We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Washington-Nava a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mike thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new venture – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

When I first started trying to write professionally, I took a kind of risky approach by reaching out to websites I respected and enjoyed and laid my cards face up on the table: I was candid about my status as a beginner in the industry. I didn’t have a portfolio at the time, but I was more than willing to work pro bono to demonstrate my work ethic and skill. Many responded with a flat “dude, no,” and most didn’t respond at all (they left me on read). However, a handful replied with a “sure, why not.”

Offering to work solely for bylines played a pivotal role in securing my first client. This approach allowed me to build a credible portfolio from scratch and showcase my abilities to potential clients. The pro bono projects helped me forge relationships, and some of these connections quickly turned into paying clients. I vividly recall the first instance this happened: I received a phone call one afternoon while out for a walk. It was the managing editor of one of the websites I had been contributing to. I remember ducking into an alley to take the call and was stunned to hear that they wanted to transition me from the “working for free” contributor role to a paid position. It was my first time being compensated for my writing, and I was struggling to not let them know I was flipping out while on the phone. I’ll never forget that afternoon.

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 back background and context?

My journey in professional writing has been quite a winding one. I began as a journalist, then transitioned into content writing, and eventually became a copywriter. These roles led me to work in some random and seemingly unrelated industries, but, as a creative, I knew I had to follow the work wherever it took me.

Eventually, I stumbled upon a niche that I grew to adore – creating advertisements for nonprofit organizations. What fascinates me most is that, as a creative, my focus is no longer on selling products like cars, soap, or tickets (not to discredit those industries; I’ve worked in them all before). Instead, my purpose now revolves around inspiring people to support charitable causes.

I have the privilege of working on advertising campaigns to recruit volunteers and raise funds for organizations dedicated to causes I deeply believe in. On my toughest days, I might forget how fortunate I am to do this for a living, but I consistently describe it as a beautiful line of work. It’s seriously so cool. To me, at least.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

At the heart of being a professional creative is the ability to evoke emotion. We are, in essence, provocateurs. We’re hired to elicit feelings, thoughts, or even influence the behavior of audiences through things we create and craft. That being said, my big goal is to continually improve as a provocateur, if that makes sense.

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 being overly confident. In the beginning stages of almost anything, from making new friends to dating, you often need to inflate your confidence a bit to convince yourself (your hardest critic) that you belong. Being historically shy and usually the youngest in the writer’s rooms I started working in, I needed that confidence boost. However, as time went on, I didn’t adjust this inflated confidence. This overconfident attitude prevented me from accepting helpful feedback and good advice for a long time. It took me a while, but I eventually realized the importance of balancing my ego with humility. Finding that balance is a game changer for creatives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mikemwashington.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Instagram: itsmikewash
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemwashington/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/itsmikewash