Your Take Today: Teacher starts business on her terms

Editor's note: This Your Take contributor profile is part of Your Take's "Talking Shop" topic, which highlights small-business success stories.

Autumn Ware has always had a passion for writing — but when she was growing up, she didn't know anyone who made a living as a writer.

"If you don't see somebody doing it as a child, you don't understand that you can do it," she said. "To me, the idea of being a writer was like, no – that's somebody that's been kissed on the brows by a muse."

So she became an English and writing teacher, and taught for eight years in Rocky Mount, N.C.

One day she reconnected with an old friend from Louisiana. The two had been friends for years and had worked together when Ware was living in New Orleans.

Her friendship with Jack quickly evolved into a romance, and once it did, Ware moved with her son, Fain, to New Orleans for a new beginning. That was June 2013. The couple celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary this past August.

Once she was in New Orleans, Jack encouraged Ware to explore the idea of writing professionally.

"He knew that I always loved writing but I had never really considered it as a career," she said.

He suggested she start her own company in order to do it. And she did.

Autumn Ware's company, Aware Copywriting Services, helps businesses "find their voice" and develop a personality through a variety of "creative content solutions," like blogging, social media, and creating eye-catching pamphlets, brochures and materials.

Ware said that teaching was a wonderful experience, but admits to its taxing elements. Now, instead of teaching students, a wide variety of clients and partners are teaching Ware and her colleagues. She has an air-conditioning client, an alternative energy issues client, and a client who deals with healthful eating, to name a few.

She gets to practice what she preached for years, while pursuing something she's always loved.

"There's nothing so far that we've been given as a project that we've looked at and thought, 'That's too boring to write about,' " she said. "If you find a way to be interested in what you're writing about, and you write about it well, that's all you really have to do. I don't think that there's necessarily a secret."

In fact, Ware's team is full of learners and teachers.

Writer and editor Darla Smallwood taught Ware when she in the ninth grade, while assistant Addie Ward was a student of Ware's in North Carolina.

"That love of learning that I think we all have makes this an ideal job," she said.

Even though Aware Copywriting officially kicked off in October of last year, Ware says she's still insecure about it.

"If it's something you love to do, there's a lot more insecurities tied up to it because you don't want to fail at it because you really love it," she said.

Her advice for others wanting to start their own business is to surround yourself with people who encourage you and believe in you.

"One person is not alone going to be a success. You have to have people who are supporting you," said Ware. "When you bring people in to work with you, make sure those people have the same passions."

The other thing: have a good time. She says a lot of her work can be done remotely, so it's easy to overwork without realizing it.

"The point of this (self-employment) is to be able to enjoy more of life," said Ware. "Being self-employed is actually giving you an opportunity to enjoy the rest of your life. If it's not, I don't know if it's worth it."

To learn more about Aware Copywriting Services, visit their website and follow them on Twitter.

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