Creative Living and Solopreneurship with Erin Seals

On this episode, I speak with Erin Seals, the owner, and operator of Specs Custom Writing, a boutique writing agency based in the DFW Metroplex that offers specialty marketing documents such as resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, biographies, and other professionally written material to professionals and business owners nationwide. Erin is also the host of Hey DFW, a podcast that brings you the latest and greatest inside look at places to eat, visit, and network in and around the DFW area. Erin speaks about the victories and challenges of solopreneurship/entrepreneurship. 

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Transcript

Welcome to the Off Balance podcast, where faith, family and business collide with your host, Dr. Brooks Deming, Christian life coach, intercessor, and entrepreneur. 

 U2 

 0:24 

 Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Brooks. Welcome to Off Balance, a podcast for adults trying to balance life. Thank you for tuning in each week to learn strategies to help you be the better version of yourself. The sponsor of today's episode is clothed by J Christine, a Christian based clothing store offering quality and affordable clothing for the everyday, fashionable, conscious woman. 2s Today's guest is the owner and operator of Specs Custom Writing, a boutique writing agency based in the DFW metroplex that offers specialty marketing documents such as resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, biographies, and other professional written materials to professionals and business owners nationwide. She is also the host of hey DFW, a podcast that brings the latest and greatest inside look at places to eat, visit, and network in and around the DFW area. My guest today is Entrepreneur Erin Seals. 

 U2 

 1:26 

 Hello. 

 U1 

 1:28 

 Thank you so much for being here. How are you today? 

 U2 

 1:31 

 I am doing well. It's a beautiful day in Texas, so I'm happy. 

 U1 

 1:36 

 Well, I am so glad that you are having awesome weather because we have actually had thunderstorms for like the past four or five days. 

 U2 

 1:43 

 Oh, that's crazy. Yeah, weather here 

 U1 

 1:46 

 has been horrible. So I am glad that you have good weather there. So for my listening audience, can you tell them is Erin Seals? 

 U2 

 1:54 

 Well, I am a content creator. I'm a writer and I am a blogger and solopreneur and fur. Mom, 

 U1 

 2:06 

 you are a lot you have a lot going on. I do. That you are a content creator. Can you tell me more about yeah, so 1s of course I started a blog when I first moved to Texas. So pretty much because 1s I'll just start going way back. I majored in broadcast journalism and I always kind of thought of things as far as reputation management and things of that sort. And when social media really 1s Facebook started to come out and things of that sort, I was like, you know what, I ain't going to get on there. 1s I know this is going to blow up. People are going to do things. It's going to be crazy. And I was right. I was 1s know, I finally got on there. I only have close friends, which I still do on my personal page. And when I moved to Texas, my friends was like, girl, we're not on Facebook anymore. You need to get on Instagram. You need to get on Instagram. And they always talk about people following people and who they're following. And I was like, well, if I get on there, I need to have a purpose. I need to be able to do something because I'm not going to post the same thing I post on Facebook that I will post on Instagram. And I'll just kind know see where that goes. So I was like, OK, you know to I'm a blog. 1s My way and talk about living in a new city and some experiences I wanted to do 1s and things that I'm trying. And I was like, okay, we're going to do hey DFW. So I started that and I just post a ton of food pics and networking events and just things that I've been experiencing since I've been here. And then it kind of morphed into do a well, not kind of because it is like a YouTube channel and the background with that. So my cousin contacted me and said, hey, my friend is starting a radio station here. Would you like to have a show on there? And I was like, okay, cool. Yeah, I could do that. I interview people and stuff like that. And she was like, okay. So I talked to him and talked to him about my blog and things of that sort. But I was like, I can't get on a show and just talk about oh my gosh, I had this food and this is good. That's a very short topic and food is visual. So I was like, I'm going to have to have guests. And he was like, well you need to have your paperwork together 1s before you do that. I was like, paperwork. He was like, yeah, because there are sponsorships involved and things of that sort, so you need to be registered as a business. I was like, oh my God. 4s I was like, oh my God. 2s In the midst of DFW, I was starting my content writing business 1s and I was just doing it basically kind of freelance part time. So I was like, well you know what, I may as well had that. 2s To the LLC. And so I did. So I created an LLC, 1s and I put my writing business and hey DFW under that business. And then after that, I was like, okay, well, it's a business, so I have to treat it like a business now, right? So I started that, and 1s so far, it's so good. But I definitely will say with, hey, DF. W. I do probably need to do a little bit more planning, and things like life happens, and I'm constantly putting content out there, but I haven't been doing as many interviews as I wanted to. So that's where we are with that one. And my other business is Specs custom writing services. So that goes back to 2s me writing and a journalism background. And I started that because I've always worked two jobs as a single person, I feel like you always need to at least have two incomes coming in. So if I'm not married, I need two incomes coming in because you never know what's going to happen. You always need some extra money you could save, you could do whatever with it, but it's extra money. So I was tired of just working, like, jobs that had a schedule. I had to request off from two jobs. I missing out on my weekend. So I was like, you know what? 1s I want to do a business. I don't know what to do. And for years, people were telling me, 1s send me their resumes to proofread and things of that sort. And me and my friend were going over her resume, and I made some 2s adjustments to it and some corrections and revisions, and she's like, you were talking about doing a business. You need to do resume writing. I was like, I don't know. I don't know. I said, I got to see 1s I didn't really see myself, like, doing that. She's like, but it'll bring in some extra revenue. I think you're really good at it. And I said, okay. And then, of course, I done my research. And I was like, all right, well, here we go. And then I started that. So it was pretty much like specs is pretty much more like, okay, clients and 3s writing and hey, DFW is, like, fun learning, talking to people, and 1s just showing my life and things of that sort. So that's where I am with all that stuff. It's a mouthful. 

