always knew I wanted to be in advertising and marketing. At a young age, I was tearing out creative ads from magazines and taping them to my bedroom walls. I went on to get a relevant degree in college and land two awesome internships. I worked on the corporate and agency sides before launching my own business.

I began as a freelance copywriter and proofreader, working in all sorts of industries and a variety of mediums. I’ve worked with ad agencies, corporations, small businesses, design studios, and nonprofits.

In 2003, I founded The Freelance Exchange of Kansas City—a professional industry organization specifically for advertising / marketing freelancers that offers continuing education, mentorship, networking, community, promotional opportunities and support. Today, it also serves as the city’s best resource to find some of the savviest talent in town easily and for free.

Forming this community and serving at its helm has truly transformed my career. It’s brought opportunities to be interviewed by local and national media, speaking engagements both in-person and virtual, and served as the catalyst for developing a Freelancing 101 college-level course and opening up a coaching arm to my business.

Today, I’m thrilled to be able to say that I’ve helped scores of freelancers, not just locally, but all over the world.

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

I honestly didn’t set out to build a reputation within my market. It kind of just happened organically.

Of course, I have to credit founding and running The Freelance Exchange of KC as being the impetus for all that. I’m just one of those people who—if I see a problem (or, in this case, a void), I try to do something about it. No complaints; just solutions. And I think all the hard work and dedication I’ve put in within that volunteer realm has transposed into reputation-building.

That, AND, I started showing up. Putting myself out there. Developing my own personal brand.

Many people are afraid of self-promotion. It used to be scary for me, too. And then I hired a business coach, and she challenged me to dedicate time each and every day to spend on promotions. And now? Now, I frickin’ love it!

It brings me such joy when I meet people in person and they feel like they already know me. Or they say that they recognize my brand … or that they see my posts all the time. (This stuff works. It really works!)

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

If you work in the advertising / marketing industry, you’ve got to get used to the occasional pivot. It happens—or is needed—all the time, unfortunately … or fortunately, depending on how you look at it.

When I first started pivoting from just offering freelance copywriting services to also offering business coaching, teaching, and public speaking, it was a gradual pivot … until it wasn’t. I’d wanted to slowly grow the new side of my business as I continued to serve my copywriting clients. For me, the goal was for it to be a marathon, not a sprint.

But then, the COVID pandemic hit. And, as we all know, everything shut down. In times of uncertainty, one of the first things many businesses cut is their advertising / marketing budget. (It’s truly the last thing they ought to cut, but that’s another discussion for another time.) So, what happened? There went my copywriting business. Like many freelancers in the industry experienced in 2020, things just tanked.

However, I had *just* started ramping up the coaching, speaking and teaching sides of my business. And it couldn’t have happened at a better time. So, I went ALL in and focused primarily on that. And it paid off.

Not only did I not lose any money that first year, I was able to recoup what I lost out on copywriting … and then some.

The lesson here? Be open to pivots. (I like to call them plot twists!) You may end up exactly where you need to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.juliecortes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freelancerockstar
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreelanceRockstar
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freelancerockstar
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@freelancerockstar

Image Credits

Professional headshots by Allison Barnes Martin