WHR 3.292: From Hong Kong to Copywriting — Rachel Allen’s Nomadic Work-From-Home Journey

Tim Melanson: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the Work At Home Rockstar Podcast. Very excited for this episode. We’re talking to a marketing strategist from Bolt From The Blue Copywriting, and what she does is she helps, she helps to create marketing strategies and write copy and content that helps people build relationships with their clients and audience so they can share ideas that matter and make more money.

That sounds pretty cool to me. So we are rocking out today with Rachel Allen. Hey, Rachel, you ready to rock?

Rachel Allen: I am ready

at literally at all times

Tim Melanson: Awesome. Well, let’s rock out then. We always start off here on a good note. Tell me a story of success that we

can be inspired by

Rachel Allen: Hmm. You know, I, uh, I had a couple, but I think the one I’m gonna go with is actually how I started my business and how I became a work-from-home rockstar. I’ve never actually had another job, uh, as an adult. So I graduated from college with a journalism degree, and, uh, but the problem was I graduated into the ’08 recession, and of course, nobody was hiring anybody, and especially not people from rural Tennessee.

So, um, in my 22-year-old brain, I was like, "Well, what’s the furthest away I can get [00:01:00] from Tennessee?" And turns out it’s Hong Kong. So I bought a plane ticket, and I left. But I didn’t get a work visa or, like, do anything to prepare for it, and so I landed in Hong Kong with, like, 200 bucks in my bank account, and I had to make rent.

So I’m googling, like, how to make money online, which is only marginally less ridiculous then than it is now. And I found this, uh, job called copywriting, and I was like, "Well, I don’t know what that is, but I can do writing." Um, and I took it, and they paid me, and I was absolutely hooked, and that’s what I built my business off of.

Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Uh, it’s awesome in retrospect, mostly terrifying during

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I bet. Uh, I’m, and I imagine

there’s probably a language barrier and all that stuff. Do you speak the language or anything, or? You probably

Rachel Allen: minor, I mean, my minor was in Mandarin, but they speak Cantonese there primarily, and so I, I know just enough to get in trouble. You know, I can order at a restaurant, go to the bathroom, that kind of thing

Tim Melanson: Okay. So wow, that, that sounds amazing. Now, along with the good note though, sometimes things [00:02:00] don’t go as planned. And so I’m wondering, uh, we do like to talk about that on this show because it, it is what keeps people out of the game in the first place, is just afraid to fail. And, uh, I’m wondering, can you share with me something that didn’t go as planned and how you recovered and how we can recover?

Rachel Allen: Yeah. Well, uh, my bad note’s kind of tied to my good note, actually. So I spent a couple years in Hong Kong and then ended up living nomadically for the next 10 years, and I moved about every six months. I didn’t really know what I was doing with the business, though, so, um, I got into this situation where I hadn’t paid taxes in three years in two separate countries, and I just kind of ignored it and, like, really hoped it would go away.

And I think as we all know, that doesn’t happen. So I eventually came to this point where I had to, like, work up my courage and call an accountant and be like, "I’ve done something very, very bad." And they had to assemble this international team of accountants to get me filed appropriately in each country.

But that led to me having to hand categorize every expense I’d had for the past three years. And if you ever wanna really [00:03:00] rethink your decision-making paradigm, that is a good way to do it.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Wow.

Yeah. Well, something similar happened to me too. I got, I got in trouble with taxes. Only one country though, so it was much easier. But the, the really good thing that came out of that is the same thing as you just said, I got into a really good accounting procedures of, like, accounting for everything, ’cause they need to know all that stuff, right?

And, and, uh, especially for, like, uh, business categories and making sure that everything’s in the right spot, but it worked for my personal as well. So the good silver lining, right?

Rachel Allen: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I still do this every single week now. I hand categorize my expenses just kind of out of habit. I have a bookkeeper and an accountant, but I’m like, I just wanna keep my finger kind of on the pulse of what I’m doing, and I think that that’s really saved me from a lot of the, like, little bad decisions you can get into in business.