 U1 

 7:35 

 No, both of those are actually really good because I work in HR, and what I see is a lot of people do not know how to write resumes. And so a lot of the times when they apply for positions and then when they discover that they wasn't referred to the hiring manager, they submit an inquiry. And so then when you have to explain to them, well, you did not explain what you did in your current position or prior positions, and so then they're kind of disheartened. So it's actually a really good idea that you started a company to help people with their resumes because like I said, that skill set lacking. And so what has it been like as far as starting your company and then trying to do your marketing and just to get your name out there? What has that experience been like for you? 

 U2 

 8:21 

 Well, the good thing about it is 1s I'm not a young business owner. I'm a seasoned professional. And with that being said, my first clients were people that I know. I know other professionals. So when I put it out there that I did resumes, my first clients were people that I knew, and then they refer other people that I did not know. So a lot of my business is word of mouth, so that's always a good thing. The marketing portion can be challenging at time because I still work a full time job. 1s And even though marketing campaigns can run by themselves and work by themselves while you're at work, they're still planning. There's still how much I want to spend. You still have to review the analytics and see, well, what does this do? How did this work? And things of that sort. So marketing is forever changing. I was doing it very heavily at first by going to networking events, running Facebook ads, and running specials. And I also started a referral where if you get your resume done or you refer someone to me, if you send someone to me, if they choose to get a resume, I'll give you $25. 2s Yeah, and that works pretty well. And people actually like that because it's it's like $25 for wrenching my name and basically 1s the client paid for that $25. So I'll just take the fee that I charge the client and once we close out the invoice -20 $5 I'll cash out 1s the person who referred me and say thank you for your referral. 

 U1 

 10:08 

 Wow, that was very smart. And so you have a journalism background. And so basically, 2s how did that inspire? Because both of your businesses are just such cool ideas and I really love the brand that you are making with hey DFW. So how did that inspire you to just like because it's a blog, but it's also a blog because you have really cool reels, you do different videos and things of that nature. So did your journalism background kind of inspire you to do 

