Thinking Outside The Bun™

Okay so believe it or not, there is a business side to Jeff Roberts (don't you hate it when people refer to themselves in the third person???). Jeff . . . oops, I mean I am the owner, operator, CEO, janitor, lunch lady and only employee of Jeff Roberts Ink™ (www.jeffrobertsink.blogspot.com), my freelance writing business. I have to admit, I am the second best boss that I have ever had and am now venturing into my fourth year of business. I was an accidental entrepreneur. When the advertising agency I had been employed by for over a decade suddenly tanked with virtually no notice, I took a deep breath . . . and went out on my own. Recently, I was cleaning out all of my old electronic files, when I found one of my first Jeff Roberts Ink™ writing assignments - a short story contest in which you were supposed to articulate how you were lead to your current job. I thought it would either amuse you . . . or scare you . . . or both. Read at your own risk below. And please note that, true to my eating habits, the image above is a veggie burger!

Thinking Outside The Bun™

I didn’t ask for this. The Ind-e-ges-tion™ and The Heartbreak of Psoriasis™ that suddenly beset me upon learning that the ad agency I had called home for a decade was closing. As an established copywriter, I had become mistakenly confident that my company would Keep Going, and Going, and Going . . . ™.

While It Takes a Tough Man to Make a Tender Chicken™, it takes an even tougher individual to dive into the unknown corporate abyss with No More Tears™. Nothin’ Says Lovin’ Like Somethin’ from the Oven™, so while I started my first day of unemployment with a Breakfast of Champions™, I weighed my financial status. All that was left was my employee stock, which at that point bought me only A Coke and a Smile™.

How Do You Spell Relief™? I decided to start my own copywriting organization and I Liked It So Much, I Bought The Company™, which isn’t saying much since I am the only employee. As scary as it was venturing out on my own, I felt like I was striving toward something positive. After all, A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste™ and I wanted to Be All That I Could Be™. So I cleaned off my shabby desk, set up my Apple® iBook™ computer, decided to Think Different™ . . . and waited for the phone to ring. Was I destined to be The Loneliest Guy in Town™?

After shaking hands, kissing babies and emphasizing that at my new business, Quality is Job 1™, I landed my first assignment – a request for slogans, of all things. Where’s The Beef®? The client said the ideas had to Absolutely, Positively Be There Overnight™. “You’re In Good Hands™,” I assured the client. After all, at my company, We Try Harder™. Even though the pressure was on, I was determined to Just Do It™.

I racked my brain for hours, looking for the perfect idea. Then Snap! Crackle! Pop!™, it came to me. I quickly Let My Fingers Do The Walking™ across my keyboard, emailed my concepts to the client and anxiously awaited the reply. “M’m, M’m, Good™! . . . They’re Great™!” came the response as I excitedly jumped up and down in my Nike® Air Shocks™. Something Special is in the Air™, I thought. Then it happened: the happy client spread the word about my good work to other organizations, then They Told A Friend, And So On, And So On™, until I was so busy I could barely type fast enough. When It Rains, It Pours™!

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh What a Relief It Is!® Just a few months after starting out on my own, I’ve Come A Long Way, Baby®. New business cards: $35. New suit to meet with clients: $200. The opportunity to work for myself: Priceless™. I’m Lovin’ It™!

Jeff Roberts is a freelance copywriter in St. Louis, Missouri. His wife Jackie, son Murphy, and daughter Aubrey are The Pause That Refreshes™ in his life.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, pick up the pace and run your own race.

- Jeff