Kayla Wells Success Story

July 22, 2021

Are you unhappy with your corporate job? Are you currently googling how to make money from home? OTO can be the answer! In this month’s success story episode, Kayla is sharing her story on how she replaced her corporate salary + benefits as a freelancer!

Kayla’s Story

Kayla lives with her husband and three daughters—a five-year-old, plus twins! Kayla worked full-time as a worker’s comp insurance adjuster before finding OTO.

Once the twins were born, it would have been more expensive for her husband to work than to stay home with the girls, so he quit his job to bypass daycare expenses. But that meant they were also losing a source of income. So Kayla went to the Google search bar: How can I make money from home?

Google led her to the OTO course, and in January 2019, Kayla joined Overwhelmed to Overbooked.

She knew she wanted writing to be a part of her services, so she began her research on copywriting. She wanted to equip herself with the tools necessary to become an expert.

Kayla studied the craft she wanted to offer. She soaked up information by listening to copywriting podcasts and reading every book and every article that she could find. And with that knowledge, came confidence.

Kayla landed her first client in February 2019 writing show notes. In the next few weeks, she landed two more project-based clients.

Everyone Has A Journey

Kayla had several big months in freelancing (pretty close to her income goal) but she was still working her 50-hour a week corporate job. Not to mention, it was an hour and a half drive one way to work!

“Whenever I hit those big months, I was doing a lot of work. I was getting very little sleep. I wasn’t seeing my kids and I was at a much lower rate than I am now. So I was working between my corporate job and working in my business. I was working anywhere from 80 to 90 hours a week and quickly approaching burnout.”

Kayla told her boss that her freelancing business was becoming sustainable, and she may be quitting sooner rather than later.

Not wanting to lose a valuable employee, Kayla’s boss offered for her to work remotely. By eliminating the commute, she would have more time with her kids AND she would get to keep her current salary. Kayla still loved her corporate job, so this seemed like a win-win situation! She took her boss up on the offer and decided it was time to take a break from freelancing in June 2019.

All was well, for a while. But around October, Kayla started seeing freelance postings that really interested her. She wanted to get back into it.

“I had an epiphany just after the holidays. And I could not for the life of me figure it out until I realized I just didn’t love my job the way I used to.”

It was time to quit her job. In order to make this a reality, she had to raise her rates and network furiously. Her efforts paid off and she landed several retainer clients. And on March 19, 2020, Kayla left the corporate world forever.

Client Breakdown

Landed first client through a Facebook group in February 2019.
A few weeks later, she landed clients #2 and #3 through Facebook groups and referrals.
Kayla continues to land clients through referrals! Communication, relationships, and networking are key!

And that is how Kayla replaced her corporate income through freelancing!

“People ask me all the time how I’ve managed to do what I’ve done. And it’s really truly been because I found my people. I have found and built some fantastic relationships. And you know, from there, they refer me because they like to work with me.”

Kayla’s Tips for Success

Do your research. Become the expert you want to be in your field.
Knowledge is endless. Information is always accessible. Resources are out there!
Build relationships. This is how you get referrals and land clients!
Mistakes are good. This is how you learn! Overcome your fear.

Kayla’s advice for her fellow perfectionists:

“I almost prefer to make a mistake because I know I’ll never make it again. Just learn from them. Figure out what caused the mistake in the first place. Mistakes are not a make-or-break it thing—businesses aren’t built on perfection. In fact, it’s usually the mistakes that create big businesses.”