Meet Cool Wow Collective's New Owner
When I took a biz break to have my second baby, I honestly wasn't sure what would happen to Cool Wow. After many hours of self-reflection, I decided to sell the business, and after speaking to a handful of interested Cool Wow members, I'm excited to share that one of them has become the new owner. It's time for you to meet her!
So who is the new owner of Cool Wow Collective? She's a freelance copywriter, a tourism industry nerd, and Wagga Wagga based babe. She's been a member of Cool Wow Collective since October 2020, and has one of the highest Coworking Club attendance rates (gold-star!).
She's an introvert and a quiet achiever who managed to rebrand her biz, pivot her service offering, rewrite her entire website, and complete countless client projects, all while working inside The Coworking Club. So it's fair to say she truly understands what Cool Wow is all about.
Meet Rachel Anderson!
We had a good old-fashioned heart-to-heart, so you can get to know Rach a little better before I sail into the sunset (not really, but it sounded romantic). She also shares a few teasers into the future of Cool Wow under her leadership. Let's dive in!
To kick things off, tell us a bit about yourself and your career journey to date.
I'm a copywriter based in Wagga Wagga, NSW (halfway between Sydney and Melbourne), and the founder of Assembld. I've been working for myself for just over 4.5 years. Before this, I worked at a regional council in destination marketing which I absolutely loved!
I fell into freelancing for a few reasons:
A friend needed help with some marketing, and the timing was perfect, so they became my first client. It snowballed from there. Almost every client I've worked with since I've gained through word of mouth.
I didn't have another job to go to and living regionally, there weren't many exciting marketing jobs around, especially in the destination marketing space.
Once I got a taste of working for myself, the corporate world suddenly felt less appealing.
Tell us a little more about your business, including what you love most about it.
Assembld has gone through a few iterations over the years. I started doing all kinds of digital marketing, basically whatever people needed help with, and have slowly niched into copywriting. I write a lot of emails, social posts and websites. I also enjoy social media audits and website audits.
I work with a lot of regional clients and solo biz owners. They're great at what they do and have a lot to offer. I love being the person to help them show off what they do to the world.
Despite being a writer, I'm also very logical and analytical (I love maths). I love the behind-the-scenes side of running a business. Designing my own services and delivering them in a way the client enjoys is important to me. You always remember awful service experiences, so I make my clients feel supported while working together through simple (but often neglected) things like clear processes, regular email updates and open communication.
You've been a member of Cool Wow since October 2020, what have you loved most about your experience?
I've loved the structure it brings to my week as I sometimes (actually often) find it hard to do that for myself. Knowing I had two coworking sessions a week was perfect for arranging priorities and getting extra motivation on specific tasks when I needed it.
It's also been great to get to know other members in the same solo-biz-owner boat and share the highs, lows and everyday bits in between. Sometimes you need to hear others talk about their experience to feel less alone—I found that helped me, especially as an introvert.
How did you feel when you saw the opportunity come up for a new Cool Wow owner?
When the email landed in my inbox, I immediately got excited. I actually replied the same day to say I was keen (after an appropriate pause so you didn't think I was *too* keen, of course). Overall, I just had an excellent gut feeling about it. Even though I was booked out with client work through Assembld, I wanted to make it work.
What drew you to apply?
I had a session with another Cool Wow member earlier in the year, and we talked about how I'd always wanted to open a coworking space. But, living in a regional area, that was a little tricky. Cool Wow offered a great opportunity to achieve my dream differently without the risks that a physical space might have.
I really love coworking and find so many benefits myself that I'd love to share it with more people. Solo biz ownership can be lonely and less-than-motivating at times, so having a community around you really does make a difference, especially when they're in similar positions and just get it.
I know it's early days, but can you give us some clues about what you'll do with Cool Wow moving forward?
I'm not planning too many massive changes for now, but I'm 100% keen to get coworking up and running ASAP (I've missed it!).
I have confirmed that we will run a mini-round of coworking before the end of the year. This will kick off on Monday, 28th November and run for 3x weeks, 3x mornings a week (Mon-Wed). It'll offer a much-needed burst of productivity and motivation going into the end of the year. Learn more here.
For 2023, I'd love to offer a quarterly membership (instead of 6-monthly) and time it with the school terms. This will give members a breather in their schedule (myself included) and support parents who have kids at home over the holidays.
I'd also love to see more regionally-based members in the club as it's perfect for women who don't have a huge network nearby. Many ideas are swirling around inside my brain, so stay tuned.
As you know, we're all about dreaming bigger around here. So what excites you about the future? What are your big dreams?
Through Cool Wow, I'd love to help more women to feel confident and connected on their business journey.
Coworking can be so motivating when you show up and make the most of it. It helps you gain momentum, adds structure to your week (perfect for anyone struggling to create their own), and is perfect for anyone who misses good old-fashioned chats around the water cooler (RIP office life).
Cool Wow is such a great community, so I can't wait to welcome back past members and invite new members to give it a go too!
As far as Assembld, my original biz baby, I'm definitely not letting go of that yet and can't wait to see where I can take it alongside Cool Wow.
Thank you so much Rach, you've taken a big brave leap, and I'm beyond excited for you! Ok, let's finish with some rapid-fire questions (just for fun):
Tea or coffee: Coffee
Introvert or extrovert: Introvert
Earlybird or night owl: Night owl
Cats or dogs: Dogs
Text or call: Text
Tidy or messy: Messy, but I love the idea of being tidy
Digital or paper to-do list: Digital, but I do love writing it out on paper too
Cannonball into the pool or dip a toe in first: Dip, then cannonball
The movie you've watched the most: The Devil Wears Prada or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days – both are absolute classics!
Go-to desk snack: I like a little variety, depends what's in the house – popcorn, pink lady apples (cut up on a plate because my partner *loves* washing lightly-used dishes like this), caramello chocolate, roasted chickpeas
Your last holiday destination: Singapore
Favourite board game: Scattergories
And finally, where is the best place for people to connect with you?
I'm not super active on my own socials since so many of my clients have found me through word of mouth, but feel free to drop into my DM's on Instagram @assembld_ or connect with me on LinkedIn. Soon I'll be on all things Cool Wow too, so say hello on email hello@coolwowcollective.com or Instagram @coolwowcollective.
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Me again (Haley), I'll be behind the scenes supporting Rach to get things up and running before I officially sign off on Friday 18th November and she kicks off the next phase of Cool Wow. If you want to stay in touch with me beyond Cool Wow (I'd love that), please jump on my personal email list here. You'll get candid insights into my copywriting world and free marketing tips to help you build a loveable brand.❤️🔥