Like, you know, the subscriptions you don’t realize you’re still paying for, or like, oh, I haven’t used that email service in a year. Why is that still there, you know?

Tim Melanson: Well, and the, I mean, this lends really [00:04:00] well to the hat, to keeping the hat full, uh, which we talk, talk about all the time about the cashflow. ‘Cause I, I mean, there’s a lot of people that just really do avoid the, you know, the day to day, and they don’t check these things. And I mean, you kind of fell into that category as well.

So I’m wondering, uh, actually, just to take a step back, why do you think people avoid it so much?

Rachel Allen: Hmm. You know, I think in my case it was shame. It was a lot of shame. Um, I had never thought that I was ever gonna run a business because, um, I’m actually dyscalculic, which is ma- math dyslexia. I don’t… I’m not good with numbers. They, like, switch on me. And so I had this idea that because I’m bad at math, I can’t be good with money, which, you know, it’s silly, but we make those weird connections in our brains.

And so I was like, "Oh, well, I can’t. I’m afraid I’m gonna break it if I touch it, so I’m just gonna kind of like hope that everything works out." And I eventually had to go through this mindset shift of like, well, this is a part of my business. I need to treat it just like any other element of it, and realize that, like, I’m not gonna, I don’t [00:05:00] know, accidentally burn my house down if I do the spreadsheet wrong.

So I had to get over that shame, and I think that’s where a lot of people come from too. They just, they don’t know what you don’t know, and I think it can be intimidating to approach an expert, um, in that area

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I think there’s, I think there’s shame. I think there’s also that programming even, right? That math is hard, right? Uh, uh, ’cause you do see that quite a bit, right? Where it’s, it’s sort of like normalized and it’s like cool to be, you know, not good at math. I don’t know. You know, the cool people are not good at math and the nerds or the geeks are good at math.

And it’s just like, so you sort of have this programming in there as well that might be playing a part. I don’t know if it does or not, right?

Rachel Allen: Oh, definitely. And as you say that, I think another part of it that trips a lot of people up, or it certainly did me, was I tried to follow other people’s systems for keeping on top of my finances, and I was like, "Oh, no, I need to break this down, like, to a really basic checklist for me," because my nervous system is already so weird about it.

I need to figure out a way that works for me so I’m not trying to go in and, like, use a software that doesn’t [00:06:00] make sense to me or do a whole bunch of calculations by hand because, you know, that’s never gonna work out well. So I had to find my own way to do it

Tim Melanson: And I think that, um, I, I mean, I, I would say probably the worst thing, of course, is to do nothing like, but

Rachel Allen: Yeah, don’t do that.

Tim Melanson: but then the next worst thing, which is also could be better, could be good, is to find someone to help you with it or to find someone to do it for you.

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm.

Tim Melanson: that, I mean, there’s a lot of horror stories of people taking a- being taken advantage of by people that are handling the money for them type thing, right?

And I mean, sure, i- if, you know, if it’s someone that you can trust or if it’s your spouse, hopefully you can trust your spouse. Yeah, I know. But I mean, it, it’s not that bad when you really, like, sit down with it. I, I think, like you say, most of the issues that we have with that are programming issues, shame issues.

They’re, they’re things that are kind of like making us [00:07:00] avoid it. But when you really do look at it, I mean, it, it, it’s, it’s really just kind of… It’s as simple as you try to make it be, I think, right?

Rachel Allen: Yeah, totally. And I mean, one thing that was a big change for me was I actually ended up working with a financial behaviorist as well as an accountant, and her whole deal is like, yeah, money is, of course it’s emotional because our decision-making is emotional. And so it’s going in and, like, kind of unpicking that programming and seeing whether you still wanna make decisions from that basis or not

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. A- and, and I think, you know what? There might be a portion of it that is sort of like self-sabotaging as well, thinking that, "Well, if I don’t look at how little money I have,

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm

Tim Melanson: maybe then it will justify me making this terrible purchase idea that I’m about to make." Right?