 U2 

 10:39 

 that? 2s Yes and no, because when I went to school, we didn't have all these things. So everything I'm learning now is, of course, like a lot of older content creators is pretty much self taught, but I knew I've always wanted to. One of the main reasons why I went into journalism is because I love Oprah, I love Lisa Ling, I love the art of storytelling, 2s and I love how you can learn something by someone sharing some information. And everybody has really no matter who you talk to, everybody has a really good stories to tell. And I feel like even though my stuff is fun, a lot of the questions that I get from my friends is like, okay, well, how is it living there? Or, oh, did you go to this place? Or People are DM me, you should try this place. Or sometimes the business will say, email me, or DM me and say, hey, why don't you come here? You get free chips. So it was pretty much once I started seeing the feedback and the love and the support, it's like, okay, all right, I keep going. So it's a little bit of both with that. But the journalism part does come in, like me touching on certain topics and having strong opinions about XYZ because you don't want to be biased and then you also want to keep to that brand because sometimes the stuff that comes out, I'm like, oh, no, they didn't. But it's like, girl, you talk about food now, you know you can't say anything about that. So I do have that struggle too, because 1s I follow a lot of news, a lot of stories. I know a little bit about everything I would like to say, and that's not necessary reflects it's just because I'm a news junkie. So a lot of stuff I would like to discuss, but it doesn't fit into that. 

 U1 

 12:38 

 So I have a question. So I follow hey DFW. And I'm like, if I ever come to really? Have you ever considered tours? 

 U2 

 12:50 

 I thought about it, but I was thinking about maybe do 1s a party tour or something like that, like, hey, let me host your next girl's night out, or something like that, because I have some great recommendation and things. But that will probably have to be like later on down the line when I have the time to plan, because that will take business partnerships, of course, waivers and forms, 1s a lot of planning. But that's something I thought about it because a lot of my friends, when they come here, I always do a cool itinerary, we have a lot of fun and it's not overwhelming where it's like, we're doing this at nine, we're doing this at eleven. I'm pretty much a chill person, so I like to plan things according to your budget as well as you're getting some me time in as well. So I have considered it, but later I could 

 U1 

 13:45 

 definitely see that because when I watch your content, I'm just like, if I ever come to Dallas, I would just love to experience the different areas that you go because you do a lot of really cool restaurant bars and even boutiques. And so I just thought that that would be just a good girl's day out or just weekend. Because you do a lot of good content and I can tell that you try to keep it 1s as unbiased as possible. And so I like that because you do give honest reviews and so when business owners see you or see you in their establishment, are they give you a warm welcome? Are they kind of nervous? How has that 

 U2 

 14:29 

 been for you? Well, since it's still fairly small, I don't tell them, hey, I'm revealing you now, but sometimes it has came out. If they see me, it depends on I have a small gimbal, so it depends on what you got, which is because everybody's taking pictures. But if I'm walking around with the gimbal, I'm approached like, hey, so what's your name? What are you doing? Why are you filming the outside and coming in the inside? 1s And then after that, if I explain to them, I'll show them my instagram, I get like a special dish sometimes, but I don't say that because I don't want to encourage, say, hey, I tell them, you all do this. I want the businesses to make money and things of that sort. So I don't say anything. I just come in there, just have an experience and then I take my food, pictures and my videos and then I come back at a later date and do my voiceovers and stuff like that. But I take notes in my phone about like, okay, I didn't like this or this is cool, or they could work on this and then when I get ready to do my wheel back. And that's what I go back from my notes and review it. 

 U1 

 15:38 

 See, that is really cool. So I don't really pay attention if you have, like, a strategy or a pattern. But when you go into these businesses, are there, like, certain things that you're reviewing, like, as far as atmosphere or anything like that? 

 U2 

 15:52 

 Yeah, I review it from a standpoint, from just being a chick, wanting to just go out and have a good time. And of course, me in here and 1s my sister is here, but she has, like, two kids, so we live completely, totally different lives. I can't be like, hey, girl, let's try this happy hour. That's not what she does. So I had to kind of just go to these establishments by myself and then see what it is for myself, and then that way let other people know. But the strategy is, of course, like, anybody like, okay, it's cool. Is the price good? How is parking? Because people want to know about parking, 1s customer service. 1s And I always do on a written part. If I ever do something writing, is it good for date night, or is it good for girls night out? So that's pretty much my strategy. Those are the questions that I ask myself and say, these are the things that I would want to know. So maybe the people that are watching me would want to know this as well. 

 U1 

 16:58 

 Yeah, because that's very interesting because I know for myself, I don't like loud establishments. Like, I just want to be able to go in and be able to have a conversation. And so what I've noticed is the majority of the places that you go, they seem to have a vibe that's very professional. 3s It can go either or it can be like a date night or a girl's night out. And so you have a good taste when it comes to picking these locations. So how do you pick them? 

