Joining me is Amanda Aitken, a.k.a. The Stylish Copywriter. She is a hard working entrepreneur focused on writing and fashion. The Stylish Copywriter is also doing a unique giveaway for readers of She Takes on The World. Enjoy

Hello Amanda. Tell readers a little bit about yourself.

I’m 27 years old and I live in the beautiful city of Montreal, Quebec (everyone should visit at least once!). I love running, going out dancing, and delicious wine. I think I was born with the entrepreneurship gene, because I’ve never been satisfied being “just an employee”. I’m always dreaming up ideas for new online ventures – usually ones that involve some combination of shopping, design/décor, and writing.

My career to date has included stints as the Marketing and Communications Manager for an online publishing firm, the Media and Communications Specialist for a major online marketing company, and freelance writer and French-English translator for shopping magazine LOULOU. I was also an interactive copywriter at digital marketing agency Twist Image, writing for brands such as Telus and Scotiabank. At the moment, I’m the copywriter for Garage and Dynamite (two Canadian fashion retail brands) in addition to running TheStylishCopywriter.com.

You also run an online store, LadyLicorice.com. Was that your first business? What lessons have you learned from that?

I’ve always been the kind of person to have lots of side projects on the go, but I’d say LadyLicorice.com was my first real “business”. Before I started the site, I was busy doing fashion writing and taking on web design contracts in addition to my day job in online marketing. Eventually I decided that I really wanted to do something that combined all three of my main interests (writing, the web, and fashion), and Lady Licorice was born at the end of 2004.

I created Lady Licorice to spotlight unique online fashion boutiques and pieces of clothing, jewelry, and accessories that I thought were special. A lot of other sites came to adopt this concept as time went on, which diluted the audience for my type of content. As soon as I realized that the fashion blog explosion meant Lady Licorice was no longer all that unique, I moved on to other projects – but I definitely learned some valuable lessons during the time I spent managing the site.

First, I learned that trying to do EVERYTHING myself was an uphill battle! I didn’t hire anyone to help out, so I was singlehandedly doing all the research, writing, coding, graphics, and ad sales for the site. I secretly loved this, because I’m a bit of a perfectionist and it made for some very diverse days, but there simply wasn’t enough time to do everything as well or as thoroughly as I wanted to. People usually assumed that I was part of a large team of people working on the site, but I was actually just one person sitting at her dining room table working from 8 AM to midnight every day.

I think the other important thing I learned is that it’s crucial to take the time to work ON your business – not just in it. If you’ve read The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber (which I would highly recommend to anyone who runs a small business or is thinking of starting one), you’ll know what I’m referring to. It was really easy to get caught up in updating links in Lady Licorice’s Fashion Directory when I should have been out there negotiating partnerships with brands that were simpatico with my own, for added exposure online. You really have to prioritize that stuff, or it will never get done – and your business won’t advance past a certain point.

Why did you want to start The Stylish Copywriter?

In a nutshell, I saw an opportunity to help people working in a niche I love (fashion and beauty retail) to increase their sales through great copy. I think there’s something really intriguing about online boutiques that choose to sell clothes, jewelry, accessories and beauty products. The way they decide what they’re going to stock and how they’re going to brand themselves is so interesting to me. I wanted to offer these online shop owners a finely-tuned service that your average copywriter wouldn’t be able to provide. It takes a special skill set to write about fashion and beauty! I also wanted to add a second layer of value by including a free online marketing idea with every writing project, because a lot of online shop owners don’t have much experience in marketing themselves on the web.

I considered starting a general copywriting business instead of a specialized one, but I’ve realized over the past few years that writing copy about beautiful things (as opposed to software or cars, for example) is what makes me happiest. Meanwhile, I had made lots of online retail contacts during my Lady Licorice days, so my list of potential clients was quite large right off the bat. Creating a fashion-and beauty-specific copywriting business just made sense.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I’d like to have built up the Stylish Copywriter to be one segment of a larger business that offers a complete range of web services to the fashion and beauty retail space. I have plans to be the one-stop resource for any new boutique that opens up, giving them insight into what’s already been done and what’s new and fresh when it comes to branding, copywriting and copyediting, online marketing and affiliate marketing, web design, SEO, and conversion optimization in the sector.

Knowing me, I’ll also have several other projects on the go, whether it’s sites that I’ve built and monetized on an affiliate marketing model or PPC campaigns. I have so many ideas that I simply haven’t had time to pursue yet!

What is a day like “in your heels?”

I get up at 7:15, eat a bowl of oatmeal, shower, check my email, Google Reader, and Twitter (feel free to add me: @amandaaitken) and head in to the office by metro (AKA subway) for 9 AM. From 9 to 5, I’m copywriting for Garage and Dynamite. In the evenings, I either go to the gym or head directly home to have dinner with my wonderful boyfriend. My nights are taken up by work for The Stylish Copywriter, which involves a combination of research, writing, and marketing tasks. At around 10 PM, I switch to watching TV or reading to help me wind down and turn my brain off for the day. As for weekends, I tend to work a lot during the day, but I always make time for a sleep-in and a fun night out.