We had the pleasure of reviewing Abby Kerr’s program, Freeing the Voice of Your Business, a few weeks back and now we’re so excited to say she’s sharing her wisdom once again in this interview!  She’s one inspirational lady and her answers are sure to get you excited about where your business is headed.

In case people don’t know about you and your amazing business, would you mind telling us what you do?

I’m a writer who works with creative independent business owners to help shape their brand voice online and present their message clearly through web copy and social media conversation. My clients are coaches {life, wellness, and creativity}, business consultants, artists and designers, and retailers. Up until this year, I’ve run my business in a typical freelancer model — quoting writing projects according to clients’ specs and working to deadlines. This year, I started working with clients mainly through packages I designed to support my best and deepest work, and provide the most holistic value to clients. By October 2012, I will have tweaked my business model again. I’m thinking even more holistically and full service these days. Lots of big changes to come!

You constantly think about the voice of your business and it appears in EVERYTHING you write and create.  Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to find your own business voice?

For me, as for most of my clients, it wasn’t about finding my brand voice, it was about freeing it. When it comes to writing and speaking on behalf of our creative work in the world, we each have a voice that’s purest, most powerful, and most sustainable — it comes from a place of strength, conviction, and flow/play within us. It’s taken me about two years {in fact, the length of time I’ve had this business online} to free my voice to a point where I’m not consciously boxing off parts of it. But I know there’s still more freeing to come!

You actually ran your own nationally award-winning, lifestyle retail store at one time.  What did you gain from that amazing experience?

Three big awarenesses: 1}I love business and marketing, 2} I have a gift for creating emotionally impactful worlds that people want to spend time in, and 3} brick and mortar retail is not the proper vehicle for my creative energy. In short, I learned that I love business and marketing and I have a strong point of view to teach and share through what I build, but I hate the day-to-day realities of running a retail store. ‘Hate’ is a strong word, but well, there it is.

Also, blogging back to 2006 on behalf of my store put me on the map, so to speak, in a time when not so many retailers were blogging for business. My blog quickly grew a fan base and when I decided to close my retail store in early 2010 and go full-time into brand consulting and copywriting for online presences, I had a built-in clientele wanting to work with me. I got lucky. Timing was an advantage.

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to do what you do?

Figure out your sweet spot and articulate it really well. Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t get too cutesy in the languaging of your value — clarity trumps unique brand language, especially in the beginning. Shape your messaging for one or two ideal clients: imaginary ones, not actual people who are standing in front of you holding money — otherwise you’ll end up building your business in a people-pleasing fashion, which isn’t good for you or your clients. Filter your input. Vet your mentors. Watch the market. Hold onto your integrity.

You’ve come such a long way in your business these last few years.  Was there ever a time when you feared failure?  And if so, how did you tackle those fears?

Oh, yes. I went through a severe business slump about a year into Abby Kerr Ink. Revenues went down, I lost my verve to blog. I was hiding within my own brand. Interestingly, it was tied to a time when I was focusing too much on learning from ‘experts’ and not enough on experimentation and iteration. I had lost my sense of inner direction. Cutting off the outside input ultimately worked to get me back on track. Not just unhooking from the need to see myself in Learner mode, but also from getting continuous input and feedback from well-qualified peers. I am much more discerning these days about who I collaborate with and from whom I solicit feedback. When I fear that I am not enough or that the work I want to offer isn’t singular or special enough, I bring myself back to what I know is true: that nearly all of the clients I’ve worked with over the past two years have wanted more from me at the end of our work together, and have pointed out to me how much more value they received than what I actually promised.

If you want to get to know Abby better and gain even more advice from her, you can check out her blog HERE.  And don’t forget to take a peek at her program to help you free the voice of your business.