 U2 

 17:27 

 Sometimes I see them on instagram, sometimes I get a DM. 2s I'll see them on TikTok. What I do is I have like a little save space on my instagram. I'll see a place and I have how they allow you to save things on instagram. I'll put places to go. And so I'll know, okay, I'm going to try this place eventually. Or like if someone calls me, hey, aaron, coming town? I was like, you know what, I saved this place. Let's go here. It looks cool. And we'll do that. So that's pretty much how I do. Or know my coworkers might refer somewhere to me. So it's a little bit of referral, a little bit know, you see it on TikTok or instagram and then of course, some DMs. Yeah. 

 U1 

 18:13 

 Cause I was wondering because I said she must be a part of the chambers of commerce or something because dallas is 

 U2 

 18:19 

 huge. It is. Dallas is a very huge city. And so for you to be able to not only visit those places that are very 1s intriguing because like I said, a lot of your content, I'm like, I tell my husband when we go to dallas, we are going to visit some of these restaurants. Yes, 

 U1 

 18:37 

 I have been to dallas so many times and I promise you I've never been to some of those. You know, when you go out of town or when you visit places you're like, I'm not going to do 

 U2 

 18:47 

 chain. I want to try 

 U1 

 18:49 

 local spots. I want to really try those hidden gems in the cities. And so your idea of, hey, DFW, that was just, I'm telling you, a 

 U2 

 18:59 

 unicorn. Oh, thank 

 U1 

 19:02 

 realize the gym that you have. 

 U2 

 19:06 

 Thank you. 

 U1 

 19:07 

 You are doing a really good job with that. And so when it comes to 2s birthday parties and all of that type of stuff, when you go to other events in different places, do you kind of Vlog about that or do you just keep it to I'm going to do the restaurants. It depends because I definitely was going to talk about this on my YouTube channel about know, how do you say content creator etiquette almost because sometimes people don't you want to chill, they want to spend time with you. It's their day and you around film, and it's like, girl. So it depends on where it is and what we're doing. 1s And then if it's like what I will probably do is I won't really do a lot of material. So one of my friends, she's in marketing, so she understands that. But I got my food when we all got our food, I got my food out. I got the ladies food next to me. And when I went to the bathroom to take a restroom break, I filmed the restaurant and I put my phone down and engaged with the crowd. So I try to just not make it about that the entire time. But a networking event, it's fair game. But if it's about someone else, I'm going to give it about five minutes of my time. You might miss out on some content, but it's okay. I don't know if you've seen, it was a video that was out, and it was like when you're out to eat with a content creator and the person is like, sitting there trying to eat, that's what it looks like. And I'm like, I don't want to do that because I've had those looks before. Like, hold on, don't drink it yet. Let me get real. 2s So I try to do a little bit 1s more considerate about who I'm with and stuff like that, but most people understand that's what I'm doing. But I definitely keep it to a minimum and I turn my phone down, I put it on silent so I could pay attention. 

 U1 

 21:04 

 So that's really good because that's considered what we would say, work life balance. 2s Oh my God. I know that will be kind of hard because that is like what you do. And so how do you kind of gauge the people that you are with as far as to see if it's okay or is it just like a respect thing? 

 U2 

 21:25 

 It's just a respect thing because, I mean, they already know about it. Most of them follow, hey, DFW anyway, but I just give it five minutes versus 1s longer times ten at the max. But I don't take away from their moment of being around them to say, okay, hold on, you all. If I don't get everybody's food, I don't get everybody's food. If I don't get a look at a whole restaurant, I don't get a whole look at the restaurant. 1s Because the thing is, once you put it out there, they don't know what you know or what you were trying to do. They just kind of see the end result. Right. So I just make it about that and and go from there. 1s 

 U1 

 22:03 

Yeah, that's very interesting because when you do all of your content, I'm like, I wonder how much time did it really take? 

 U2 

 22:11 

Because you come on and you're like showing us all these different things and I know a lot of time and effort go into that, but it just seems so seamless because you'll give us a panoramic of the restaurant and then you'll give us like, depending on where you were, little different things. And so it's cool how you do your edits and put everything together because I'm thinking to myself, I wonder, how much time did she really have to spend  getting us all of this good footage? So you do a good job with your  you thank you. 