Rachel Allen: Exactly. Totally.

Tim Melanson: Because I mean, if you really knew what the numbers were, you probably wouldn’t be buying that right now, right?

Rachel Allen: Oh, absolutely. And I think with entrepreneurs, we’re all, I think, prone to [00:08:00] shiny, shiny object syndrome, and it’s like, "Well, but if I buy that one more thing, then it’s gonna make me money, so really I’m saving money." And I’m like, "Maybe, or you’re just fooling yourself."

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Oh yeah, well, and we get that in the consumer world too. "Well, it’s on sale, it means

Rachel Allen: Right, right.

Tim Melanson: you know, I’m making money by buying this"

Rachel Allen: Yeah, yeah, totally.

Tim Melanson: Right? So I, I, I do th- I mean, I, I think this is a, a massive topic that I think… I think what you just said about getting a, what is, was it a financial behavior specialist?

Rachel Allen: Yeah.

Tim Melanson: th- that’s probably a good place to start rather than going directly towards an accountant, because maybe there’s some blocks there that would just… Uh, I mean, ac- accountants and b- and bookkeepers, I mean, I don’t think they’re super expensive, but they’re, they’re also not free. So, you know, maybe putting a little bit of money into why it is that you’re avoiding the numbers, because I’m not saying that every entrepreneur needs to be on top of the numbers as much as you and I are, of course.

But I think it, [00:09:00] I, I think every entrepreneur has to have at least a basic understanding of where their money is going. Uh, like, y- you know, if you think it, about it, uh, even a CEO in a massive company, I mean, they get reports on this kind of stuff. Like, it, it, of course it’s not their job. They’ve got a s- you know, a technical officer that’s handling…

Or sorry, a financial officer that’s handling that ty- type of stuff, but they get the reports. They have a basic understanding of where their money’s going. So you should too, right?

Rachel Allen: Like anything else in your business, and I mean anything I do, whether it’s, uh, what- whatever I’m outsourcing, I wanna know that I can at least do it kinda sorta a little bit myself, even though I’m not going to do it forever ’cause someone else is better at it. I need to know, though, um, enough to where I can know if they’re screwing it up

Tim Melanson: Yes, there you go. And that’s probably a, a- that, well, that’s a really good, uh, example of every part of your business. And I think that that’s why, like, like when you get started as a, as a solopreneur, like you are wearing all those hats, and I think that’s a good place to start for most people is you, you, you start small, you know, y- [00:10:00] you know, your business is small, so your problems are small, right?

And, and so you can get a basic handle of how all your pl- your things work. And then the things that aren’t your gift zone, sure, you can start to delegate those things. But at least you know, like you say, I, I know if I’m hiring somebody who knows what they’re doing or not, because I know enough to know that part, right?

Rachel Allen: Yeah, absolutely. And then that way, I mean, something I’ve done before was I would really second-guess myself of like, "Well, they’re the expert. I mean, it doesn’t seem right, but it must be, uh-uh." And like that doesn’t work out either. So much like with, I think, finding therapists or any other service provider, you might go through a couple of accountants before you find the one who really gets you and who’s right for you.

And knowing enough to know what’s going on helps shore up that intuition where you’re like, "I don’t know, seems like a bad fit

Tim Melanson: Yeah, and I mean, if they can’t explain it to you like what you just said, uh, they c- i- it’s, it’s likely that they don’t know what they’re doing either ’cause anybody who really knows their topic should be able [00:11:00] to explain something to somebody else like they’re an eighth

Rachel Allen: Yeah, yeah,

Tim Melanson: or whatever it is, right?

So I mean, just because you might not be as much of an expert as they are, they should be able to explain to you, "Oh, no, no, I do it this way because of this." And then, like you say, follow your gut. Y- y- you could probably get a good gut feeling of whether they’re doing it that way because they’re, they’re skimming stuff off or because it actually is a really good i- uh, idea and strategy, right?

