TCC Podcast #422: Starting and Growing a Business with Megan Smyth

Starting and growing a copywriting business isn’t easy. So when we find a writer who seems to have figured it out, it’s worth taking a closer look to see what’s going on. So for the 422nd episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, I asked Megan Smyth to share more about her business and podcast and how she’s gotten so many things right as she’s grown. Click the play button below, or scroll down for a full transcript.

 

Stuff to check out:

The Copywriter Accelerator Fast Track

Megan’s website

The Copywriter Club Facebook Group

The Copywriter Underground

 

Full Transcript:

Rob Marsh:  One of the things I love most about what I do at The Copywriter Club is the opportunity I have to see copywriters grow in so many different ways. They get better at writing. They build and develop amazing businesses that support the lifestyle they want—sometimes that’s something as dramatic as a full-time, six-figure business and other times it’s a part-time gig that helps pay some of the bills. And for copywriters who already have a business, it’s fun to watch them change and update the way they market themselves, create products, and find their ideal clients. Honestly, it’s a big part of why I do what I do.

Hi I’m Rob Marsh and on today’s episode of The Copywriter Club Podcast, I talked with copywriter and launch consultant, Megan Smyth. As you’ll hear during this interview, Megan is one of those copywriters who has made big changes to her business over the past couple of years. Megan’s a pre-med student turned copywriter and the business she’s created will inspire anyone who is just starting out or is ready to make a change—heck, I’m inspired by the progress she’s made. So stick around and listen to what Megan has to share about how she did it.

Just a quick note… on this episode, we’ll mention The Copywriter Accelerator program that helped jump start Megan’s business and brand creation. That program is no longer available—at least in the format that Megan participated. However, we’ve taken all of the content, the 8 modules and blueprints and several bonuses and repurposed them into what we’ve called The Accelerator Fast Track. This version is designed to help you get results even faster. If, as you listen to us discuss that program, you are interested in how it might help you and your business, simply visit thecopywriterclub.com/fasttrack to learn more.

And now, let’s go to our interview with Megan Smyth.

Megan, welcome to the podcast. Tell us how you got started. How’d you become a copywriter, a course creator, now doing some coaching as well? You’ve come a long way.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, doing all the things. Well, first of all, thank you for having me. I’m very excited to be here. It’s an honor to be on this show. It’s one of the very first podcasts I started listening to on this journey. So, you know, if we’re talking about how I got started, very first copywriting and business podcast I ever listened to was yours. And I’ve learned so much from you and Kira. But yeah, so to kick it back, I did not grow up dreaming of being a copywriter. I’ve yet to meet anyone that even knows what that was at a young age. My plan was to be a doctor. So I studied pre-med in university, and I realized about halfway through that something was just not right. I was enjoying it, but not as much as my friends around me in the program. And I was sort of on this fast track to success. It seemed like I had it all figured out. I was in this great program. I was applying for early admission to med school and all these things. And there was just this voice in the back of my head that was like, this is not it. Something’s not right. And so when all of my friends in the program were writing the MCAT over the summer, I took the summer off and I booked a one-way ticket to Thailand. And that was sort of my escape plan. Rather than tell everyone that I was having these doubts, I just left the country for three months. Just ran away from my problems, which is what you do at 19 years old. And I was just not sure what I wanted to do. I thought med school might not be it, but I wasn’t sure what the other options were. And so I thought I would use this time to do some soul searching. I went to Bali. I did the whole thing. And I realized on that trip, what I really wanted to do was travel. That was a big motivator for me. I wanted the freedom to be able to work wherever I wanted to see the world and meet new people and have new experiences. And so I started looking for a career that would allow me to do that and stumbled into copywriting because I’ve always loved writing. And I just really fell in love with it from the beginning. I loved the sales aspect of it and the psychology aspect of understanding how people think and why they make decisions. And I started copywriting while I was still in university. And then I, you know, had a couple of clients on the side. I left my day job pretty immediately after graduating, which I don’t recommend. Just don’t head first into the whole thing. The same year I graduated, I was like, I’m going all in on this business. I launched a website as you do and waited for clients to just magically find me. They did not. And then in January, the next year I joined The Copywriter Accelerator and that is when things started to take off for me.