 U2 

 22:41 

And so you are big on Instagram and then you have a couple of reels that go on Facebook. But are you also on TikTok? 

 U2 

 22:49 

I  am. I just started TikTok like this lighten. It because it's like one more password. I got to remember. 1s Second authentication, two factor. Like, I don't want to do it, but I went ahead and did it and it's fun. I like it. 

 U1 

 23:07 

 Yeah, because it's a lot because I know I try to market on different it's too many platforms. 2s You have YouTube, you have Instagram, do you do Twitter as 

 U2 

 23:20 

 well? I do have a Twitter. I'm not on there as big, but I do do it. Okay. 

 U1 

 23:25 

 Because I was going to say it's a lot of platforms and to be able to plan out the content that you want to put on all of these different platforms, that's another job in itself. 

 U2 

 23:35 

 It is. It's a lot 1s how I plan content. So hey, DFW content expects is different like today. And one thing about too, like I might eat lunch on Wednesday of last week and that might not go up until Wednesday of the next week. So a lot of times 2s it's already been done. It might have been a few days to pass by before I do it. I just know I have my notes there and it looks a bit more current and relevant than it is, but it sits there. 1s I have to be a bit more strategic because the audience is different. But what has helped me in the past is scheduling and deciding what I want to talk about. So I'll take 1s maybe just even doing it a month ahead of time. So like what's this month? June. So in May I would say, you know what, I want to talk about this, or I'll see something on Instagram or the news to say that's inspirational. I could mention this and I could just cover a few topics and go from there and decide how I want to do that. But creating the graphic and the content 1s with specs in general, it's a bit more strategy because it's not like, hey, check out this place. You can't just say that you're asking people to, hey, let me write for you. So you got to show that you're knowledgeable. You have to 1s bring them in because there are other resume writers, why should they choose you? 1s So that is like a second job in itself. But if I take time out and I just sit back and I say, okay, this is what I'm going to talk about and I will schedule my post. 1s And that's it. And that's the best thing. Best advice I can give anybody is to schedule your post, because there have been times where, like, had cramps and been sick and Facebook's still going. Nobody knows that I met the house about to die, 1s so it's still going. It's still up. And even my friends in the beginning, when they're like, girl, I called you, and I just saw you post. Like, now, you know, that was scheduled. So now they know 1s if it's not live or 1s it's more than likely scheduled to go out. Even certain conversation pieces are scheduled to go out, because I was working on social media at my full time job, then to come home and do it when I come home, that's a lot, and that's taxing. So for me, it's easier for me to do it. I spend about 1s maybe an hour on social media. As far as what my time frame goes, I'm actually not on there as much as people think I am. A lot of times. 1s Is just schedules 

 U1 

 26:33 

 that's really good. And that leads me into what I wanted to ask you, because a lot of people are doing multiple businesses, and so you have two successful businesses, and so how do you make time? Because you said you schedule, but is it something to where you say, okay, I am going to just plan out the month, or what does that look like for you? Because you do make sure that both of your companies are equally represented on the platform. So what is your strategy for doing 

 U2 

 27:03 

 that? Definitely plan because I still have to take care of myself. I still have to wash clothes. I still got to walk my dog, I still got to cook. So I have to plan. And I might say, okay, on Sunday I'm just going to work spic and that's it. And then on Saturday I'm just going to do hey DFW and that's it. And sometimes I might not even have the whole month. I might just have a week, and that's okay. And sometimes I might be like, you know what, I don't feel like posting anything this week and that's okay. But once I do get behind it and say, okay, this is what I'm going to schedule, I plan it out, do the graphics and schedule out. And I know that it's already taken care of. So I would definitely tell people, just make sure you plan things out. Don't overwhelm yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. 3s Give as much time as you can to whatever you're doing. Some love, but also make some time for yourself. Because I have struggled with that where I'll just get off work and come home and get online and do stuff. Because when I have clients, sometimes my social media may suffer because I can't post because I'm working on somebody else's stuff. And I used to be hard on myself about that, but that's okay. 2s But 2s the working on the social media and the scheduling and the writing the copy for is one thing, but deciding what you want to talk about first is the easiest. I know what I want to talk about on hey DFW, because these are the places I want to eat with specs. I just write out my topics and then I either research them or go back to what I've already saved, because I do save stuff, say, okay, I like this. I'm going to piggyback off this 1s and post something in relation to that and go from there. So that's pretty much how I do it. And sometimes I write ideas on my lunch break 1s or I might do like a wheel early in the morning or something like that before I go to work. So it's 2s a lot of juggling sometimes, but I just keep the train moving. 1s That's 