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm. And a lot of times even just the willingness. Like, I- that’s something I ask when I’m interviewing any service provider. I’m like, "How okay are you with answering my questions?" Like, I wanna be able to come to you and just say like, "Look, I, I’m not questioning you, but I need to understand why."

And if they’re like, "Oh, well, you need to trust my process," I’m like, "Okay, that’s fine. I do, and also, like, could we chat about it?"

Tim Melanson: Yeah, yeah. So now when it comes to, like you mentioned that you were kind of moving around a lot,

Rachel Allen: Yeah

Tim Melanson: does that work for setting up your home office?

Rachel Allen: Ugh. I had to learn, uh, really quickly how to make that work for me, because I was in this… [00:12:00] You know, I was moving every six months. I was in different countries, different Airbnbs. This was, like, mid-aughts-ish, and so the internet wasn’t as common, and, as it is now, you know? Um, so what I learned really quickly was what works for me is I need a place with a flat surface and a comfortable chair that is very quiet or that I can make quiet.

I wasn’t doing as many calls back then, so it didn’t really matter if it was, like, you know, elevated the way I have this set up now. But, um, I did so much working on my laptop on my actual lap. Or, like, um, I was living in Greece for a while, and people are like, "Work on the beach." It’s a horrible idea. Don’t buy it.

Don’t ever do it. It’s the worst thing you’ll ever do. So I’ve experimented with all these things, and I had to find that. And then the one thing, um, that I would recommend everybody do, especially if they’re moving around to a bunch of places, you need something that tells your brain, "Hey, this is the work spot."

And so I actually have, um, a little cat figurine. It’s right

up there behind me if anybody’s watching this on video.

And that tiny little [00:13:00] cat, I call it my home cat, ’cause I bought it when I was in Hong Kong, and I was like, "Well, I’m moving, but ev- wherever the home cat is, that’s where home is." And so when I set that up, I’m like, "Okay, this is, this is home.

This is office space. This is where I do stuff." So if you can find little talismans that just tell your brain, "This is where we do the thing," then it helps so much, I think, with procrastination and brain fog, ’cause your brain’s like, "Well, this is where we do the thing

Tim Melanson: That’s brilliant. That’s brilliant. I remember when I was, uh, uh, when I was starting to work from home, my, uh, my son was very young at the time, and I ge- had this idea of putting on a work hat of like,

Rachel Allen: Yeah. Yeah,

Tim Melanson: that they don’t bug you when you’re wearing your work hat. Like, and it kind of like a similar thing, ’cause it probably did work as some sort of like, like you say, talisman or some sort of like cue to your brain that, okay, well I’m working right now.

So it probably helped with productivity

Rachel Allen: Yeah, absolutely. And another thing that people, uh, don’t think about is smells. So I have, um, like a scented candle that I light every morning when I go to work, and smells are such a powerful cue to your brain. So anything that you like, whether it’s like, hey, this is the c- [00:14:00] the coffee I only have at my desk, or this is the tea I drink here, this is the perfume I wear here, or whatever, that can be a super powerful cue

Tim Melanson: Wow, that’s awesome. So smells and things that you’re looking at. Now, what, what about, like, inspiration in your… Do you have any of that?

Rachel Allen: Yeah, so actually as I look behind you right here, um, my house is literally like built up into the side of a mountain, so all it is is just green all the way up. Um, and there’s little like squirrels and chipmunks and stuff run around, but I can watch the leaves move, and I found that I just need a space where I can let my eyes like go into the middle distance.

Um, otherwise I get really distracted and I find myself like opening the same tabs over and over and over again even though like nothing is happening on LinkedIn, I don’t need to be there, but I’m like, "Hmm, let me just check." And I just need to have something to where I can kind of like gaze as I’m thinking

Tim Melanson: That’s a really good idea, and I think that that probably aligns with a lot of people as well. You- if you don’t have anything to look at that distracts you, like on purpose, then you’re gonna get distracted by something not on purpose, right?

