Our fourth birthday has just skipped past. I nearly didn’t notice because I’ve spent the last two weeks building sand castles on a Spanish beach, and my brain is still struggling to cope with the concepts of ‘work’ and ‘copywriting’.

But there it is: four years have passed since I started Kendall Copywriting. This event isn’t of much interest to you, but it’s exciting to me because I never knew if I would survive this long. As for any freelancer or business-starter, there is no guarantee of work, or success. So I’m glad to observe this anniversary, because coming this far was never a certainty.

The past year has been the most interesting so far, and has included writing web copy for big brands, small companies and fresh startups, writing white papers and helping multinational brands with content strategy.

Here’s to another year!

Actually, we turned three a couple of months ago, but were too busy to notice!

Our third year has been our busiest yet. In addition to working with freelancers, small web agencies and local businesses, we’ve been doing more work with big brands and large organisations.

Bigger projects have given us the chance to work with new consultants, writers and editors – and we hope to do more of this in our fourth year of business.

Thanks to all of the clients who have trusted in our skills, and to the partners who have helped us deliver great work, consistently.

Thanks to Adam Bronkhorst, one of Brighton’s finest freelance photographers, I’m no longer invisible. You can now see what I look like here and on my About page.

Adam is a fantastic photographer and a really likeable guy and I highly recommend him. He’s also available as a wedding photographer.

Living in Brighton has been instrumental to my success as a freelance copywriter (thanks to all the brilliant businesses and enterprising digital types), but London has always provided a good percentage of my work.

Now working in London 1-2 days per week

So it became logical to split my time between the two cities. And when I heard about TechHub, I knew there was finally a London coworking space that made sense for a web-focused copywriter like me.

If you need a freelance web copywriter in London, you can find me at TechHub (a stone’s throw from Old Street tube) at least one day each week.

I was recently interviewed by Writing Magazine – so if you’ve ended up here after seeing me there, hello!

If you’re interested in going freelance (as a copywriter or anything else), I recommend Freelance Advisor as a great place to get ideas. They have an excellent guide to starting out, called Go Freelance (I wrote it!).

Kendall Copywriting is two years old!

The last year has been a year of steady progression – full of cool things like:

• contracts – my first taste of long-haul copywriting and a dalliance with user testing
• deals – landing a book deal
• clients – working with a broader mix of clients, big and small

And when I’ve not been writing copy I’ve been busy moving WriteClub forwards with the help of Ayse Kongur (WriteClub’s resident designer) and co-hosts Ellen de Vries and Al Robertson.

What does the future hold?

• expansion of the copywriting agency service at Kendall Copywriting
• fun things under the WriteClub banner
• content strategy, gently folded into our copywriting services

Thank-you to all of the clients I’ve worked with in the past year. Here’s to year 3!

Well, I’m not really doing it for you. I’m cycling 60 miles for Norwood, The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Bliss, The Down’s Syndrome Association and Heart’s Have a Heart.

The ride starts in Hove, heads towards London but then loops back towards Hove. Luckily, I live in Hove.

So how about it? Small donations are as valued as the massive ones – and thanks to the wonder of the web you can do it all directly:

Sponsor Leif now.

Thanks!

So, what do you think?

It felt like time for a change of look – partly because some people imagined me to be much older than I am (I’m 31) because of my previous retro-flavoured logo. So here it is…

The new look has been in development for a little while, and I have a few people to thank for their excellent work:

Nick Carter

The Escape Committee

Guy Anderson

Kendall Copywriting is one year old! So much has happened in the past year – sometimes it feels like I’ve squashed three years into the space of one. Perhaps because the last year has been so full and fascinating, I didn’t quite know how to write a blog post about it all. Luckily, I’ve got another idea…

Leif on the Radio

Last week I was invited by Julie Stanford (of the Essential Business Guide and the President of Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce) to talk about my experiences as a freelancer on her Radio Reverb show, Business as Usual. Coinciding with my one year anniversary, it was the perfect opportunity for me to reflect on the past year.

This was my first time being interviewed for the radio, and I was quite nervous to begin with. But Julie was a great interviewer and made the whole experience very pleasant.

What follows is Julie Stanford interviewing me, Leif Kendall, about being a freelancer, a copywriter and a small business owner. It seems like the perfect way to wrap up the past year:

The Things I Forgot

After the interview, I remembered all kinds of things that I should have mentioned. Mainly people. People who have helped, guided and supported me during my first full year in business. I really wish I had mentioned the following people and organisations:

Michael Bailey and Premasagar Rose

I met Michael and Prem at a Vine networking event. It was Michael who gave me the advice I mention about pricing, and together they generously helped me create my first website.

Paul Silver, The Farm

I do mention the Farm, but I don’t mention Paul Silver. Paul runs the Farm (a networking group for Brighton freelancers), and I’m very grateful to him for the priceless  resource that this group provides.

Rosie Sherry, The Werks

The Werks is where I work. It’s a special place full of talented, friendly people. Rosie Sherry first invited me there, and made me feel very welcome.

Lots of Other People

Working in Brighton, I’m lucky to be surrounded by creative people who love nothing more than helping others. It’s a great place to work.

2008 has been a big year for me – fatherhood, self-employment, turning 30… but what have I got planned for 2009?

• Writing guides – freely distributed, super-short guides to writing. Coming soon!
• Blog posts that justify the use of social media – a post on Twitter is coming soon
• More blog posts that bring you strange signs and odd uses of language
• More of my thoughts on marketing, web design, usability and copywriting

Things I’d like to do (but may not):

• Redesign my website
• Public speaking
• Take on an intern/apprentice/work experience person