When I was first starting out as a freelance copywriter, there was NO way I’d have been able to do it if I’d have had to invest a lot of money at the start. Why? Well, we didn’t have a lot of money at the start! 

I’d just come out of a bad business experience, and things weren’t great. I’d retired my husband from his career as a construction team supervisor to work with me, only to have a massive client contract fall apart very suddenly due to circumstances I had no control over.

Oh, and we’d just decided to pull our kids out of public school school to homeschool them. To say the timing couldn’t have been worse would be an understatement, and I really needed to make something happen WITHOUT it costing me an arm and a leg to become profitable.

Enter freelance copywriting. When I discovered that I could use one of my latent talents (writing) as a way to generate income by writing for clients, I was thrilled. And when I realized it had a very low overhead and high profit margin, I was ecstatic!

Today, I’m passionate about helping other moms like me launch freelance copywriting careers in my online community, Wordy Mama. In this article, I’m going to give you all the details on the financial factors involved in starting a freelance copywriting business. I’ll also share the pros and cons of starting a freelance copywriting business as a mom specifically, and show you how much you’ll potentially save compared to what it would cost you to build a traditional business …

… or even to go out and get a regular job!

So hold on to your mom-purse and let’s go!

Financial Factor #1: Location

Let’s just start at the very beginning with the super obvious one. When you’re a freelance copywriter, you’re location independent. That means you can literally work from anywhere. If you’re a homebody like me, this is like your dream come true. There are some MAJOR pros to being location independent, like: 

Pros of being location independent 

• No travel miles or vehicle wear and tear
• No gas costs
• No professional wardrobe
• No office space or storefront rental
• No meals out costs

There’s always two sides to every story though, so there are a few cons to being location independent that could be considered drawbacks.

Cons of being location independent

• You’re not removed from the distractions of home
• For extroverts, working from home can feel isolating and lonely
• You’re in charge of your own motivation, and that takes discipline

All in all, if you have kids and would be paying daycare costs just so you could work, the financial benefits far outweigh the cons here. You’ll save hundreds, if not thousands, every single month just by being location independent.

Potential Savings: $$$-$$$$ every month.

Helpful Tip for Extroverts: Just because you’re location independent DOESN’T mean you always have to work from home. Work from McDonalds Play Place, the local library, or a coffee shop. And don’t forget to have a supportive community of other moms who get it, like my free Facebook community for wordy mamas. Want to join? Visit Wordy Mama Freelance Copywriter Community for Moms and request to join.

Financial Factor #2: Equipment

The next thing start up business owners have to have in order to get started is equipment. Depending on the type of work being done or products being created, this might me electronics, machinery, vehicles, or tech.

Now, I might be biased, but you would be hard-pressed to find another income -generating activity that requires less equipment to get started than freelance copywriting. All you really need is a laptop or desktop computer and an internet connection. I’ve even heard of some writers starting on a tablet or smartphone.

The truth is, you don’t need fancy tools or tech in the beginning. Chances are, you already have a computer that will get the job done just fine to start off with, and you can upgrade as needed once your business is profitable.

Pros in the equipment category

• No vehicles or machines means you’ll have practically zero upkeep or maintenance required
• Everything you need can be very portable, allowing you to work anywhere in the house or outside
• With the internet, you can reach anyone from anywhere and serve clients all over the world 
• No learning fancy new tech or equipment. All you really need is a basic knowledge of how Google docs or Microsoft Word works

Cons in the equipment category 

• Although you’ll be able to write without WiFi, you’ll have to have access to good internet in order to send and receive files and communicate with clients. Your business depends on it.
• A computer problem can bring your biz to a temporary halt, which can be really inconvenient. Make sure you store files in the Cloud or Google Drive so you can access things from another computer.

Your savings in this category are huge. A decent laptop computer costs $1,000, which you can easily recoup with just one client … but I’m guessing you already have one. That leaves you with just WiFi, which will cost you around $50 a month. Or you can even tether data from your cell phone plan.

Potential Savings: $$$-$$$$ every month.