Rachel Allen: Totally. [00:15:00] And for me, I think nature is such an important part of that. I’ve worked in cities as well, and I’ve had like, um, places where I would overlook like city si- skylines, and that works too. But something about having a tree moving outside my office just really helps my brain work

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Well, it’s nature. I mean, that’s what our, that’s what we are, right?

Rachel Allen: Right

Tim Melanson: Yeah. So now, how did you learn all this stuff? Like, where do you get all this? Is it, uh, do you hire coaches? Like, how does this all work for you?

Rachel Allen: So, uh, in the beginning I was in this, like, really strong state of denial that I was actually running a business, so I was like, "Don’t teach me anything about business. I’m not doing such a thing." But after I finally made that decision to really commit to it, uh, I did start working with coaches. So I’ve worked with several coaches over the years.

Um, I’ve also found masterminds to be a really integral part of my growth because I read, I don’t even remember where, but I read something early on of, like, make friends with people and then 20 years down the road, you know, that’s how you know all the cool people in the, like, ridiculous positions that no one ever knows how to connect with.

And so that’s been a huge part of my business, is just I like making friends [00:16:00] with people. It’s why I do podcast guesting. It’s why I love being in small groups and masterminds and, like, going to retreats and stuff. Because that’s how now, 18 years down the road, I’m like, "Oh, of course I know the CEO of blah, blah, blah.

I was there with her when she started the business," you know? And so it’s just, like, not reverse engineering or, like, having these transactional relationships, but just finding people that you think are cool and putting yourself in a room where you are not the smartest human and just being like, "Okay, just talk at me.

Like, just say stuff."

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Oh, that’s awesome. Uh, I, I agree with that because I, like, I have hi- hired coaches as well. However, I think I’ve gotten the most out of… Like, and for me, I don’t, um, I have been parts of, part of masterminds, but this podcast really is my mastermind. I get to meet people that are way ahead of me on their journey, and I get to people, to meet people that are just getting started on their journey, and I like that.

I like being able to talk to both, right? I like to be able to kinda, like, aspire to something, and I also like to be able to help somebody. And I think that the [00:17:00] masterminds are, are kind of, like, built for that, right? Like, other than running your own podcast or getting on podcast guests, if you’re part of a mastermind, you just get that.

And having peers that you are on the same level as with as well that don’t have anything to gain from, like, they’re not competing with you. You know what I mean?

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Tim Melanson: And they’re not making money from you, right?

Rachel Allen: Exactly, like with that spirit of generosity. Like I had, um, a period, oh gosh, several years ago now, where I was really struggling with something, and I came to the mastermind, and I actually started crying, which I don’t normally do. But I was so touched because everyone in it just went like, zhoop, like this like pit crew around me, and they’re like, "All right.

Here’s what I’m gonna fix for you. Here’s who I’m gonna introduce you to. Here’s what happens next. Here’s how we’re gonna build your confidence." And just having that network of people to be like, "Hey, I don’t care how you show up. I really like you, and I believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself," it’s so powerful

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, and, and I, I do think that this community, like the self-employed community, is a, is a community. We all kind of have… I mean, I, I don’t know how many- I’ve done [00:18:00] so many episodes of this, and everybody is helpful for each other, right?

Rachel Allen: totally. That’s what I love about it because, like, people will ask me a lot of times, like, "What’s it like being an entrepreneur?" And I’m like, "Well, it’s, it’s problem-solving, right?" That’s the entire job. Entrepreneurship is where basically nothing is your fault, but almost everything is your problem. And so I think that’s why everyone is so helpful, ’cause we’re like, I, you know, I know I would not be able to solve all the problems by myself, but maybe I can solve yours, and then maybe later you’ll solve mine, or you know somebody who solves mine or whatever.