Rob Marsh: So when you first launched, obviously this was before the accelerator or whatever, how did you get your first couple of clients? I mean, how did you even have the guts to say, I’m a copywriter, not knowing anything about it?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, well, I didn’t. That’s a great question. So I applied for this job that I randomly found while browsing the web for things to do online, how to make money online. And someone had posted this job, and she was looking for actually a blog writer. And so that was how I started. And she was, at the time, yes, she was running a blog, but she was also running launches for her. She was a coach. And so slowly over time, I was watching her launch, and I had ideas and suggestions for how she could get more people in this program. And so she sort of brought me into that world of launching. And I ended up working with a seven-figure coach as my first client, just sort of out of the blue. I was 19 years old, I had no experience. And so there was a bit of luck involved, but I had the guts to apply to this job. And I basically said in my application, I have no experience, I have no qualifications, but I am willing to work so hard and I think I could do this. I think I could make a difference in your company.” And she took a chance on me and to this day I’m very grateful for that. That sort of got my foot in the door and I just sort of gained experience as I went.

Rob Marsh: I love that you had the guts to go for it because most of us, especially 19, 20 years old, most of us would be like, Oh, well, you know, I’m not qualified. And I think more, even more women than men, oftentimes we back up and, and aren’t willing to step forward and say, well, I might not be qualified, but I’m willing to give it a go. So I love that approach.

Megan Smyth: Yeah. Thank you. I was just going to say that I think a big contributing factor was, you know, I almost didn’t apply for that job, but I, in the back of my head, I remembered reading the stats somewhere that, you know, men will apply for jobs if they only meet something like 40% of the qualification criteria, whereas women don’t apply unless they have a hundred percent of those things checked off. And I just thought, screw that. I am not going to contribute to that. I’m going to apply. Cause the worst case scenario is they say no. And, you know, I tried to put myself out there and it worked out.

Rob Marsh: Yeah, it’s amazing. And it’s probably should be one of the big takeaways from this episode. We’re only a couple of minutes in and go for it is the lesson there. So you got into the copywriter accelerator and then you started to make some changes to your business. Talk about that and the thought process that went into deciding where you were going to focus your time, the kinds of clients you were going to serve, the kinds of services that you wanted to offer.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so by the time I joined The Copywriter Accelerator, I had been writing copy for over a year at that point, and I felt like I was getting really good at that side of things, but I still wasn’t really treating it as a business. It was really hard to get out of that side hustle mindset when it had been a side hustle, you know, when I was in school, and then I had a day job working in medical research at the hospital all day, and it was hard to transition just my mindset around that. Now I suddenly had full-time hours that I could give to my business, but I had no idea what to spend that time on. And so, you know, in the accelerator, we learned all the different aspects of running a business. And that was when I started to really think through like, what is my marketing strategy going to be? How am I positioning myself? What is my branding? All of these things that sound like really basic, but you know, again, I was 20 years old and I had planned to work in the medical field. I had no idea what I was doing in business. It was all new to me. And I just, I loved it. I just kind of soaked up everything from Yunkira like a little sponge. I was like, how could I get the most possible out of this experience?

Rob Marsh: Yeah. And, and then you’ve now you’ve launched a lot of stuff. So who did you ultimately decide to serve and what kinds of services did you launch with as you came out of the program?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so when I initially was in the program, we played around with niching. I was, like I mentioned, I started, my very first client was a coach and I loved working with female business coaches. And so I did a lot of work in that space, but towards the end of the accelerator and, you know, in the years that followed, I actually changed my target audience, actually widened my niche, which I think is less common. Everyone talks about, you know, go as narrow as possible. And for me, working with just female coaches felt like a bit like putting myself in a box. And so I widened to what I now call, you know, purpose-driven brands. So women who just really want to make an impact, whether that is in the coaching space and serving people that way, whether it’s, you know, sustainability focused, they just have this sense of impact and, you know, positive change that they want to create in the world. And my job is to, you know, give voice to that brand and help them amplify that impact.

