679: Harnessing the Lucrative and Satisfying Power of Being YOU

0:01Today's episode is sponsored in part by Revolve and Spectrum. Revolve is my all-time favorite place to shop for my dream wardrobe. Head to revolve.com forward slash gold digger to shop my favorites and get 15 % off your first order with the code gold digger. Spectrum business keeps your business connected with reliable service you can count on. Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. As always, you can find all of our amazing deals in the show notes. Now let's get into it. okay I have been on this ruthless pursuit to purge any clothes that I'm not actually wearing like if I haven't reached for it in months it's gotta go I am trying to be really intentional about what I bring into my closet right now which means I am only buying pieces that I know I will actually wear and use revolve just gets it though I'm literally wearing my brown autri sneakers from there right now and my new suede purse it fits my laptop in it so it's basically a fancy shoulder bag that works for everything.

1:02I love finding pieces like that. Things that look good, but also work hard for my actual life. Their holiday shop is live right now with all the good stuff. Sparkly party dresses, cozy sets, cute gifts, everything you need for whatever is on your calendar. And it's all in one place, which makes shopping feel way less overwhelming. Whether it's a weekend away, a big night out, or a holiday party, your dream wardrobe is just one click away. Head to revolve.com forward slash gold digger shop my edit and take 15 % off your first order with the code gold digger fast two-day shipping easy returns it's literally the only place you need to shop from that's revolve.com forward slash gold digger to shop my favorites and get 15 % off your first order with the code gold digger offer available for a limited time so happy shopping it's very easy to feel like oh it's too late for me I didn't get in the game early enough and I just want to say you are not behind.

1:59You're only behind in comparison to somebody that you're looking at. So I like to stop looking at them. Hey, my name is Jenna Kutcher and I am obsessed with all things, business, marketing numbers, and helping you to navigate both the messy and the magical seasons of this thing called life. I'm a small town mama who took a$300 camera, grew a successful photo biz, and now I work from home and run a seven figure online business. I teach you the tried and true secrets to building a career you adore. Shy away from the real talk? No way. Money, hardship, growth, loss, and marketing are all topics we discuss here.

2:33Think of this as your one-stop shop for happy hour with a gal pal mixed with business school. Pull up a seat, make sure you're cozy, and get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. It's really easy to feel like we're too late, that we've missed the boat, or the ship has sailed. But what if that's simply not true? What if the world and our lives are just waiting for us to reinvent, rediscover, and repurpose our gifts in a way that allows us to do work that brings us joy? Today, I'm speaking with the founder of Talking Shrimp, the co-creator of The Copy Cure, and the author of the brand new book titled Tough Titties.

3:12It's a book on living your best life when you're the effing worst. Her words, not mine. An award-winning copywriting expert, Laura Belgris, Gray helps entrepreneurs find the perfect words to express and sell what they do in a way that gets them paid to be themselves. Through her work with hundreds of clients, she's seen firsthand that putting you into your work and copy and all through your business is pure magic for getting people to love you up, share your ideas, and happily click your buy button. In addition to online types. Her list of clients and credits include NBC, Bravo TV, HBO, TBS, and many, many more.

3:51So if you watch TV and you don't skip the commercials, you've probably seen her words on air. In today's episode, we'll be discussing strategies for overcoming the fear of being too late to start. We talk about being disliked and embracing your unique personality. Get ready to unleash your authentic self and discover the power of being you. I am so honored to welcome Laura Belgray to the Gold Digger podcast. If you're ready to dig your biggest goals with each other in person, mark your calendars for September 5th through the 8th, 2023 for HubSpot's annual inbound conference in Boston. There will be multiple stages featuring over a dozen industry experts, including Reese Witherspoon, Derek Jeter, Neil Patel, and more.

4:36You'll learn everything from sales strategy to AI and innovation, connect with the leaders. And the best part is you'll walk away with practical tips that you can put into action as soon as you get home. Tickets are selling out fast. So head over to inbound.com to get yours today. Welcome to the Gold Digger podcast, Laura. I am so excited to have you on the show today. Jenna, I'm so excited to be here. Thank you. Yes. Okay. So let's start off with a heavy hitter. You have become this self-proclaimed late bloomer when it comes to your business, especially in your new books, intro chapter, like you just kick it off and say, Hey guys, I'm a late bloomer.

