Meet Rachel Weeks | Copywriter & Multidisciplinary Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Weeks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m a San Diegan – not born, but raised – and it wasn’t until I lived elsewhere that I realized there really is a distinctive Southern California ethos that guides my decision-making in life and business.

Southern California is pretty vast, of course, and San Diego takes on its own texture compared to its more prominent neighbors, Orange County and Los Angeles. While the latter are glitzy and glamorous and always on the go (as evidenced by LA traffic), San Diego is a city that takes life slowly and leisure seriously. My childhood in San Diego was centered around the outdoors and around “high-quality leisure activities,” to borrow a term from Digital Minimalism author Cal Newport. In other words, San Diego has a way of making work feel like play: as kids, we got our exercise from swimming, bodyboarding, kayaking, hiking, and the occasional pickup game of beach volleyball. (And it wasn’t until the next morning, when we woke up with sore muscles and sunburns, that we realized we really did get a workout, not just playtime.)

Many years and many moves later, I found that the playful San Diego I remembered as a kid was the same one that greeted me upon my return a decade into adulthood. And now, as a San Diego-based copywriter and designer for small businesses near and far, I always seek to infuse my workflow with elements of San Diego’s playfulness and comfortable pace. For instance, local clients always have the option of taking our meeting beachside for a walk-and-talk strategy session that I record and transcribe, or we can work through their website copy over a glass of natural wine. Because as San Diego shows us, work can feel like play if you let it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a copywriter and creative for brands big and small, but I largely work with female-founded, service-based small businesses (e.g., photographers, designers, trainers/coaches/advisors, event planners, influencers, etc.)

All writers – copywriters or otherwise – have their own voice: the unique-to-them blend of word choice, sentence structure, tone, point of view, and other vaguely remembered vocabulary terms from eighth-grade English class. And while a seasoned writer can dip into other styles, most writers have an intrinsic voice that they can access with ease. And finding a client who is specifically searching for that style? Now that’s the sweet spot for a creative contractor! Of course, entrepreneurship will always have its ups and downs (and, occasionally, some even-further-down downs). But I think if you’re able to align your offerings to a skill that comes really naturally to you, success is perhaps more inevitable than it would be otherwise. So in my case, I love to work with business owners who want a brand voice brimming with personality: the trifecta of wit, originality, and specificity is my signature style.

Going back in time to eighth-grade English class again, I distinctly remember that my teacher had a super eye-roll-inducing poster on the wall that said something about “just being yourself” (in Comic Sans, no less). This poster has inexplicably popped into my mind every few years since then, the way random childhood memories sometimes do. But despite being top of mind so often, that be-true-to-yourself lesson didn’t fully land for me until I started my own business. Because when I first started out as a copywriter, I tried to cast a wide net against my better judgement. Worried that my signature style was *too* specific to attract a full client roster, I stepped into a more formal, professional (read: super generic) writing voice in an attempt to appease the masses. And, surprise, surprise – this kind of writing wasn’t satisfying for me, for the client, or for the client’s audience. TLDR: that middle school teacher can say “I told you so,” because it wasn’t until I leaned into my personal writing style that my business took off. (Thanks, Mrs. Johnston.)

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m not Miami based, so I think I would be the best friend visiting the area, ready for a good time. I’m ready when you are!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
For a “solopreneur,” it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of responsibility on your shoulders: you’re the chief decision-maker, creative director, project manager, HR department, and IT support team in tandem. And add in the bittersweet beauty of working from home in your pajamas, and that sense of isolation deepens. (Even if you, like me, really value working from home in your pajamas.)

In this context of pretty extreme personal responsibility, I think that building a community of fellow small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs is both a practical help and a critical emotional buoy. In my experience, connecting with other copywriters and creatives locally or on Instagram – and building really deep, genuine, fruitful friendships together – has been pivotal. Even just the words “I feel the same way,” or “I went through that, too” are pure comfort when you’re accustomed to navigating business as a party of one! Backed by community, I feel like I’m on a team even as a sole proprietor, because there are other trusted entrepreneurs in my corner who are rooting for me, advising me, brainstorming with me, celebrating and/or cursing with me, and every other aspect of business ownership in between. And I’m beyond proud to be in their corner too.

Website: www.thescout.house

Instagram: @scouthouse