Meet Heather Ritchie

We recently connected with Heather Ritchie and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I had my whole life planned out, and I bought my first house at 22 years old. I was a police officer doing a job I loved when I started getting sick. Long story short, I ended up having several chronic illnesses, had to leave the only career I’d known as an adult, lost my house, had to file bankruptcy, my grandmother passed away, and even my boyfriend of six years broke up with me all within three months.

To say it was rough is an understatement. But your experience shapes who you are, and I learned to bounce back and weather just about anything. I rebuilt my life and started my career as a writer and Certified Content Marketing Strategist. There’s no doubt that anything can happen in life, and it will! So, building that toughness is a necessity. That loss made me stronger and more resilient in the long run.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
After leaving law enforcement, I knew I wanted to work from home. I’m very goal-driven, so I wanted a rewarding career that I could scale. That’s how I found freelance writing. Ironically, that was what I always dreamed of doing when I was younger, but it wasn’t a logical career choice when I graduated high school and went to college.

So, I started writing blog posts for businesses in the security industry, which evolved into writing SEO-optimized blog posts for bloggers.

My true passion is my blogging business, Writer’s Life for You, where I teach other content creators how to start and grow successful online businesses. I also help them learn how to create high-quality content that sells their offers without burning out or getting overwhelmed. I also recently started a Shopify Store, The ContentPreneur Biz Shop, where I sell courses, trainings, and other resources for content creators. I’ve appeared in many publications, virtual summits, and other events.

If you’re struggling with your career or online business, you can be successful as long as you build resilience. I like to say there’s no such thing as failure as long as you learn from them. Mistakes line the path to success.

https://writerslifeforyou.com/category/content-creation/
https://contentpreneurbizshop.com/

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Adaptability: Things are always changing in the online business world, especially if you’re in a competitive niche. So, it’s important to be flexible and able to adapt to these changes.

Resilience: Not to sound like a broken record, but my resilience has been one of the number one keys to my success. Developing that toughness allows you to turn challenges into opportunities and use your past troubles and experiences to weather anything to be successful.

Problem Solving: Whether you’re running an online business or something else, problems will arise. You need to be able to think critically and strategically to find solutions to issues you encounter. And sometimes, you may have to get a little creative.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Most of us are juggling many things at once, like home and family, running a business, or building a rewarding career. Life, in general, can be overwhelming. If you’re like me, things can pile up quickly, and it can be hard to focus. I’m borderline neurodivergent, so things like data or stress can really affect my productivity and health.

When I feel myself getting aggravated or overwhelmed and can’t focus, I stop and tell myself to take a deep breath and look at what is causing me stress. Depending on what is bothering me or happening, sometimes I break tasks down in a notebook or do a brain dump to get everything out of my head onto paper so I free up the space to focus.

Also, having a good project management tool allows me to manage my whole business all in one place. After taking a deep breath, I will go into Trello, where I can see everything I have going on at a glance and prioritize what I need to be working on. If you find yourself missing deadlines or forgetting tasks, using a project management tool will make a world of difference.

Project Management for Solopreneurs: Top 9 Project Management Tools That Make Life Easier

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