Seven years on the nose of Letter Press and I’m still learning. Running a business is an on-going project, growing, adapting, improving – it might never be finished or perfect.
You won’t catch me proclaiming I’ve got it sussed. That I’m a shining example of how to do things. But I might bring you a dose of reassurance that ‘done really is better than perfect’. My wish-list of things I want to do better remains as long as my arm, but I’m still here. Clients have trusted me to look after their words from day one until now.
Oct 2018 Day one. Set up business with a DIY logo, invoice, and that’s pretty much it – skip to 2023 until I gave it a fresh lick of paint and added to my business toolkit.
Dec 2018 Created a contract for myself sharpish after a painful early lesson with a client who refused to pay. It's a staple of any project now.
Feb 2019 HMRC felt a law unto itself, and setting up payroll a muddle. I got myself an accountant to focus on the numbers side of things, so I can look after the words.
Mar 2019 Got going with a DIY website. No budget to go pro. Didn’t want to commit to a monthly fee so I cobbled something together myself. The same site is going today, but it’s had lots of fiddly and tiddly improvements as I go. There’s enough left on the website to-do list to keep me busy for a while yet.
Sept 2019 Set up Google My Business, nice ‘n’ easy. It’s an extra chance to be found online, share updates, get testimonials – although I’ve found it’s a lot easier to nab a testimonial on LinkedIn than on Google My Business.
Aug 2023 Five years in, I eventually scrapped the DIY logo for a rebrand, thanks Dawn Greenstreet. Assets, templates and a look and feel that did my business justice. It spurred me to create a work space on Instagram too.
Sept 2023 Eventually replaced the awkward office snap with a handful of professional brand photos.
Apr 2024 It took me nearly six years to build a portfolio of any shape of form on my website. Until then I’d relied on my LinkedIn profile and samples on ProCopywriters. It’s growing from the six you’ll see on my site right now, and should double ‘soon’. Watch this space.
Jan 2025 Joined Being Freelance – a reminder that you’re never alone being freelance.
March 2025 Actually started in-person networking. Ticked off my first Copywriters Unite night and an event with The Marketing Meetup, quickly followed a few months later by a Design Swansea event.
Sept 2025 Took seven years to pluck up the courage to enter any awards. Confidence can be flaky no matter how much experience you have in your back pocket. If it comes to nothing, it’s given me a ready-made case study to share.
Sept 2025 I didn’t have a Letter Press CV until 2025 even though it’ll have stopped me going for some freelance roles that asked for it. That won’t hold me back now.
Oct 2025 – seven years of Letter Press.
Leigh James (that’s me) is a Marketing Copywriter.
You can drop me a message, or scribble an email to me.
Photo credit – Leigh James