705 - Exit Interviews, Saying No, and Letting Your Interests Drive Your Business with Kaleigh Moore

Live In The Feast

Today’s co-host is Kaleigh Moore. Kaleigh is a freelance writer who specializes in blog content for e-commerce platforms, and the software that integrates with them. She’s also written for Forbes, Ad Week, and Glossy. Kaleigh also co-hosts the Creative Class podcast, and helps run the Creative Class online course with Paul Jarvis, a former co-host of Live In The Feast S03 E04. Definitely give that a listen.

Kaleigh started writing copy as a freelancer about six years ago, and her clients and business have evolved quite a bit since then. As her interests and opportunities shifted, she allowed her business to shift with them. She’s also worked to niche down her business so that she focuses on creating blog content rather than being a generic copy writer.

In 2013, Kaleigh was working as a PR manager for a non-profit and wanted more flexibility in her schedule (and commute!). She gave herself an 18-month window to try out freelancing. If it didn’t work within that time, she committed to going to back to work. That was a huge moment for Kaleigh, and has defined her life and career.

In this episode, we talk about Kaleigh’s business and how her ideal client has evolved over time. We also talk about how to be selective and figure out who you want to work with, and why exit interviews are so important.

"It took me a long time to figure out the clients I should pass on. It’s always a little bit difficult to figure out who’s going to be the best fit for your work style and your personality. So, it was a lot of trial and error for me."

In this episode Kaleigh talked about:

• Who her ideal client is and how she got into that segment of the market.
• How she stays ahead of the industry and tweaks her business model to get in front of new audiences.
• Why she conducts exit interviews and how it’s changed her business.

Main Takeaways

• Be mindful of the fact that things are often changing and evolving. It’s your responsibility to evolve with your industry and to stay relevant to the people you’re working for. It helps if you follow your own interests and use that to expand your offerings and audience.
• Finding who you want to work with can be a lot of trial and error. Interest and expertise should drive these decisions.
• Exit surveys or interviews are invaluable in figuring out what to offer your clients moving forward, and sometimes allows you to expand your services in surprising and delightful ways for your clients.

Important Mentions in this Episode

• Kaleigh Moore
• Kaleigh Moore on Twitter
• Creative Class podcast
• Creative Class online course
• S03 Ep04 with Paul Jarvis
• Paul Jarvis

For full show notes and resources

• Live In The Feast - Episode 5 of Season 7