When our founder, Rachel Sobel, was not quite two years old and her little brother not quite two weeks old, she tripped over a baby gift that was sitting at the top of the staircase waiting to be taken downstairs. She and the painted ceramic lamb figurine tumbled down the stairs.
When she reached the landing, a shard of ceramic pierced her wrist, nicking an artery and sending blood to the high ceiling. Her mother grabbed the first thing she could find to press against the wound before rushing to the hospital – a section of the Chicago Tribune. With newsprint in her blood, her fate as a writer was sealed.
Oh wait. You didn’t want to go that far back. Let’s start over, about 50 years later. And maybe switch to first-person.
In 2022, I was running the communications department of a startup health plan when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I realized I was giving nearly all my good hours to my full-time position, leaving me with little energy for family, friends, volunteering, and fun. I made the decision to step away from full-time work temporarily until I found a treatment that worked.
Right about when I quit my job without anything else lined up, the New York Times was covering “The Great Resignation” and featured me in its special series. Some former colleagues at GLC (now absorbed by Unlock Health) saw the article and reached out to me with offers of freelance work. Almost overnight, I had just the right amount of work for my diminished capacity – and to make ends meet.
As my health improved, I took on more freelance writing and strategy projects. I joined the bench at another agency client, Our Full Attention. After a follow-up article in the Times, more work came. Then an opportunity for a fractional contracted position at Genfare came along. Next, I picked up an ongoing project at Highlights Early Learning in partnership with friends who were also writers and designers.
Before I knew it, I was working steadily and had more work than I could handle. But like most freelancers, I was afraid to say no to new clients and knew there had to be a better way for me and my network of freelance creatives – many of whom were affected by recent layoffs – to manage our workloads.
So, I incorporated my business, contracted with Collective to provide accounting, compliance, and payroll services, and hired friends and former colleagues who each had decades of experience to write, design, and strategize with me. The Real Apostrophe, a creative collective, was born. I became we.
We’re still working for the same clients we started with, plus a few more. We’re getting more intentional about processes and procedures. We’re flexing to add talent as needed. We’re racking up software subscriptions. And we’re ready to help your brand tell its story.
Rachel Sobel is the founder and principal of The Real Apostrophe.
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