And there’s a real generosity of spirit that I’ve found

Tim Melanson: Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I know one thing is that w- probably the most common mistake or, or, or, or issue that people have is undercharging. Like, so come on, right?

Rachel Allen: I’ve got a magnet somewhere up there, oh, in the corner, yeah, over right there, that says, "Charge more," and it’s actually from the person who leads the mastermind that I’m in. And so that’s why it’s not always the right answer, but it’s often the right answer, you know?

Tim Melanson: It is often the right answer, yeah. And, uh, but I think that’s because of [00:19:00] what you just said. We like solving problems, right? It’s, you know, if we, if we take the, the music as the example, I know that most musicians would play for free, right? And, and that’s the reason why so many people, uh, w- that’s why the, the prices have not gone up.

Like, you know, musicians today in my city make actually less than they did in the ’80s. Like, it, it’s insane. But it’s just because we love it. So, you know, we’re just like, "You know what? I just wanted to… Like, any opportunity to play and I’m, I’m there." And I think the same thing happens in a lot of businesses.

It’s your baby. It’s what you love to do. So someone says, "Well, can you do it for this?" And you’re just like, "Oh, sure." Of course, that doesn’t work long-term

Rachel Allen: It really doesn’t. I get it though. I mean, like, I was absolutely boggled that anybody would pay me to do something that I do compulsively. Like, I cannot go a day without writing. It’s going to happen whether I want to or not. And so I had to really have a lot of shifts around that [00:20:00] and think like, "Okay, well what’s the value I’m actually providing here versus, I don’t know, like just give me five bucks or whatever," you know?

Tim Melanson: Well, let’s, let’s hear a little bit more about that. It’s time for your guest solo. So what is e- exciting in your business then?

Rachel Allen: Oh, so, I mean, there’s so many things. But what I’m really excited about is, um, I know that words make worlds. Words are the technology through which ideas and influence spread, and that’s what marketing’s all about. It’s just using words in a way that makes it easy for somebody to say yes to something.

So, um, I do that in a whole bunch of ways, but the thing I’m really excited about right now is I’m actually been doing some book outlining. And, um, it might sound a little off the beaten path, but it’s all the same thing, right? Like a book is still the, the process of making it easy for someone to buy your idea, to buy something in your business, whatever.

And, um, kind of harking back to our mastermind thing, the reason I got started on it was I kinda like … I’ve been doing it for a while, I’ve been helping clients out, being the editor on 19 books now, and I … It’s just fun. I didn’t even think about like really making it into a part of my business until my mastermind was like, "Hey, yo, people [00:21:00] don’t do it like you do it.

No one helps people like you help people. You need to make this an offer." So that’s what I’ve been doing.

Tim Melanson: Wow. Well, that’s awesome. So then how does it work then?

Rachel Allen: Yeah, so, um, I meet with people for four calls, and they just show up. They have, like, the idea for their book, and, like, maybe some notes, but they’ve just never been able to kind of get it out of their brains, and so they just sort of talk at me, and then I pull all the puzzle pieces together and put it into an outline that breaks it down, like, almost kind of like a paint by numbers of your own book.

So it’s in, like, 500-word chunks, and so I’ll be like, "Okay, in chapter one you need to start out by telling me this story. Re- remember you said points A, B, and C. Now I want you to transition and tell me about this. Spend 100 words saying this, then 200 blah, blah, blah." And so I really walk you through, like, step by step by step, and it makes it very easy to drop into the outline wherever you want so you don’t have to do it, like, linearly, and you can still know that everybody’s, everything is gonna be in the right order and, like, you’re not gonna, like, drop something out

Tim Melanson: Hmm. So I, and I would guess that this kind of outline, this, this is probably the [00:22:00] block of most people, right? Why, why they’re not writing the book that they think they want to write, right?