 U1 

 29:16 

 really good. And then your businesses, although alike, they're both content, but they're completely different. And so with specs, I would think you would have to have a lot of high touch marketing because people want to know, hey, she's intelligent. Hey, she knows her business, and all of that good stuff. So when it comes to specs, do you do like any type of workshops or anything like that, or do you just again, you do 

 U2 

 29:37 

 workshops? Yeah. So I was a part of I need to renew my membership for the National Resume Writers Association. So they have workshops and classes. So always get continued. Education is always good, and I do have a mentor for that. And the mentor wasn't necessarily about the writing aspect of it, but there are systems involved when you have a business and stuff. Like, I'm not really taking any payments for anybody for hey, DFW, so it's kind of like hands off with that. But with specs, there's an intake form, there's a contract, there's a time where, hey, I meet with the client and we go over their resume together. It's completely different, and it's so much more formal. But I also had to get it to that point because I did have people that didn't pay me or I had a marketing campaign that did not work. So it's a learning process with that one, too. 1s It definitely is because I know when I started my boutique, it was a lot of crash and burns is what I would say. Because what I realized is a lot of entrepreneurs, although there are so many, they're kind of secretive when it comes to lessons learned. And so for you to just be transparent about your learning curve, I think that's bravo to you because a lot of people don't want to talk about the learn curve. A lot of the times we jump head first in entrepreneurship and not realizing that so much goes into it. You have to make sure you're legal. You have to make sure you know about taxes. You have to make sure you don't 

 U1 

 31:13 

 use your personal finances when it comes to trying to launch or all of this other stuff. And so it took me a while to learn about business credit. And so there's just so many things that people don't know. And so what advice can you give to a person that's trying to start their business and they're just kind of like, out there really don't know where to start? Like what areas or direction can you give them? 

 U2 

 31:37 

 It. 1s Definitely pray about your business and pray on your business. I pray on my business and anoint my business for sure because God gave me the idea and he will give me clients. Even when it's been like a dry season, I'll give somebody say, hey, you do resumes. Oh, my God. Yes. What do you mean? 3s Yeah. And also surround yourself with entrepreneurs. I've been blessed in that sense where a good group of my friends are already entrepreneurs and they share information with me openly about stuff that you're just not going to get online, get you a mentor or a business coach, but also research that business coach and research that mentor. Because if someone has, like, if they're selling, like, oh, I have join my class or join my network, it's great when it's a lot of people, like, it was quantity for them. But are you going to get the attention that you need? Like, I can call my mentor, say, hey, I have a question, and I can get my answer. So for me, that works better for me because I have access to someone and she's more experienced. And I was worried when I asked her to be my mentor because she wasn't even into that stuff. But her clientele is different from my clientele. Her prices are a little bit higher than my prices. Well, not a little, but they're different prices and she offers more services. So I was worried because she's going to think that I'm going to try to take some of her business. But she wasn't intimidated at all. So she was like, oh, no, you're good, and it really helps. And I think when she saw my writing skills, I sent her 2s a few of my resumes that I've worked on and things of that sort, and she's like, okay, so that helped her build confidence. Like, she don't need anybody to teach her how to write. She needs someone to teach her certain process because I'll call and say, hey, what do you do when a customer says this? Or what do you do when a customer says that? So you need that to figure it out by yourself 1s is a lot. And if you don't have to do it, then don't do it. But definitely get you a mentor or a coach and pray over it and write down your goals. I write down my goals and say, okay, this is what I'm going to work on this month. This is what I'm going to do 1s today on this. And 1s don't go into is spending a ton of money. I think that's where a lot of entrepreneurs make a mistake. 2s And where you just say, okay, I need this, I need that, I need five of these. 2s Things change all the time. Logos change, designs change. I'm working on a new website for SPX right now. I did the first one by myself. It was a free template. Now I'm doing the one, but I also have someone helping me with it and is going to have more service offerings and things of that sort. And I'm happy about that because in the beginning, I didn't have the money to invest in that. Now I can invest in making it better for the end user. So that would be my advice. 

