My 9 to 5 before copywriting
Before I became a copywriter my first real job was in the Procurement department of a shipping company. Procurement, sometimes called Purchasing, buys things for the company. The way we bought things was via RFPs (Requests for Proposal), RFQs (Requests for Quotation) and Tenders (Sealed proposals, called "bids.") Sometimes formal, sometimes informal, these are ways of saying, we are buying X, please send us a quote. Then we review the quotes/proposals/bids and pick the one we like best. In most cases, but not always, it's the cheapest quote/proposal/bid. The tenders were the worst. We had to open sealed bids and discuss them in a "tender committee." Which meant me sitting, taking notes ("meeting minutes") and trying not to fall asleep. That experience is one of the reasons I don't like to work with corporations. One, I don't like competing for work. Two, the decision makers are often not the end user. But this was a mistake on my part. Because corporate clients pay A LOT more than coaches, consultants, and course creators. And the process of winning their business isn't always so tedious. In many cases, you can close a deal in a few weeks (corporations don't always do RFP/RFQ/Tender, and they may not all have a procurement department.) They do have their particular ways of doing business, though, which you have to know and play to. But, if you're willing to learn the corporate client game, and play it… Three to five clients per year are enough to make a 6-figure income. And while you need to be good at what you do, you do not need to be an A-list copywriter to win these deals. And the best part is, once they've built a relationship with you, they keep coming back for more.