Rob Marsh: So are you still doing launch copy or does it run the whole gamut?

Megan Smyth: It runs the gamut. I would say I specialize in launch and sales copy. So I call myself a sales copywriter. It is mostly launches and evergreen funnel copy. However, there is a fair amount of brand messaging involved in that because a lot of times people come to me for one thing and they end up realizing they do need clarity on their overall brand positioning as well. And so I really become like a long-term partner for my clients, like through launches, but also, you know, through their brand evolution and, and all of that. So I do work on a variety of projects, but specialty is sales.

Rob Marsh: It feels to me like you bring a lot of marketing strategy into it as well. I mean, even as you talk about how you engage with your clients, you know, where you’ve got to figure out, okay, what are the missing pieces? What do they need? So what’s your approach there as you, you know, as you sign up a client, how do you bring strategy to the initial call so that you’re actually helping them do more than just write copy?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so I realized pretty early on that great copy is useless without a strategy behind it, as much as that pains me. But my very first projects, I would write, let’s say, sales page copy or emails or something like that. But without that strategy, the clients either weren’t seeing results or they weren’t implementing them in a certain way. I had all these ideas to share on how they could potentially improve that strategy. And so strategy is a part of the conversation from day one. I don’t do any copy projects that don’t involve the strategy piece. It’s just like a non-negotiable for me that I’m going to be involved on that side of things as well. And so I transitioned, I would say right outside the accelerator around that time was when I started doing consulting as well. And so now that’s sort of like the baseline for me is I will either do just consulting, just the strategy, and they can hand it off to another copywriter. or I will do both, but I will not do copywriting without the strategy.

Rob Marsh: So what does a project look like then? As a client shows up at your door, you know, I want to work with you, Megan. I’ve got, you know, I’ve got to launch a product or I’ve got, you know, some other need. Step us through how that looks from your standpoint and how you would engage a client.

Megan Smyth: Yeah. Great question. So as soon as they inquire, I’ve got sort of a pre-call nurture sequence that takes people through like a little bit of what my process is and what makes me different, you know, testimonials, that sort of thing. So that we’re kind of set up going into that call. We’re on the same page. And then we get on a call and I kind of put on my, my old doctor’s hat and I try and diagnose what the real issue is that they’re coming with me. I’m not trying to like pitch them on a certain service. I’d like to go into those calls with an open mind and really figure out what they need to get the results that they are looking for. So for example, I just had a I just booked a project with these two business partners who are launching a product in the new year and they came to me wanting funnel strategy and copywriting, but they weren’t even sure which copywriting assets they needed. They weren’t sure if they need a new sales page, no email funnel, all of that thing. And so I walked them through the process of what that would look like in terms of research and strategy. And like I said, I always start with that. And so we have now signed on for that like base launch consulting package. And once we map out what their funnel is going to look like, then we enter phase two, which is copywriting.

Rob Marsh: And when you’re mapping for somebody, are you doing that before you start the project? Is it a paid service? Is it part of your research process to basically put together that whole strategy map for them?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so the way that I structure it is the strategy is sort of a separate package. Like this is our baseline package. We’re gonna do launch consulting. We’re gonna map out that strategy together. That is the paid package. And then copywriting is like an additional service on top of that.

Rob Marsh: Okay, cool. And then what? Then what happens? How does the project go?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so after the copywriting phase, essentially, they will take the copy and implement it. And I am there sort of as their partner throughout that, you know, to answer questions, to help them, you know, connect with a designer or whoever else they need on that project. And once they launch it from there, then we’ll do a debrief to gather all the data, analyze it, and continue to optimize for next time. The goal for me when I’m working on projects like this, whether it’s a live launch or a funnel, is to create something that is not just going to generate sales once, but to create a system that they can use over and over again in their business and set them up for long-term success.

Rob Marsh: You’re creating assets basically for them that they can use long-term. Okay, so I want to ask about money. When you first started out writing those first few blog posts, about what were you charging per project?

