Hi, I’m Fauve!

Before I was a Writer, I spent 11 years as a self-employed Virtual Assistant. It suited me and my lifestyle quite well. It enabled me to work around my University degrees and then, when I became a Mum in 2018 (and again in 2020), I could work flexibly, on a part-time basis, around my children.

My role? A bit of everything! I was essentially helping my clients with the day-to-day running of their businesses - from Admin, Bookkeeping, Copywriting, Marketing (& everything else in between... including lots of spreadsheets). I was basically that person constantly being asked "can you just...?"

Here's an overview of some of the projects I've been involved with over the years (in addition to general, day-to-day admin support):

• Jointly running a bike business with my boyfriend (now husband) when I was studying for my BA. He was the bike mechanic, I did all the admin, created flyers and marketing materials and managed the free Facebook group

• Designing and setting up websites (incl. writing website copy) for property development companies (in the construction industry)

• Writing brochures and marketing materials used to sell new build homes (most were custom builds, where buyers could choose finishes like carpets, tiles, kitchen design etc.)

• Writing detailed documents outlining the specification for the new homes (these were individual to each buyer, customised to what they'd chosen for their homes and had to be updated regularly)

• Writing, designing and creating professional marketing materials - incl. flyers, business cards, social media banners etc.

• Creating visual aids used in marketing and advertisements for new build homes

• Setting up, designing and writing the copy for a simple, 1 page website for my husband's driving instructor business (click here to view)

I've put an image gallery below to show you some of the projects I've worked on

A major benefit of this work was I picked up loads of skills, meaning that I can help clients with other things in addition to the writing - like design and the tech side.

However, in 2023 I got fed up. We'd been through some tough times as a family and it made me realise how short life is. I just wanted to be a writer! So I took the leap and decided to specialise. Stuff it - I had nothing to lose. The projects I'd been working on had finished so it was a good time because nothing else major was lined up.

Now, if there's one thing you should know about me, I really like doing things properly. I'm not great at 'winging it' - I wanted some proper training before I started doing paid work and calling myself an expert.

So I started searching and eventually enrolled in a 6 month training program (run by a lovely human and successful copywriter). It was a self-paced program which suited me (I'm an academic at heart - studying is one of my happy places). 

The approach perfectly aligned with me:

• Ethical copy that helps people make informed decisions
• Copy that sounds just like the client - allowing their unique brand voice to really shine
• Copy that resonates emotionally with the target audience so that they feel seen, heard and understood (NOT to manipulate them or make them feel rubbish)

I was sold. This was exactly what I wanted. 

People who know me will tell you that one of my highest values is integrity. I really can't stand it when people are manipulated or mis-sold - it really gets my goat.

You really don't need to manipulate people to sell to them. You just need to really understand them and deliver genuinely valuable solutions they really want and need. 

This is why your mission, vision and ideal client (target audience) are so key - not just to your marketing, but to your business at a whole. Because they drive the products and services (i.e. solutions) you create. You create them for a specific group of people so you can provide them with exactly what they want and need.

No manipulation needed - just words that effectively communicate the genuine value that your offer provides them with. And as of April 2024 (when I finished the training program) I'd learnt how to do that. I was officially a copywriter. Happy Days!

Now - was my progress fast? Nope. Why? Because life happens. I'm the default parent, working from home, still doing some admin for a couple of clients to keep afloat. I also couldn't afford additional childcare so had to get as much done as I could between school hours. So progress was slow.

But small progress is still progress and in the last year I've:

• Learnt a lot about passive income and business strategy
  • This education is directly relevant to what I do. It's rarely just about words on the page - there's a lot of strategy involved
  • It also means I can support clients who run memberships, courses etc. because I have a deeper understanding of how the strategy works behind these business models

• Collaborated with my Mum - a CPD accredited business strategist - not just on her marketing, but also on creating a suite of support for start-up coaches and consultants (her target audience) including:
  • A Resource Hub subscription - a library of resources, templates and mini-trainings to help them run their businesses for an affordable cost
  • A foundational business program - many start-up coaches and consultants have never run a business before. This program teaches them where to start, how to build their business foundations and how to start making money from what they love
    • I've provided course students with guest trainings on: ideal client; branding; and social media marketing
    • I've provided course students with detailed, constructive feedback on their content and copy so they can get off to a great start
    • I've been actively involved in the planning and creation of all the modules to ensure training is of a high standard - from slides to workbooks to resources to the content of the training modules themselves