 U1 

 34:56 

 And that is so true because I rebranded like, three 

 U2 

 34:59 

 times. It's 

 U1 

 35:01 

 like I'll look and when I grow into a new space, then I'll rebrand. So I think it's important for people not to be so hard on themselves. If they have to start out with Google sites, or if they have to start out with some of the free websites, that's okay. It's even okay to start with a one page. The whole goal is to 

 U2 

 35:18 

 start. That's it. 

 U1 

 35:20 

 I am so glad that you said that, because I know when I first started, I was a mess. And when I look back at where I came from and now I'm able to get more of the marketing, more of the automated text messages, the automated emails and different things like that, you will get to that place. But just to try to start there, it can be difficult, especially if you don't have the funding for it. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. And so we know that Specs does resumes, but do you do other type of content writing or is it just resumes? 

 U2 

 35:54 

 Yes. So my whole goal was to when I did the resume writing, things of that sort, I was like, I want to expand this. I want to scale it a bit more because resumes are one and done. I could do a resume and then they're onto their next job. Right? And I needed something where it was more residual. And so I've already started working on press release. So I write press release for companies and business announcements and things of that sort. And I'm going into social media management so where I can manage social media. And there's a retainer for that. So that way it's helping my business grow, and I'm helping another business as well. I'm have my prices, but I'm trying to keep them where a small business can afford them because I really want to cater to small businesses, small and starter businesses. 

 U1 

 36:55 

 That is so good, especially with the social media marketing, because I know even when I speak to people, a lot of their issues is the social media. Especially when you have people that are not tech savvy or not really familiar with algorithms or not familiar with how social media works. And so to be able to hire someone to do that for them, that is really good. 

 U2 

 37:17 

 Yeah, 

 U1 

 37:18 

 you're onto something. 

 U2 

 37:19 

 Yeah. It 1s takes the work out of it. Because even with resume right now, I was like, okay, why are they going to do this? 2s If they could go to this place and upload their resume and they redo it for them, who's going to hire me? But when I realized that nobody wants to work with someone who's not skilled in it. They're just doing it for extra money. And two, people don't have time. People have kids, their families. Time to come home and reformat your resume. You could pay somebody to do it. I pay people to do things that I know how to do because I don't have time to do it. 2s When I saw the need for content management and things of that sort, I was like, I think this will be really great, and this help us small business. Because people, one thing about being an entrepreneur, like a solopreneur, like, doing everything by yourself is hard. And to me, it takes money away from your business. But in the beginning, you just have to do it. 

 U1 

 38:24 

 That's really good. And so there are so many entrepreneurs. There are so many people that write resumes. So what did Aaron do to make specs writing stand out? 

 U2 

 38:37 

 Definitely market. And I like to talk to my 2s that 1s I'm not going to say still in that, but I've been saying this thing that customer service is dead because you go in these big stores, you have to scan the stuff yourself. You got to do everything yourself. People still need a little handholding, and they need to be walked through the process. So when they contact me, leave a voicemail or send me an email, I'm on the phone with you. I'm returning your call. I'm going to talk to you. I'm going to ask you about your needs. And the crazy thing is, a lot of them are also stressed out. Like, this supervisor did this to me, or I lost my job, or I'm trying to get a promotion. So a lot of it is empathy too, because you're hearing this and I'm like, I want to get you out of there too. Hold on, we're going to work this together. 2s And that makes me feel good that I'm helping somebody get out of a toxic situation or leveling up. And I think by that they feel good about working with me and I pray for my resumes before they go out. Girl, I'm like, please let this resume test this client, let them get a job, great raise and things of that sort. So 1s it's really been good. I feel good about helping people and the end result. And I also do follow ups and say, how did the job interview go? How did it go? I was like, okay. And some people say I got the job. Or someone say, well, girl, I haven't got around to applying yet because sometimes people contact me and say, this is what I want to do, but I need a resume. So I said, okay. Well, good luck. Keep me in touch. Let me know. And 2s people know that I actually care about them and want them to succeed. So I think that helps. Good. 