Megan Smyth: Oh, $20 an hour or something like that. Yeah.

Rob Marsh: Okay. All right. Fair for a 19-year-old college graduate.

Megan Smyth: It felt like a ton of money at the time. I was like, I have made it. I have arrived. And I will also say, I’m Canadian, and so $20 US was more than I was making, I think, at my hospital research job at the time. I was like, this is amazing.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. All I have to do is just fill in the 40 hours and I could be rich. Okay. So compare that to what you would charge on a project today. How has that changed?

Megan Smyth: The minimum project price for the consulting alone on a launch project is 3000 US. So yeah.

Rob Marsh: So big changes.

Megan Smyth: Not even in the same, yeah.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. And I mean, now you have the potential to make more than a doctor would make in some cases.

Megan Smyth: I do. It’s funny you say that. My goal since starting my copywriting business has been to make more money than I would have as a doctor. I was going to be a trauma surgeon, so setting a high bar there, but working half the hours or less. That’s the goal.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. Fewer gunshots to attend to. Well, you’re a cannibalist. There probably aren’t very many of those, but fewer car crashes to attend to, more words, more money.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, exactly.

Rob Marsh: Okay. Well, you’ve also added some other things to your business besides just the copywriting projects. So you have a course that I think is going to become a membership at the beginning of the year. Talk about that. I think as I was going through your site and seeing all the things you’ve added since the last time you and I were able to chat, you’ve got like the Firestarter framework. And so, yeah, I want to hear all about this.

Megan Smyth: Yeah. Okay. So where to start? Well, I’ll start with the course sales liberation. So you mentioned that what I do for my clients is I like to create sales assets that I can use over and over again. And so I have put that framework into a course for people to do the same in their business because that’s what I did in my own business was create these revenue generating assets. And it’s, I think, you know, a missed opportunity for a lot of service providers, especially they were asking me like, how are you growing your sales this much while working fewer hours? I only work like part-time hours, but I am able to make a full-time income. And so obviously people were like, how are you doing this? And I started sharing more about that. I was like, well, instead of, you know, creating fresh content every week, like I’m not a big social media person. I don’t want to be posting every day or engaging every day. And so I started thinking, how could I create that same leverage in my own business that I create for my clients? And so that’s where the Firestarter framework came from. And part of that framework is creating those long-term assets. And that’s what I built my course around to help people do as well.

Rob Marsh: So talk about some of those assets that you’ve built that attract those clients.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so it’s different in every business. In my own business, it’s different for the copywriting side and the course side. So in the copywriting side, I have things, like I mentioned, my pre-call email sequence. That does a lot of the heavy lifting for me. Everything from my inquiry form on, it’s very structured to do the selling for me so that my job is easy when I get on sales calls. It doesn’t require a ton of time. writing these emails from scratch for every new lead. They have, you know, the inquiry form qualifies them. Then they go through this email sequence that sort of positions our call for success. Like I mentioned, testimonials, it walks them through the process, frequently asked questions, all the things that would normally come up on calls, that all takes place in an automated email sequence. So by the time we get on a call, they are pretty much ready to go. Very few questions. And then, you know, the proposal, contract invoice, that’s all automated and templatized. It’s all got a nice automated system for it. And then once they are clients, I of course have a process like for retention and referrals and all of those things. So a lot of different systems going on in my business. And then in terms of assets, like on the course site, it’s a sales page and an email funnel and that’s it. It’s simple.

Rob Marsh: So, and when you launched your course, did you have a big list? How did you promote the course in order to bring people in?

