How a Baltimore Burglary Sparked My Full-Time Freelance Writing Career

In 2019, I got my first job as a full-time junior copywriter.

We worked in what I called "the copy dungeon." It was a basement in a Victorian-era house with the works: creaky steps, that old-timey smell, and the sound of copywriters hammering away at their keyboards.

I remember pinching myself, thinking, "I get paid to write."

And I had just finished watching Mad Men, which reminded me so much of the atmosphere at this job—the meetings, the creativity. It was fantastic.

But there was one huge problem...

===> This "dream" job was located in Baltimore.

One of America's most dangerous cities.

And I was there while this was all over the news:

To be fair, I only saw one rat on the streets, and it was enormous.

I actually saw more rats in NYC.

Anyways…

The streets felt unsafe, so I rushed to work early in the morning and returned as soon as I was finished. I'd spend most nights in my room studying.

It was a far cry from the comforting nature of rural Virginia I was used to.

And I thought I could stick it out for longer...

Until I found my windows shattered:

By parking at a paid garage with armed security, I thought my white Ford Focus, or "the egg," as I liked to call it, would be safe. I thought wrong.

I called the police, but they had no info. There was nothing they could do.

Thankfully, the crook(s) only took my piggy bank, which had five bucks inside. It made me laugh that they left my inhaler. I guess they didn't have asthma.

But driving back home that day, sitting on a blanket covered with broken glass, was when it truly clicked for me.

I needed to do everything possible to switch to freelance copywriting.

And I needed to get the hell out of Baltimore.

So, from then on, I renegotiated my contract to allow for some remote days, revived my LinkedIn profile, and soon after, got my first big break as a freelancer.

I can draw a straight line from that "screw this" moment to my life now as a full-time writer—and how it allowed me to travel, move to Europe, etc.

But to be honest, it took me a while to get to this point.

Probably longer than most.

That's why I created my 1-hour quickstart course.

Here's a free access link available until April:

https://www.udemy.com/course/1-hour-freelance-copywriter-how-to-get-your-first-client/?couponCode=1HOURFREE

I hope it's helpful to you.

Mike Carr