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It was wet, it was dark, and...

It moved.

Not exactly how I intended to spend my Friday night, but there I was. Staring down the cylindrical container of my Trader Joe's steel-cut oats.

Beneath the opaque lid was a nest of weevils. Or so I can assume. I wasn't about to peel back the lid and confirm. I had enough confirmation from the dozens of weevils who had found their way in the dogs' water dish, on my hoodie, and on the kitchen floor that Friday afternoon.

My partner was out of town, so I took one for the team. Five hours and one entire listen-through of Phish's '98 Live at the Gorge album, and...

I had eradicated every last beetle creature.

Or so I thought...
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In this week’s issue of The Real Deal Digest: 💭 How to know when you're holding onto something just because it's familiar ​ 💭 Recognizing when it's time to pivot in your business (or clean out your pantry) ​ 💭 A little tease about something I'm sending your way soon (and it's FREE!)

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Let me be clear: We are a very clean household. Yes, we have two dogs, and sure, I can't keep up with the fur-covered beanbag chair they love to lounge on. But besides that? Spotless. We wash our bedsheets every 1-2 weeks, deep clean out the fridge weekly, and I wipe the dogs' paws every time they come inside– rain, snow, or sunshine.

Okay. Now that that's cleared up (I cannot have you thinking I live in some filth-hole, okay??)...

Here was the situation: I hadn't touched those steel-cut oats in at least 6 months. I'd long since switched to Kodiak cinnamon oatmeal packets, trading preservative-free ingredients for convenience.

So why did I keep the oats around if I wasn't going to eat them?

Great question, Reader.

GREAT question.

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As I held my breath and hurled (carefully) the container in the trash bag––then immediately ran it outside––I asked myself the same thing.

Perhaps it was the comfort of seeing the familiar dry goods landscape of my pantry every time I opened it...

💭 Goldfish crackers, apple cider vinegar, peanut butter granola bars, Trader Joe's steel oats that I haven't touched in 6 months. Check. 💭

Or maybe I was holding on to the same delulu belief I have about the bag of spinach I buy every week...

💭 I'll DEFINITELY eat spinach this week. For SURE, this is the week I eat an entire bag of spinach by myself. 💭

🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄

I don't really know why I kept the oats, Reader.

But I did. And I paid for it. I paid for it dearly.

It felt like the time I held on to a client for far too long.

I had just gone 100% in on my business, determined not to return to the world of education. So when the opportunity to get semi-consistent work presented itself, I pounced on it.

At first, it was great––just like when I first bought those oats. 😬 I wrote hundreds of emails for a dozen personal brands and got comfortable using Active Campaign.

But as I grew my confidence and skillset, I started to feel restless.

I didn't have direct access to the clients. The creative briefs were... well, brief, making it hard to write high-converting copy. I couldn't optimize the emails, and I was constantly being rushed to crank them out, prioritizing quantity over quality (blech).

And on top of that? I didn't feel aligned with the industry I was writing for.

None of it felt right, but I kept on trucking because it was familiar.

You ever get stuck in the familiar?

Perhaps you're in the mud (or pantry, ha!) right now.

👉 You're ready to raise your prices or add a course to your offerings, but you're worried no one will buy or accept your new prices so you'll feel like a failure...

👉 Or maybe you've been in business for a few years, but your website no longer reflects who you are and how you help others.

If you're feeling stuck, I'm here to help. And if you've never hired a copywriter before? Fret not! I make the process super easy and comfortable for ya.
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'Cause when I get into the weeds with you (or, you know... weevils), I go allll in, my friend.
​All. Freaking. In.
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Your #1 Cheerleader Awaits

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If you're not ready to give up your DIY copy just yet, I toooootally get it. Handing over your words is a big deal, and copywriting is an investment.
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Buuuut chances are, you still have a few sneaky copy blindspots that are secretly sabotaging your sales... And just like the rogue weevils I'm still finding skittering across the kitchen floor... our own blindspots can slip through the cracks unnoticed. 🪲
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That's why I'm suuuuuper stoked to introduce free li'l sumthin' sumthin' I've been working on over the past month....

But it's not ready quite yet. So stay tuned! 🙃

(In the meantime, go clean out your pantry––You just might thank me later.)

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-Rachael & Her Cleaning Supplies

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