Depending on what type of business you’re comparing freelance copywriting to, you’re saving untold thousands of dollars you’d have to spend to purchase equipment plus hundreds more for maintenance and upkeep per month.

Financial Factor #3: Software

When it comes to software, there are some really high-powered (aka expensive!) programs out there. From bookkeeping to automations to CRMs to databases, many businesses pay big time when it comes to the programs they use to keep things running. 

When I worked in graphic design, I had to have the Adobe suite of programs, which were thousands of dollars to purchase … but it was my business, so I had to have it.

As freelance copywriter, however, you’re in luck! When you’re first starting out, you can do most of what you need for your business with the free versions of your favorite software. Here are some of my favorites:

• Canva for graphic design makes it easy to create social media graphics and lead magnets to promote your services
• Zoom or Google Meet are great for client calls
• Asana, Trello, Monday, and ClickUp all have free versions for project management
• Otter.ai gives you 600 minutes a month for transcriptions FREE!
• MailChimp and Mailer Lite have free versions for your email list
• InShot or CapCut can help you edit basic videos
• And of course, the entire Google Suite of programs for documents, spreadsheets, photo storage, email, and presentations 

Pros in the software category

• It’s easy to try out different programs to see which you really like before investing a penny – many times you’ll never even need to upgrade!
• Most are available 100% online, which means you can access them from anywhere, anytime
• New software and apps come out all the time, so there are plenty of options to choose from

Cons in the software category

• You may need to invest in the paid versions to access some features

Potential Savings: $$-$$$ every month. Until you need to start investing in the paid versions, you’re looking at saving hundreds or even thousands per month over many other types of businesses. 

Financial Factor #4: Education & Training

Being a successful freelance copywriter does require a specific set of skills, and it’s important to have mastered those skills going in if you want to shortcut your success … but learning those skills isn’t as expensive as you might think! 

Freelance copywriting is specialized knowledge. That means you can learn what you need to in order to do the job without having to go get a full college degree. In other words, you can go straight to someone who is successfully doing what you want to do and learn directly from them. There are a couple different ways you can do this.

If you have a lot of time to invest, you can hit up the internet to find the information you need on Google or YouTube.  There are countless videos and tutorials out there that talk about how to write copy for clients and how to run a freelance business. That’s time-consuming, but it can be done.

But maybe time isn’t on your side. Maybe you want to start getting results and getting paid now. Well there’s an option for that too. You can choose to invest in an online course or mentorship program with an expert. The expert can teach you exactly what you need to know, when you need to know it while giving you the accountability, coaching and support you need to make more progress faster.

This is what I do for my students inside Wordy Mama Copywriting Academy and my Written Results Copywriter Certification program. I did all the trial-and-error and learned things the hard way so I can present my students with the most direct path to success as freelance copywriters.

Pros on education 

• Learn from anywhere
• Learn when you want on your own schedule
• No travel expenses or course and lab fees
• Faster than a 4-year degree and WAY cheaper, even if you hire a coach or mentor

Cons on education

• You’ll need to vet information carefully. It can be hard to know if you’re finding trustworthy information

Whether you go the self-taught route or hire a coach, you’ll save tens of thousands over a four-year college degree. You’ll also be able to start making money much sooner. If you go looking for a coach or mentor, make sure they have proven results and recommendations from people you trust.

Potential Savings: $$$$-$$$$$ every month.

Conclusion

Want to learn more about what it would be like to be mentored by me? Want to get my step-by-step breakdown of exactly how to start making money from anywhere as a freelance copywriters (no freelancer job sites or cold outreach involved)?

Watch my FREE MASTERCLASS where I break down the three major mistakes most freelance copywriting moms make that keep them stuck, stressed and financially stressed. You’ll also learn my 3-step framework to making money from anywhere as a freelance copywriter. Click here to WATCH NOW.

So what do you think? Are you ready to go all in and give freelance copywriting a try? Give me a thumbs up if this video was helpful, and drop a comment below and let me know what you’re going to do FIRST when it comes to taking the next steps to grow your freelance copywriting business.