Megan Smyth: No, I did not have a big list at all. I want to say like less than 200 people, like very small email list at the time. I did promote it on email a little bit on Instagram, not so much. I think the key was having written so many other launches, I knew what I was doing on the email marketing front and so I had very high conversions on the emails that I was sending. It was a two-week launch sequence and I had a freebie going out before that. I sent out a free email sequence for two weeks and that was just very educational, very value packed. It started lining up, you know, overcoming objections and all those things. So that was sort of my prelaunch runway. And then another two weeks of sales emails and that was it. I essentially sold it only on email.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. Through to your 200 person list and you basically fill your course. That’s awesome. That’s yeah, that’s amazing. And, and since then you’re now thinking about turning the course into a membership. What’s the thinking there?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, group coaching. So I realized that people were, you know, they were getting great results from the course, but so much of it is meant to be customized. It’s very much like choose your own adventure course. It’s not like, you know, here’s what I did and here’s the exact template you have to follow. There are lots of templates for you to choose from, but as I mentioned, every business is different and I wanted to get people, you know, the flexibility and also the space to ask questions and say, look, how does this apply to my business? What do I do in this instance? and that sort of thing, not to mention all of the mindset drama that comes up when we talk about sales and selling ourselves and marketing our business and all the resistance around that. And so I really came to the conclusion that people would be better served through a group coaching program and to have access to that community and to that support. And so we are relaunching in the new year with that coaching element added.

Rob Marsh: So we can pop on your email list and be ready for that in a bunch of weeks when that comes around.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, exactly. You can watch if you’re just curious what that email sequence looks like. It had like a 40% conversion rate from the freebie to the paid course. So if you just want to watch someone, I personally as a copywriter like to watch other people’s launches and see what they’re doing in their emails. I do the same thing. Yeah. Yeah. So if you just want to come spy on me, that’s cool too.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. Well, I’ll be hopping on your list to make sure that I’m part of that launch when you’re ready to go. Okay. So you’ve got serving your clients, you’ve got the course that’s becoming group coaching. What else is going on in your business?

Megan Smyth: Great question. What isn’t going on? I feel like there’s always so many things happening, but I would say the group program is my main focus at the moment. I am taking on fewer copywriting projects to make space for that because I do have a one-on-one coaching upgrade. and I have one-on-one coaching clients at the moment as well. And so I want to make sure I’m serving everyone to the highest capability and not taking on too many different things. So I am stepping back from copywriting, have very few projects that I take on on that side to focus more on the coaching side of the business at the moment. And I would say that’s where my my number one priority is. I’ve also got a podcast. I’ve got a lot of other things going on. And so I want to make sure that I’m not spreading myself too thin and that I’m prioritizing serving the people who are already in my space.

Rob Marsh: Now, let’s talk about your podcast. I’ve listened to a couple of episodes as you’re out there. Why did you decide to launch a podcast? And it’s not really a podcast about copywriting. It’s more about this broader marketing world, basically serving the clients that you have. So yeah, talk a little bit about that.

Megan Smyth: Yeah. So the purpose behind the podcast was I was having a lot of one-on-one conversations, both with like coaching and consulting clients and just with friends in the online business space. Some were copywriters, others were, you know, designers, photographers, coaches, all kinds of different niches. And there were so many conversations that we had where, you know, people, the general consensus was, and these were all women. Um, but the, because as we talked about something that was like, you know, difficult or challenging, it was going on in our business. And someone would say to me, like, Oh my gosh, I’m so glad you said that. I felt the same way, but I’ve never heard anyone say that before. Or like, I’m so glad you brought that up. I’ve been going through the exact same thing. And I just thought, why are we not having these conversations out in the open? Because entrepreneurship can be a really lonely journey, especially in the online space. And so I wanted to create a space for people to have those open and honest conversations about the good times and the bad times. you know, the challenges and how we overcome them. I’m a very honest and blunt person. And so I wanted to kind of challenge people to talk about that stuff, like, you know, the money issue, and, you know, what you do in a slow season, and all of these things that I felt like weren’t being talked about. and to have those hard conversations. And so that was the original purpose behind the podcast. And it’s grown and evolved from there, but I would say it’s not a ton of educational content. It is more so people being honest and sharing their stories and knowing that we’re all on this ride together.

