Before Tamara and I started the Berry-Brewer Freelance Agency, we both worked for the same company. She was a full-time employee, and I was a contracted freelance writer. For a short time, in fact, she was my supervisor. I wonder if she’s ever sorry that part’s over.

Anyway, when I was hired on by that company, I was overjoyed by the fact that I could officially call myself a “professional writer.” Sometimes I’d ask my husband, “So, what does your wife do for a living?” just to hear the answer. In my world, simply being paid to write makes you a professional writer.

Of course, this simple criterion means that there are some really bad “professional writers” out there. That’s what you call “talking the talk.”

Now that Tamara and I have our own company that is doing well, I feel more like a professional than ever. Things have moved beyond a point where a few bucks for an article is enough to make us feel like we’ve arrived. We’re now looking at ways to let other people know that we’re professionals. It’s time to really “walk the walk.” We’ve begun by taking a few baby steps into the land of Market Thyself.

Our first goal is to “brand” our company. We’re working with Rainmaker Marketing, a local business, to come up with a concept that describes us and what we do through the use of colors, graphics, and a logo. Our marketer Billie has been working on ideas for the last week or so, and we are super excited to go see what she’s put together.

One of the best parts of we’re doing, in our opinion, is that the branding will tie all of our marketing materials together. In addition to a logo, Billie is creating some separate graphic elements that can be carried over onto our business cards, web site, note cards, brochures, etc. With a nice design and great colors, branding is really going to take us to that next level of professionalism.

The second-best part of this whole thing is that we are working with another freelance parent who lives in our area. How perfect is it for our two businesses to support one another?

Popularity: 6% [?]

If you liked this article, please...
	Subscribe Via Email		Subscribe Via RSS		Add to Technorati

Or read these related articles...