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm. ‘Cause you, like, you go down, like, the endless, like, research hole, or you get stuck on, like, well, does this story belong in chapter five or chapter 25? So, like, it’s all the thinking work that goes into doing a book, and if you front-load it, I mean, everybody I’ve done this with has finished their book in three months after the outline’s done, ’cause, like, all you gotta do is write.

You don’t have to think

Tim Melanson: Well, yeah, thinking’s bad, right? Just kidding. No, well, and, and I mean, a lot of the

Rachel Allen: It’s hard. Takes time.

Tim Melanson: times, yeah, you’re just unblocking yourself and allowing that, that to come out, right? ‘Cause I- that’s the thing is that you know your story. It’s just, it’s kinda difficult to put it together sometimes or to separate it, actually make it into smaller chunks,

Rachel Allen: And it’s hard to get perspective. Like, you need somebody on the outside. I, I do as well, right? When I write my own books. You have to have somebody on the outside who’s like, "Okay, here’s the through line. Here’s where that goes." Because when you’re so close to it, you can’t see it

Tim Melanson: Yeah, exactly. And how do, so how do people find out about this then?

Rachel Allen: Uh, they can find it out on my website at [00:23:00] boltfromthebluecopywriting.com or, um, just connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram. I’m happy to chat about it

Tim Melanson: Awesome. One more question now before we get into the, uh, the … And I’m not sure if you’re gonna be, what you’re gonna say about this, but what do you think about AI now with writing?

Rachel Allen: People ask me about this a lot. Um, I don’t have any, like, moral objection to it. Um, I know a lot of people get very upset at the idea of people using it, and I’m like, "Look, it’s your life. You do what you want with it." What I will say is I don’t use it in my own marketing, um, and I don’t use it for my clients because I have yet to find something that can do it, you know, as, as well or as fast as me, and there’s intellectual property risks because that…

You know, it’s changing, but right now the way the rulings are is if you create something using AI, you cannot own the intellectual property to it. So, like, I’m never gonna, like, give somebody a course that they can’t own. So that’s why I recommend that you avoid it in your creative endeavors

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I think that’s, uh… And, and that actually does make sense ’cause you didn’t actually create it. You ha- [00:24:00] used AI. Now, I imagine that there might be some probably gray area. I mean, if you’ve mostly given the AI the information, and it just sort of, like, fine-tuned it for you, well then maybe that’s an editor?

I don’t know. But,

Rachel Allen: Yeah. It’s still like, I don’t know, there’s stuff working their way through the courts, but the way that I recommend people to use it is, like, I think it’s a great thought partner. I think it can be good for getting you over that, like, blank page thing. Um, it’s good for starting you off on research, though of course you need to check it.

So it’s basically, it’s like having an intern. And what I mean by that, like, it’s an intern on their first day where they’re like, "Here’s this thing. It’s the most amazing thing ever." And you’re like, "Absolutely not. Remove this from my site. Do it again."

Tim Melanson: Yes, that’s a really good analogy. And, uh, it’s like having a whole lot of those interns that w- can work really fast, and that’s, that is great because, um, I know I’ve, I use it quite a bit, and it is fantastic at helping you to talk through [00:25:00] ideas and all these other things that you’d be just wasting someone’s time with.

But you can talk to the AI and kind of like flesh out your own stuff. But as for getting it to do stuff for you and, and write your, your book for you, or even your, uh… I mean, you really have to train it pretty fine tunely, and you might as well just do it yourself,

Rachel Allen: Exactly. And like, I don’t know, the thing I tell people, or I guess the, the pitfall I see people falling into with it is they lose their confidence and they think that it knows better than them, and I’m like, "Absolutely not. It’s just a tool." Like, your instinct is right. Whatever it is, you do know better.

And like run it by a person, you know?

Tim Melanson: Yeah, yeah. Now, uh, the, I, I think the good news, like, so right now I think we’re in a bit of a tr- transitionary period where it’s kinda like coming out like full strength right now and everybody’s using it for everything, and that’s great. But, um, it kind of gives you everybody the same stuff. So everybody’s content is starting to look kinda the same.