5:16Can you talk to me a little bit about your journey and how you got to where you are today? Yeah, sure. It's a long one. I hope we have time. So my, I mean, my journey starts after college when everybody, you know, All my friends are going into the workforce. And I know you, Jenna, had power suit dreams when you started out. And I had the opposite. And my friends were going to jobs in law firms, becoming paralegals, things like that, ready to climb the corporate ladder. And my biggest fear was going to work somewhere where I would have to wear pantyhose, which you had to wear back then, or shoulder pads or any of those things, or get anywhere at 9am because I'm not just a late bloomer, I'm a late sleeper.

6:04And so I spent that first year out of college, which is now a blip, but felt like the longest time, even though it went by fast, just like, you know, sort of applying for bartending jobs, sort of pounding the pavement, looking in the classifieds, which is what you did back then. And anything that looked interesting that said like creative job, I wanted something creative or entertainment-y. So if it said creative or if it said entertainment job or fast paced entertainment job, what that meant was either printer sales or phone sex. And so there was really just nothing that appealed to me. And I wanted something fun that I would enjoy.

6:46And so I spent that year pretty much doing nothing except going out like it was my job. And because I was in bed at 10 or 11 a.m. one day, I was available when a friend called me and said, hey, fact checking for this author, Lisa Bernbach, who was, she was the author of the Preppy Handbook and had this college book coming out. And so my friend was like, we're fact checking it and need more fact checkers. Can you come in? I was like, you mean today? Because I had plans to like, you know, go to my step aerobics class. And she was like, yes, today. So I was like, well, it sounds like it could be a cool opportunity.

7:24So I went in and that job kind of led to everything else. And the fact that I was late sleeping and late, you know, just loafing around at home opened me up to that opportunity. So I was very lucky. I went from there to an internship at this place called Spy Magazine. It was like the cool downtown publication at the time. And this internship, I was like, okay, maybe this is my chance to find my thing. because I loved magazines and thought, oh, this will be creative and entertainment-y. And one of my jobs was to Xerox the gossip pack, like all the gossip pages of the newspapers every day for the editors.

8:06And I've had other admin jobs like that. But the thing they wanted from us was for us to pitch ideas and become editors there. It was a real opportunity. And I thought, maybe this is my shot to prove myself. But time went on and I never came up with any ideas to pitch, no story ideas. And the managing editor took me out to lunch and told me over sushi, you know, you can take initiative here. And I remember feeling like, oh boy, when you're told you can take initiative, when you're asked to take initiative, that's the opposite of initiative. Like, it's just something I don't have. I'm not a fast mover.

8:45I'm not a quick start. I'm not one of those people who like, you know, sees an opening and goes for it. And so I kind of ran out the clock on my internship without coming up with anything, but was lucky enough to be asked over to the ad side. They had a job for me. They were kind of like, we'll take her when my internship was up. And that is where I wrote my first piece of copy. It was my first copywriting job. They assigned me something nobody on the editorial side wanted, which was an advertorial for the magazine. So advertorials are this, you know, that page in the magazine that looks like it's part of the magazine, but it says promotion in tiny letters at the top.

9:25Yes. So this was for Dewar's Scotch. And I was assigned the full page. It was like come up with a few things for this page, like short, fun things. And so I wrote an essay, ironically, an essay on adulthood while I was still living in my childhood bedroom. And then a quiz called, Do You Party Like Your Uncle Marty? And it was to determine whether you were like a cool hipster or a geezer. And if you are a geezer, then, you know, the remedy was to drink Dewars. And so that came out and I had a page in the magazine and it's like, oh, copywriting. It's writing short, fun things. And you don't have to think of big ideas.