Rob Marsh: I think part of what I like about your podcast is how it dovetails with the branding on your website, which also feels like, maybe it’s not meant to attract men so much, but it feels like kind of a girls group, like welcome to, like let me put my arms around you and be part of this club that I have. And so, you know, it fits, I mean, again, the kinds of conversations that you’re trying to have fits with that vibe in a really big way. I’m guessing that was intentional.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, absolutely. The podcast is called Blaze, and that comes from the word trailblaze. I feel like we were all sold this idea of there being one right way to do business. In the coaching industry, especially, people are like, I have this blueprint here. Take it and follow it. This is how you do things. You have to do this. You have to do that. posts on social media. You have to grow your email list. You have to do this and you should do that.” And I was really tired of that. And I just wanted to give people the opportunity to share their stories. Because like I said, I was having these one-on-one conversations and the understanding that I was getting was like, there is no one right way to build a business or to do that. You can do things your own way. You can do them differently. And here is this incredible community of women to show you what is possible.

Rob Marsh: Yeah, I endorse that a hundred percent. Obviously you went through our program, which is all about, you know, figuring out your way to do the thing that you want to do. But there’s way too many people out there selling the blueprint or the way. And so I think that’s probably why even me listening to your podcast really resonated, you know, some of that messaging there.

Megan Smyth: Yeah, for sure. That’s my messaging around selling as well is that so many people I talk to, they hate selling themselves, absolutely dread it. When I did market research before launching my course, that was the number one word that came up. I would say, when you think about marketing your business or selling yourself, what comes up for you? Everyone was saying dread. I was like, this is a conversation we need to change because I do believe there is a sales and marketing strategy out there for everyone. And it might take some work to find it. You might have to do some experimentation. But how can we find a way to make this work for you? Because if you don’t enjoy it long term, that’s not going to work for you and your business. And so we want to find a way that feels fun and sustainable. And there are so many different ways that can look. And so I love being able to showcase that on the podcast as well.

Rob Marsh: I think, yeah, looking for things that you dread is a great way also to find problems to solve for clients, right? If they dread it or, I mean, and it’s not just a copywriter thing. I mean, I dread doing the books. I dread taxes. I dread, like, I hate even opening up the bank account. I just want to know there’s money in there. Like, I avoid all of that stuff. And so, yeah, like identifying those kinds of problems that people dread is probably a copywriting, not really a secret, a great thing to look for when we’re looking for problems.

Megan Smyth: Absolutely. Yeah. Bookkeeping was the first thing I outsourced to. I feel like on that one.

Rob Marsh: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit about your brand, because it’s very different again from what you started out with. And I kind of already said what at least it feels like to me, but when you went to, you know, create this visual look for your website and the messaging on your website, uh, what was the process and what were you trying to convey?

Megan Smyth: Yeah. Okay. So I’ll start with what I was trying to convey and then I’ll walk you through kind of how we brought that to life. But the, the sort of vision for the brand was when I started my business and even before that, you know, just growing up, um, and watching the business space, like as a little girl, I would watch dragon’s den, which is basically our Canadian shark tank for American listeners. I would watch these business conversations and pitches. And it was a very like male centric environment, at least back then there was one female dragon on the panel and she was always being interrupted and spoken over. And it was just like a very male environment. And so that was what I grew up watching. And I, as a little girl, internalized that and I never even considered business as a career path, like never had entrepreneurship in my future. was not on my mind at all until, like I said, university and much, much later. And even then when I came into this space, there was a bit of the old pushy sales tactics as well. It was very old school boys club kind of vibe. And I wanted to shake that up a bit through copywriting and through this conversation around sales and the way that the sales industry is going in the online space. I think we’ve seen that shift in recent years from the pushy tactics don’t work anymore. No one wants that. in their own business. It’s not working on consumers either. And so I was like, let’s change that conversation. And so I had this vision in my head of Like I said, that old school vibe, the boys club, and the visual concept that I worked with a messaging strategist and a designer. The messaging strategist is one of my friends from The Accelerator, so I can thank you for that connection. We worked together to come up with this visual concept of a woman walks into this bar, this old school bar in Edinburgh, Scotland. That was the pitch she gave me. It’s very specific. She walks into this bar. Yeah. And she’s the only woman in the room. And she walks in and she goes up to the bar and she orders a scotch neat. And everyone just kind of sits up and takes notice. And it’s like, this is her place now too. And the fact that she’s there kind of opens the door to other women to be there as well. And so that was a very high concept pitch for this. And thankfully, I had a very talented designer who took that and turned it into beautiful visuals as well.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. And then as far as the messaging that goes along with that, I’m assuming you wrote the messaging. Yes. Maybe I’m wrong about that. I don’t know. And so what is the thing that you’re communicating there that’s backed up with the visual?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, so same thing in the visual. Some of the pitch concepts from that messaging that I worked on, like I said, I did write the website copy myself, but I had a lot of help from my friend from the Accelerator, Kristen of Cursor and Ink. We can give her a shout out. She worked with me on the strategy behind the messaging. And so some of that did make its way right from the strategy document onto the website and homepage, especially the concept I just mentioned of the woman in the bar. I think that is still a line on one of my website pages. And, you know, just this vibe of like shaking things up and, you know, burning the old sales playbook and writing our own rules, that’s really heavily featured in the messaging. All the fire imagery that’s, you know, out now on the podcast and the course is just kind of this common thread throughout of, you know, we’re here to make some noise and make some change as well.

