Meet Kate Williams, Ph.D.

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kate Williams, Ph.D.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kate, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

I’ve learned that you can’t force creativity. So, instead of staring at my computer for hours hoping an idea will strike, I’ll take a break and do something else instead — go for a walk, take a shower, or even do a load of dishes. I tend to have several projects going on at a time, so giving my brain a break and time for ideas to simmer helps me get those “aha!” moments that lead to great pieces of writing.

I apply this same strategy to my team members. We are a 100% remote team with flexible work hours, partly for this reason. I always say, creativity doesn’t work a 9-5 shift. Sometimes, the best ideas come to you when you’re taking a nap or playing with your dog. And if not, that’s ok too! Coming back to your desk after clearing your mind can be just what you need to get through your creative block and get to work.

If all that fails, just start writing. Sometimes, I don’t have the luxury of taking a few hours off before hitting a deadline. When that happens, I just start writing whatever comes to mind that’s related to the topic at hand. I’ll work from an outline and get through the parts that are the easiest to me first before getting into the more challenging areas. Getting in the flow of it is often all my brain needs to start making sense of whatever topic I’m writing about.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My company is People First Content. We focus on writing long-form research-backed content for businesses, such as white papers, lead magnets, e-books, books, blog posts, and thought leadership articles.

We’ve recently launched a package we’re calling a Content Waterfall. This is a great package for companies that want to maximize their content production by repurposing it. We start with a well-researched white paper, then turn that into 2 blog posts, and turn those into 4 LinkedIn posts. You get 7 pieces of content in one.

Our name, People First Content, means a few things. My initial tagline was “We write for people, not algorithms,” which remains true. With the rollout of AI tools like ChatGPT, we’ve evolved it to mean content written by people for people — we don’t rely on AI bots to do the research or writing for us. That won’t create quality content and it also won’t create innovative content that other people want to link to or share with others.

Our focus on people is also evident in the relationships we build with clients. We take a personalized approach to content by really getting to know our clients and their businesses. It’s as if we’re part of your team but without the extra overhead of an in-house hire. I’m the person you’ll talk to on an initial discovery call and the person doing the work, so there’s no hiding behind a smooth-talking salesperson. Our clients enjoy the personalized service they get and being able to work with their writer directly instead of needing to go through an intermediary, which is common at larger agencies.

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?

I never set out to be an entrepreneur, so I was not intentional about building skills that would benefit my business. I would advise anyone who is considering entrepreneurship but is still working for someone else to proactively get yourself in uncomfortable situations at your day job—get used to feeling out of your element while you have the cushion of a steady paycheck behind you. Seek out mentors from different business areas who can help you strengthen your weak spots.

As for three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful:

1. Talking about my business with others
If you want to grow your business, you’ll need to discuss it coherently with potential clients. Before you get to that step, talk about your business with other business owners. I joined a networking group that has been invaluable in helping me get more focused on what I offer clients so my sales calls can be a lot smoother and to the point. Getting on networking calls also made me a lot less nervous about getting on sales calls. Look for virtual networking groups that will expose you to people from all over the country.

2. Venturing outside my comfort zone
When I started working on my business, I also worked full-time. So, I had a little room to play around with different types of projects and see what did and didn’t work. I had one month that I called my “yes month,” where I said “yes” to every project and opportunity that came my way, regardless of whether it had red flags or was something I had any experience doing. This was invaluable in helping me validate my gut (those red flags were 100% correct 100% of the time) and figure out what projects I did and didn’t want to pursue. It was a long month, but it was a fantastic learning lesson.

3. Setting boundaries
This one is a lot harder than it sounds, and I’ve only recently gotten the hang of it. You have to set boundaries, otherwise you’re going to work 24/7 as an entrepreneur. And sure, there are times when you’ll need to work more, but that can’t be all the time. Last year, I had a stretch where I felt more like I had a crappy job than a business –I was spending most of my days on calls with clients instead of doing focused work, and that meant I was working weekends and nights to catch up. It was too much. Since the start of this quarter, I have been more diligent about shutting down at night and on weekends and limiting calls with clients so I can have more time to do great work for them.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I would love to partner with adjacent businesses that offer services we don’t. Some examples include technical SEO firms, website designers, website developers, and digital marketing agencies that outsource their content writing. We often get asked about these types of services, and we just don’t have the capacity to offer them. It would be great to have a trusted partner to turn to to help clients revamp their websites, run ads, or get their technical SEO needs handled.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://peoplefirstcontent.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwilliams72/

Image Credits

Jessica Karin Trout
Alexandra Kaste