Win-Win-Win!

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This is the first in a series of posts promoting other writers.

Don't think I can't do the work.

I can't.

But don't think that. You'll never hire me.

I'm kidding. Let me explain.

First, to put my more conventionally-minded clients at ease, I am, in fact, "in it to win it."

And that means having fun with it.

"Getting jiggy wit' it," as Will Smith, a fantastically successful--and funny--guy, once said.

I'm paying attention, and working to make professional copy writing/marketing/consulting a big part of my professional portfolio. I want this business to help support me and my family.

Morgan Wooten said it best: "Work hard. Play smart. Have fun."

Hard work is essential. But it's easy to work too hard. To stress and strain, and grip that putter way too tightly. To force the shot. To swing and miss because all you can think is: "Must hit with power!" forgetting it's all about connecting.

Playing smart is crucial. Knowing the boundaries. Finding the edges. Staking out claims where no one has yet. Hard work prepares you to do this well.

But having fun can get you there, too. And sometimes it needs to.

Life's a game. Just play it.

Remember who you were before you got so serious. Bring your kid to work. The kid you were when you first dreamed "Success."

Just play it.

Let the game come to you. Play your game. Enjoy.

Personally, I have many interests, and some degree of expertise in all of them. Most importantly, I take great pleasure in plowing a variety of fields, so to speak.

I like to hand-design T-shirts. I like to write fiction. I like to write songs, and accompany myself on guitar and harmonica. I like to teach kids to read, write, and think better, and to prepare them for the economic opportunities of the 21st century.

I like to teach adults, too, because the opportunities are here, and more are coming, but many are leaving.

Stay tuned.

I enjoy interviewing interesting people. I enjoy public speaking.

There, that proves it: I'm a little out of the ordinary.

I've long subscribed to the "work portfolio" career paradigm, but I know it doesn't fit everyone.

The conventional wisdom is that most clients don't want to hear this.

They want a dedicated copywriter. Someone who knows business, and knows how to talk business-to-business, as well as business-to-consumer.

I'm better at the latter than the former, not having studied business formally, and not subscribing to the conventional wisdom.

I have, however, successfully sold my services as both an entertainer and a teacher. I've been an entrepreneur, and I'll be one again.

And again.

And again.

I'll put my instinctive sense of selling, persuasive prose against anyone's when it comes to talking to Jane Q. Public about what to do with that extra dollar in her pocketbook.

In the meantime, my 2nd point: promoting friends, and the good work they do, only makes sense.

As mentioned at the Pragmatic Alternative, I'm a polymath. As my friends Barbara J. Winter and Margaret Lobenstine have said, "Ain't nothing wrong with that."

(Not a direct quote. Your mileage may vary.)

Nobody begrudged Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin their polymathematics. Back then, we celebrated the universalist, the generalist. The Enlightened. The Renaissance souls.

These days, of course, the trend is strongly in the direction of specialization. Heck, it's been that way for over 30 years.

But that don't confront you, long as you get your money next Friday.

You're looking for copy.

You're looking for content.

You're looking for words that sell, that connect, that build your bottom line.

These writers I'm highlighting can do all that.

Which brings me to Point #3, our third win, which is really the second piece of bread in my own self-interest sandwich, though the meat in the middle is the talented people I recommend.

You see, when I find good people to do the work you need, to write the copy and develop the content you want, you'll come to see me, Jay Hepner, as someone you can trust when it comes to finding talent and building stronger, more cohesive teams.
It's a win-win-win.

You win because you get the work you need, done well, by experts. My friends/experts win by getting more work, expanding their portfolios, and getting more opportunities to show their mettle in marketing and consulting as well. I win by connecting the dots and framing the big picture, establishing myself as a talent scout par excellence.

Win-win-win.

Just like tic-tac-toe, but with X's and O's intertwined, on the same team.

Everyone a winner.

It's a good thing.