And so if you’re the [00:26:00] one who’s actually writing it yourself or you’re hiring someone like Rachel Dawson to write it, then your content is gonna start to stick out a little bit more, because now it’s gonna feel more real. I, I, I don’t know if that’s the right word.

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm. Definitely.

Tim Melanson: So, so I do think that there’s a, like some silver lining.

I know that people are a little bit worried about it. Um, but I think that we’re kind of like just in that transitionary period where people are using it, and maybe it’s taking some jobs away from certain people at this particular moment, but that’s gonna flip right back, ’cause people do want that real person to work with, and they, and they know that it’s gonna sound better.

Rachel Allen: Oh, absolutely. And I mean, something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, there’s a quote from Brian Eno, bringing it back to music, and he was talking about how as soon as we learned how to make, um, like non-lossy sound on CDs and like other higher, um, type, uh, music, everybody wanted the pops and crackles from the records, right?

And so as soon as you learn how to get rid of it, it becomes a premium. It becomes something that people will pay extra for, and that’s [00:27:00] what we’re seeing right now. Anything that’s like a higher ticket offer that’s selling, it’s got a human on it. It has someone being visibly inconvenienced to sell it to you, and it’s that exact same thing.

It’s the pops on the records that people want

Tim Melanson: Ah, that’s an excellent analogy. I am stealing that one. That’s a good one.

Rachel Allen: I’ll send you the quote.

Tim Melanson: Perfect. Awesome. So then let’s go back to how we find, how we find you and, and what that process is on, on how to get started with work with… And not even just for the book. Like, you’ve g- got another business, right? Or other

Rachel Allen: I do, yeah. I, I got a couple buckets actually. Um, I mean, I write books on my own, I help people write books. I do a sort of, uh, super group offer with a bra- a branding specialist, um, where we build legacy businesses for people and we do the branding there. Um, and then I write everything at Bolt. So basically, if it’s words that make money, I do it.

Um, the easiest way is just to check me out at boltfromthebluecopywriting.com, connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram, or you can just email me like it’s the ancient times, and I will email you back with my very own fingers.

Tim Melanson: Wow.

Rachel Allen: Mm-hmm.

Tim Melanson: Can actually contact you [00:28:00] personally, that’s amazing. Awesome. So now before we go, one more question. This might be the hardest one. Let’s get into music a little bit. Who is your favorite rock star or band?

Rachel Allen: Ooh. Okay. Gosh, there’s so many. Um, what I’m gonna go with is the Drive-By Truckers. Um, so they’re Southern rock, a little outlaw, um, and I’ve listened to them since forever when they were coming through the Orange Peel in Asheville where I grew up. And I, what I love about them is that they talk about really hard, kind of awful things in a way that makes you feel good about yourself and, like, about your role and your, your power to be with them.

So I love them. I think they’re great

Tim Melanson: Wow. Wow, that’s awesome. Okay. Have you s- you’ve seen them in concert then?

Rachel Allen: I have. Yeah, I’ve seen them a couple times.

Tim Melanson: And how was their show?

Rachel Allen: Amazing. It was incredible. I saw one of them, um, they were o- they, it was a psychobilly concert, so they had the Reverend Horton Heat open for them, and the dude’s like, the man’s bloodstream is 90% cocaine and, you know, [00:29:00] 10% caffeine. And so he’s, like, going to town on an electric guitar.

He’s standing up on the cello or standup bass while they’re playing it, and I was just like, "This is rad." And then the Drive-By Truckers came out, and it was even better. It was so good.

Tim Melanson: Oh, that’s awesome. Well, thank you so much, Rachel, for rocking out with me today. This has been a lot of fun

Rachel Allen: Yeah, it’s been awesome. Thanks for having me

Tim Melanson: Awesome. And to the listeners, make sure you go to workathomerockstar.com for more information, and we’ll see you next time on the Work at Home Rockstar podcast