Have you ever felt stuck in a career, wondering if this is really “it” for the rest of your life? That’s exactly where Brittany Long found herself.
Brittany started out as a teacher — and not just any teacher, but an award-winning educator who was excellent at what she did. But after a health scare and the realization that life is far too short to stay in a career that drains you, she made the bold choice to step away from teaching.
From there, Brittany’s story took her into freelancing, first as a VA, then as a copywriter, and eventually into email marketing and automation. She thought she had found her “forever career” — until AI showed up.
Instead of burying her head in the sand, Brittany leaned into the opportunity, and today she helps business owners and freelancers learn how to use AI to save time, serve their clients better, and open the door to more opportunities.
Her journey is not just inspiring — it’s also a roadmap for anyone feeling uncertain about the future of work.
The Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything
Brittany had only been teaching for a couple of years when she had a cancer scare. For two weeks, she lived with the belief that her life might be cut short. Thankfully, the diagnosis was wrong and a minor surgery took care of everything.
But that experience left her shaken — and with a new perspective.
“I kept thinking, what if I don’t have later?” she shared.
That was the moment she realized she didn’t want to spend her life doing something that drained her. She wanted freedom, flexibility, and meaningful work — and freelancing became the path forward.
From Complaining to Taking Action
Like many of us, Brittany didn’t quit her job overnight. In fact, she admits she spent two years complaining about teaching before she actually made a move.
It wasn’t until someone pointed out, “Brittany, nobody’s forcing you to stay,” that she realized her career was a choice.
Once she reframed teaching as something she was choosing — even if it was temporary — she was able to use it as a stepping stone instead of a trap. That mindset shift opened the door to VA work, which then led to bigger roles, new skills, and eventually, her own copywriting business.
Enter AI: A New Opportunity
When ChatGPT was released in late 2022, Brittany’s first thought was, Here we go again — another Jasper or Jarvis-type tool. But after trying it, she realized this wasn’t like the others.
“This is going to change everything,” she thought.
At that moment, she had two choices:
Ignore it and hope it went away.
Or lean in, experiment, and see where it led.
Remembering a past opportunity she had let slip away, Brittany decided this time she wasn’t going to hold back.
She created a $9/month membership where she learned AI in public, sharing what she discovered in real time. That decision — to take action, even before she felt “ready” — positioned her as an early voice in the AI space for freelancers.
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Facing Fear and Judgment
Of course, embracing AI wasn’t without its challenges.
“I felt judged by other copywriters,” Brittany admitted. “There was this attitude that anyone using AI was just looking for a shortcut.”
But she trusted her gut that AI wasn’t going anywhere, and she was right.
Now, instead of replacing copywriters, AI has become a powerful tool that helps Brittany and her clients save time, create more, and scale faster.
How Freelancers Can Leverage AI
Brittany shares that you don’t need to know everything about AI to start benefiting from it. In fact, the best place to begin is with ChatGPT.
Here are just a few ways she uses it daily:
Practicing sales calls by role-playing with the app.
Tutoring herself in Spanish.
Drafting and reviewing copy that still sounds exactly like her.
Troubleshooting tech errors.
Even fixing a pocket door in her house!
And she doesn’t stop at ChatGPT. Tools like Gamma (for presentations), 11 Labs (for voice cloning), and HeyGen (for video creation) are just a few of the resources that help her serve clients better and save hours in her own business.
What AI Means for Freelancers
So, will AI take all the jobs? Brittany says no — but it will replace those who refuse to learn it.
Instead of fearing it, freelancers can use AI to:
Work more efficiently (freeing up time for family or more clients).
Save clients money and help them scale faster.
Offer new services like AI automation, prompting, or strategy.
And because most business owners don’t want to personally learn AI, freelancers who can bring those skills to the table are in higher demand than ever.
Brittany’s Biggest Lesson
When asked what advice she’d give to freelancers just starting out, Brittany kept it simple:
Don’t let fear or lack of experience hold you back. You’ve already figured out hard things before — you can figure this out too.
AI isn’t the end of freelancing — it’s a new beginning. And just like Brittany discovered, leaning into new opportunities can change your life in ways you never imagined.
The Live Free Academy
If you have read Brittany’s story and feel inspired to learn more about freelancing and how it can help you make a flexible, stable income from home. Please reach out, and ask me any questions about getting started or what it could look like for you to become a freelancer!
Send me a message on Instagram @micala.quinn, I’m happy to chat through that with you!
As always, if you want to become a freelancer and are ready to get started, the most hands-on way I can help you is through my program, The Live Free Academy!
LFA will walk you through the exact steps to build your business and land clients. There are templates and tools to help you implement every step of the process. Plus, it comes with my trifecta of support–weekly coaching calls with me, monthly challenges to help you land clients, and the student community to connect with and build relationships with other women building their businesses!
There are job leads and skills training in the top freelance services businesses are hiring for as well. Sign up for The Live Free Academy course here!