Rob Marsh: Yeah, I think before we started recording, I mentioned that when I saw your website, saw all the things that you were doing, it just was one of those things where I’ve got to have Megan come on the show because I wish I could take people back in time and show them where you were, you know, three and a half, four years ago, you know, before you started in the accelerator and then what you’ve done since because I think it’s amazing and I admire a lot of the the work that you’ve put into creating that business and the way that you’re showing up in the world is, I just think it’s phenomenal.

Megan Smyth: Thank you. That means a lot.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. Okay. So all of this is set up so that you can work part time, so you can travel. So how’s that working out? How many hours do you work and what are you doing with the rest of your time?

Megan Smyth: Great question. What am I doing? I’m chilling a lot. I am learning very slowly. I realized recently that I came to the conclusion, you know, I never learned how to relax like in my entire life. I’ve always worked multiple jobs at a time, like all through school and everything. And I am slowly but surely carving out more time for just relaxing and for hobbies, time with family and friends, getting outside, all of the things. But I would say I work anywhere from 10 to 25 hours a week, maybe 30 max, depending on what I have going on on that season. If it’s busier with client work, launching the course obviously takes extra time, things like that. But I have been able to travel a lot and to really enjoy the places that I visited. That was my big thing is I didn’t want to be in these beautiful places and be stuck indoors on my laptop. I wanted to get out and explore and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to do that.

Rob Marsh: So what are some of your favorite places you’ve been able to travel to?

Megan Smyth: I would say, okay, so I was in Greece for two months earlier this year and the entire time was just like an absolute dream. Total bucket list destination. I timed it right with the time zone difference between Canada and the US and Greece because I got to go out all day and spend all day exploring and wandering through olive groves and exploring ancient ruins and then in the early evening, I would come on and have a couple of calls, do a couple of hours of work, and then just kind of wind down in the evening and just enjoy my time. And that slower European pace of living was just so good. And I’m so excited to get back there.

Rob Marsh: Yeah. I’ve been to Greece. It was a long time ago. It was basically backpacking as a student with one of my friends, like I said, a long time ago. It’s definitely one of the places I need to get back to.

Megan Smyth: Yeah.

Rob Marsh: So beautiful. So in order to make all this happen, do you have a team that supports you? You mentioned you outsource your bookkeeping. Is there anybody else that you’ve got that is helping you run all of this stuff?

Megan Smyth: Yes. I do outsource. Actually, my bookkeeper is my sister. She was my very first hire. I have outsourced quite a bit to her. She started out just doing the books and she’s become my complete operations manager. She handles all of the system side. She’s very organization minded. To have her brain on that is so helpful for me. We’re opposites. I’m the visionary, creative, And she’s like, let’s bring that back to earth. Like we’re going to make a plan. We’re going to make a strategy and do all the things. And so she really is like my right hand woman and I could not do this without her. And so she’s become more and more involved in the company. And then I also have VA who does podcast editing and helps with a few other like marketing admin tasks. And so no, it is not just me.