 U1 

 40:30 

 That's really good. 1s My daughter is going into her senior year, and so her experience is like doing different type of Stem camps and things of that nature. So do you also help those students transition? 

 U2 

 40:48 

 I will write I did say I want to start doing more students. I did a student. The thing is, is just 2s with my prices and things of that sort, they are more like go and get an on campus solution because some campuses offer like, oh, they have a free resume writing service. So if they can invest in it, I will do it. But if they can't invest in it, I can't do it. Okay, 

 U1 

 41:17 

 no, that makes sense. I was just trying to see what was your clientele, because I know a lot of seniors are getting even college students are getting to that place, to where now they're trying to get paid internships and they need and so the resume is very important, as well as your academics, but that resume is very important. So it's good to know that you also would help those transition me. So that's really good. And so you have given so much knowledge here on Today. So if you can leave 1s the listeners with one final thought, what would you tell them? 

 U2 

 41:55 

 Believe in yourself, for sure. I know that sounds cliche, but you got to believe in yourself. You have to believe in yourself because nobody's going to do that for you. 2s Continue. Hang around people that you admire and that can inspire you and that support you. So that's very important. And 2s don't give up. I've talked to some people before, even during the resume writing process, and they say, hey, well, I'm thinking about starting a business. What do you think I should do? 1s If you have to do one thing a week towards your business while you're busy, do that. Say hey, I just. I got my website this week. Cool. I filed for my LLC the second week. Great. It's just continue to do it. You don't have to be influenced by everybody else's time frame. Just get on your time frame. Because that's one of the things I had to learn, like, dang, this is happening, but you have to be on your time frame and work within your lane and not worry about anybody else. That'll be my advice. 

 U1 

 43:05 

 That is really good advice. And so if people wanted to get in touch with you, what are your social media handles? Or do you have a website or anything like that? 

 U2 

 43:14 

 Yes. So for space custom writing services, of course, the website is www.specswriting.com. And all my handles for specs writing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are at specs writing, and it's specs s as in Sam, p as in Paul, e as in elephant, c as in cat, s as in Sam, again, writing. So it's at specs writing. And for. Hey, DFW. It's. Hey, DFW. And 2s that's on all platforms. And it's on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at hey DFW. Listen, guys, she is busy. 

 U1 

 43:58 

 She is operating two businesses on all of these platforms. So kudos to you because I cannot keep up. 

 U2 

 44:07 

 Yeah, it's a lot. They say Facebook is 

 U1 

 44:10 

 dead, but let me just stay over 

 U2 

 44:11 

 here. Oh, yeah. Honestly, I have most of my engagement on Facebook and my wheels just got monetized about a month ago. So Facebook ain't dead? Y'all. 1s Facebook ain't dead. 3s Facebook 

 U1 

 44:27 

 is dead. But I'm just like, let me just stay over here with Facebook 

 U2 

 44:31 

 because trying 

 U1 

 44:32 

 to do all of those platforms is hard. So 

 U2 

 44:35 

 I just commend you 

 U1 

 44:36 

 because that's a lot of 

 U2 

 44:40 

 is. It is. But, yeah, I'm proud of Happy. And, you know, after we get off this, I'm going to do probably another wheel and some website stuff. And then I'm like, okay, I'm going to try to go see like a movie tonight, but we'll see if I have time. 

 U1 

 44:55 

 That's good. So, again, thank you so much for tuning in. And guys, you got her information and I will also link it on Brooksdemming.com. So make sure that you reach out to Erin for any of your content needs as well as to see what's going on in the lovely city of Dallas. Because she is everywhere. When I say everywhere, guys, she is everywhere. So just make sure that you guys keep in touch with 

 U2 

 45:19 

 her. This 

 U1 

 45:21 

 concludes today's episode. Thank you for tuning in. I hope the information presented adds value to your life. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at brooks. Demi, the sponsor of today's episode was clothed by J Christine, a Christian clothing store offering quality and affordable clothing for the everyday fashionable, conscious woman. To learn more about today's guests, visit brooksdemming.com. Until next time, be resilient. 

 U2 

 45:52 

 Thanks for joining. Please rate this episode and share this podcast with your family and friends. To learn more about your host, visit 

 U1 

 46:01 

 www.brooksdening.com.