10:08You don't have to pitch a story. You don't have to like go out with a reporter's notebook or come up with a screenplay ideas. I was like, maybe this is my path. And somewhat, well, after that, I went to a more buttoned up magazine, which was very much not for me. And I lasted six months in that job because I was sort of insubordinate. I didn't write in the style that my boss wanted me to. She wanted everything to be elegant. And she would say, we need it to be up here. And she would wave her hand over her head, which is the sign for over my head. But she would just say, it needs to be up here.

10:44And I couldn't make it in on time. It was a nine to five. And she would leave me a message every morning at 9 a.m. saying, yes, you're not here yet. And so within six months, that's a long story short, she fired me. And probably best thing, you know, getting fired always turns out to be, almost always turns out to be best thing that ever happened. Because had I been good at that job, who knows, I might have gotten locked into a corporate life and moved up and up and up and, you know, become a CEO, publisher, some sort of management position where you're presenting in front of a group about like demographics in Peoria.

11:25you. So from there, I went on to write TV promos, which was the dream job for me. A friend who had lunch with me from Spy Magazine said he was working at VH1 and his new job was writing promos. And I said, what are those? And he said, you know, when you're watching the commercials, like those commercials that are for the shows, for the network. And so basically I watch a lot of TV and then write these little things. I was like, that's a job. I need that job. That was the job. I mean, all I ever wanted really was to get paid to watch TV. There we go. And yes. So he got me a meeting with the editorial director there who had room for me to write a promo.

12:09She was like, yeah, we need writers. Here's a promo. Write it. And so I wrote my first promo and then went on to write lots of promos for them and countdown scripts for them. You know, they had those countdown shows like top 20 countdown, top 10 countdown. I wrote those and I went from there to my dream place to write promos, which was Nick at Night. And and then TV Land, their spinoff channel. And so I worked in promos for years and years and years. And as I said, it was absolute dream job at first. I felt like I finally felt ambitious, like I was doing my thing. And, you know, I worked so hard.

12:48and I'm someone who I consider myself a lazy person, but I was working so hard there, like watching tapes of Mary Tyler Moore show till, you know, it got dark and people were leaving and people would say to me, you're still here. Why don't you go home, take a break. And I was like, Oh my God, people are saying this to me. But over the years, you know, it's there, I'm someone who can tend to get complacent. And eventually after like 15 years or so, I was feeling a little itchy, squirrely to write something bigger, do something more with my voice, with my writing chops, but I didn't know what. And I probably would have stayed forever had I not been let go from my big contract.

13:29I had a six-figure contract at the time. I was around 40 and they let me know it was not going to be renewed. And I was devastated. But luckily, I happened to have put up a website like my last year there. And because I was friends with Marie Forleo, who I had met in hip hop class at Crunch that years before, like in 2003, she told me when I put up a website, she said, you're going to have an opt-in, right? And I was like, a what in? And she, she was like, oh, she pulled out. Yes. She pulled out a legal pad and showed me like what an opt-in was and how I would have an automated confirmation email, et cetera, diagrammed it for me.

14:14And she's like, and you have to have a freebie. And she's like, and your blog, you're going to put a blog on this. Right. And it's like, well, it's 2009. Isn't it too late to have a blog? And she's like, oh my God, no, you have to have a blog. You love to write, you of all people. So I put a blog on there and started building a list. She said, your list is your gold. I had no idea what that meant, but I did it anyway. For once in my life, I followed instructions and did it. And I didn't know to what end. I started writing, while I was working in TV, started writing blog posts about anything I felt like, which is what I like to write.

14:50I was writing about Menudo videos from the 80s or stories about how my dad called his rain boots, rubbers, and things that had nothing to do with my opt-in, which was five secrets to non-sucky copy. Like people would sign up for that. And then I wouldn't give them a single writing tip. I mean, I gave them the opt-in, but after that, it was like, you know, here's a story about my dad. And that sort of built me a following of people, small, but a following of people who thought they loved my copy. They were like, we love your copy. Can can you help us with our copy? And Marie asked me to speak at her first live event, which was called Rich, Happy and Not Live.