Rob Marsh: Amazing. So what’s next in your business? I know you’re, you’re launching the group coaching. Anything else that’s coming up to be excited about?

Megan Smyth: I would say that is the main focus. Like I said, at the moment, I am just beyond excited to launch this program again. I’m really excited about the workshop I’m hosting, going into that launch as well. I know the purpose of a workshop or a webinar is to launch the course. It’s part of the launch, but I’m honestly just really excited for the workshop aspect and to deliver free value there, whether or not people buy the course, because the workshop is centered on what we just talked about. that’s creating a full-time income on part-time hours. And whether that’s because people want to travel like me or they just want more time with their family or to focus on their health or whatever it is, I’m really excited to share kind of behind the scenes of how I’ve done that and how I’m helping my clients do that as well.

Rob Marsh: So since you’ve ended up on a very different path than the one you thought you were going to be on when you first went to university, What advice would you give to teenager you, maybe 20-something you, that would make a difference in the pathway that you’ve chosen?

Megan Smyth: Yeah, I would say stop worrying about what everyone else wants. do your own thing. And that kind of is the message, like I said, of my brand and the podcast and all that as well. But back then I was so caught up in I think other people’s ideas of success, hence studying medicine. That was very much an idea that was kind of planted in me from other people. It was like this idea of what a successful career and life would look like. And it took a lot of time and I think introspection to think, well, what do I think a successful life looks like? And it turns out it wasn’t med school. It was completely different than that. Turns out all I wanted to do was, you know, be creative and travel and, you know, help more women make more money in their businesses. And that’s my dream. And your dream doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. So I would just say to trust yourself. Stop worrying about what other people think.

Rob Marsh: I, again, I wholeheartedly agree. If I had done what I thought I was going to be doing back in college, I’d be an attorney. I would probably hate my job. I mean, I think I would have probably been a decent attorney, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun. So yeah, as I look back, I’m like, yeah, serendipity, you know, play around, have fun, let things happen and see if the path just ends up being a little different.

Megan Smyth: Another way to say that would be to follow the fun. What genuinely lights you up and what do you have fun doing? Because I think a lot of people assume those have to be separate things. They’re like, I can’t have fun doing the thing that’s going to make a living. That’s for hobbies. I’m like, I think there is a way to make that happen. I’ve created it. You and Kira have created it. So follow the fun in both your life and your business.

Rob Marsh: Yeah, for sure. I feel like that might be a pretty good place to end. Megan, for sharing so much about your business and what’s going on. Like I said, I’m just I’m amazed at what you’ve built. I shouldn’t be amazed because obviously you’re so good at this stuff anyway that it would have happened no matter what. But just having the back row seat and watching you do all of this stuff has been a lot of fun for me. So, yeah, good. Good job. And thanks for sharing so much.

Megan Smyth: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. Definitely would not be where I am now without you guys and The Accelerator.

Rob Marsh: You’re nice for saying that. Thank you. Thanks to Megan Smythe for sharing how she got started and the business that she built. You can find her on her website, megansmythe.com, which we’ll link to in the show notes. Her podcast is called Blaze and you can find that on Spotify and other podcast platforms. Be sure to jump on her list so that you can watch her launch for her group coaching that we talked about during the show. So yeah, if you join the list, you can check out what she’s offering there.

Before we sign off, I just want to repeat one of the ideas that we talked about early on this show, and that’s the willingness to go for it. Megan had it, and a lot of successful copywriters do, but too many copywriters hold back and wait for client work to find them. or they wait for opportunities to come their way, and that just doesn’t happen enough to make it a viable strategy for success. You have to put yourself out there, you have to try new things, you have to take risks, and it might require you to do a few things that make you uncomfortable, make you step outside of your comfort zone. If you’re not willing and able to do that, you’re going to struggle to make things work as a copywriter.

So this is me encouraging you to put yourself out there, pitch podcasts that you want to speak on, write for publications that can get you in front of your ideal clients, create and send that pitch to the client or to the event manager, to the podcast host that you want to connect with, go for it.