15:30And it was 50 people in the Soho House library. And she's like, will you speak about copywriting? It's like, sure. I didn't know anything about that kind of copywriting. I was just TV stuff, but I taught what I knew. I had no idea that it was two different things. And people started coming up to me at the end of it and saying, you know, I'm a realtor. Can you help me with my about page? You know, I'm a coach. I don't know what to put on my website or in my emails. And I was like, yeah, I can help you with that. Because I knew I could write like a person and most people don't have that ability to write in a human way.

16:04So I knew I'd be good at it. So I started taking those private clients. And so when I got let go, I was able to put up a, I was like, how am I going to make up this income? I put up a services page and sent out an email to my little list saying, I have these services for offer, you know, and I can help you with your copy. And that started building more of a business. And that's how I ended up segueing into this weird, crazy, wonderful world called the online space, or I just call it the space. And, and working with those people. And over time, I pivoted again, Like from working one-on-one with people to creating and selling my own courses and really making a living from my emails, which is what I always wanted in the first place.

16:51Like second to getting paid just to watch TV where someone hands you a check. Like, you know, good job watching all of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You know, keep it up. There's more where this came from. That was the dream. But number one dream. Number two is writing. and getting paid for it, just writing whatever I feel like and getting paid for it. And that's what I get to do with my emails. So that's not in such a nutshell, how I got where I am today. There's so many things that I love about this. First, I love that Marie is like the pocket BFF of like, girl, grow your list. I remember the first time somebody brought up a list to me, I literally thought they were talking about a to-do list.

17:34Like they said, how big is your list? And I was like, oh, it's really long. I got a lot of miles long. And so I love that. And I do believe that even today, like your email list is gold. Like it is what will have you sink or swim. It's, it's incredible. So it's beautiful to see the longevity in that. One thing that struck me as you were speaking, Laura, is that so many of my guests come on here and they tell these deeply ambitious stories about how I worked these crazy hours and I chased this person down and I did these things. And you are not like that. And I really appreciate that because I know that there are listeners here.

18:14Talk to me a little bit about what you've learned about yourself in order to own the fact that you're like, I call myself lazy. I don't want to do that. Talk to me a little bit about that. Yeah. Well, it's funny. I feel like there are two kinds of lazy and I have both in equal measure maybe. So there's good lazy and bad lazy. It's like good and bad fats, right? Or cholesterol, like the avocado kind of lazy. And then, so the bad kind, which I would love to get over, but I never have is basically resistance, like fear dressed in pajamas, you know, where I just don't want to do the things that I have to do that involve risk that are scary to me, like writing something where I don't know where it's going to start.

18:59I don't know how it's going to go, that blank page. Those are things that I will naturally procrastinate on and feel like, oh, I'm too lazy to do that. But really, I'm just terrified that I'm going to do it badly. And then the good kind of lazy is, for me, something I'm very comfortable with is the ability to relax, to have free time. I love free time. And I know a lot of people, especially women, are terrified not to be super busy. Like they feel ashamed of themselves if their calendar isn't crammed. And I feel the opposite. I tend not to measure my self-worth in how hard I work. It's just not a measure for me.

19:41And I actually feel a little ashamed or embarrassed if I don't have a lot of free time. I'm like, oh, I'm managing my time so poorly. I shouldn't be wall to wall. Like I feel embarrassed to say I'm too busy to do X or Y. I'm the same way. My sister literally last night texted and she's like, we're having a baptism. I made this little doodle form. Please let me know what weekends are available. And literally every single option we were available because we don't like having plans. Like we love having blank space in that way of like my favorite days are days where I have nothing on the calendar.

20:16It doesn't mean I don't work. It means I'm free to do the work I want to do, which is like the best. Holy grail for me is a day with nothing, nothing scheduled. I mean, I started eliminating one-on-one clients because I loved my work with them, but I would see their appointments on the calendar and be like, oh no, it's a client day. And so originally I was like, I'm going to take no appointments on Mondays or Fridays. and I loved those days so much where I would just sit on the couch and write what I felt like writing, write my emails, be in flow, all those things. And I started thinking like, oh no, it's Tuesday.

20:55Oh no, it's Wednesday. Oh no, it's Thursday. So I took like Tuesdays and Thursdays off the calendar too. And then it was like, oh no, it's Wednesday. That's what I like. I raised my prices to sticker shock level so that people would stop booking me. and it didn't really work. That's when I took Wednesdays off the calendar. It's like no more clients. That's it. Looking for a new podcast to add to your weekly lineup? Check out Entrepreneurs on Fire, hosted by John Lee Dumas. Every week, JLD and his guests share practical strategies to fire up your business journey and create the life you've always dreamed of.

21:33No matter what goals you're digging this year, Entrepreneurs on Fire will inspire you to take action and give you the tools to get there. JLD has interviewed over 3 ,000 incredible entrepreneurs, including Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, and so many more, including yours truly. You are bound to find the topic or the guest you're looking for. I loved his recent interview with Tyler Wagner on how to become a successful author. I honestly wish I had heard that episode before I promoted my book. Listen to Entrepreneurs on Fire wherever you get your podcasts. I think you'll love it just as much as I do.

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23:14Okay, I have been on this ruthless pursuit to purge any clothes that I'm not actually wearing. Like if I haven't reached for it in months, it's got to go. I am trying to be really intentional about what I bring into my closet right now, which means I am only buying pieces that I know I will actually wear and use. Revolve just gets it though. I'm literally wearing my brown Autry sneakers from there right now and my new suede purse. It fits my laptop in it so it's basically a fancy shoulder bag that works for everything. I love finding pieces like that. Things that look good but also work hard for my actual life.

23:48Their holiday shop is live right now with all the good stuff. Sparkly party dresses, cozy sets, cute gifts, everything you need for whatever is on your calendar and it's all in one place, which makes shopping feel way less overwhelming. Whether it's a weekend away, a big night out or a holiday party, your dream wardrobe is just one click away. Head to revolve.com forward slash gold digger, shop my edit and take 15 % off your first order with the code gold digger. Fast two-day shipping, easy returns. It's literally the only place you need to shop from. That's revolve.com forward slash gold digger to shop by favorites and get 15 % off your first order with the code gold digger offer available for a limited time.

24:29So happy shopping. I think it's powerful to talk about this side of the coin as well, because I do believe that busy is a badge of honor for so many people. And surely the busier you are, the more successful you are, but I love that we don't subscribe to that. Okay. So talk to me about this. So let's talk to the audience that is listening right now and they have an idea or a vision or this nudge or this whisper and they're like, it's too late. The ship has sailed. I have missed it. I must just let this go. What would you say to them? Yeah. Well, I would say it's not too late. It's never too late.

25:06It might be too late to be a professional ballerina if you're 50. But otherwise, especially now when we have so many resources available to us, like so few gatekeepers, whatever you want to do, you can do it and put it out there. But I grew up with two parents who I'm from late bloomer stock, slowpoke stock. The two parents who both pivoted, especially then for that time, very late in life. I mean, they were in their forties, which was probably like 80 is now. And my dad went from being an industrial engineer for the airlines where we got free travel to becoming a psychoanalyst where we got free feelings.

25:50So not the greatest tradeoff for me, but he modeled for me like this refusal to settle for work that was anything less than joyful and what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. It was his life's work. And he didn't, he always said, I don't want to stop working until I die. And he did it. And my mom also probably inspired by him in her forties went from being like a musicologist, which is, I don't know what that is even, but she had a PhD in music, maybe taught music. Well, she worked in the recording industry before I was born. And to working in children's books, she discovered, like took a course on finding your thing and discovered in her 40s that she wanted to work in children's books.

26:37And she went into publishing as an intern. And imagine being, you know, now let's say 60, because 40 back then was like, like 60 is the new 40, right? Imagine being 60 and starting over as an intern and getting someone's coffee. And back then, you know, getting called sweetheart and asked to do all the menial things because you're a woman and an intern. It's so bold and just set a standard for me of like, you have a relaxed timeline. You probably won't figure out what you want to do until later in life, or you will rewrite your career. And who knows, I might still do that again. But I feel like, you know, it's very easy to feel behind, especially now more than ever, because it's in our faces on Instagram, everywhere on social media.