How She Did It: Anita Siek
It’s hard not to be inspired by Anita Siek and her incredible story where she left behind a lucrative career as a lawyer and took a chance to follow her passion for words, changing careers entirely to become a copywriter and brand strategist.
Turns out, her leap of faith paid off and over the past seven years, Anita has grown her company, Wordfetti exponentially, serving up copy for iconic brands clients including Luna Bronze and Lack of Color.
I hope you’re as inspired by Anita as I am, who’s story proves that with hard work and persistence you can totally make your crazy dreams a reality.
Let’s dive in!
What was your big dream, and what inspired you to go after it?
I think growing up seeing both my parents as business owners, this played a mega role to what my big dream was. I thought “I want to do that too!”, but was never really sure what that’d look like. Both my parents also wanted me to, and encouraged me to follow a traditional (and stable) path. You know, study hard, finish uni, become a lawyer, climb up the corporate ladder.
At the end of the day, I wanted to do something I love, something that positively challenged me, and something that created impact in the world.
Which is why starting Wordfetti felt so organic to me, it felt natural, but I never ever thought that this could become a fully fledged business, until it started to overtake my corporate career.
And that’s when I decided to go all in and give it my all!
What was one of the first things you did to get you started?
Created a website within a week, made it live, and started to write blogs and captions consistently! (It was crickets for a good 7-8 months).
It was SO much fun. Everything was an experiment and a test, and I’d refine and tweak it after a few weeks after seeing how things went, and again and again.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in working toward making your dream a reality?
Oh gosh. I think challenges don’t really go away. They just look and feel different. With each new growth stage for the business, there are bound to be different challenges.
I’d say though, some of the biggest challenges I personally faced would be… myself.
I think starting a business is a fast lane to personal growth. I’ve had to unlearn so much over the last few years – from navigating around my doubts, fears, to perfectionism and imposter syndrome.
But that’s the thing, your business will only ever grow to the level you are willing to face these challenges. New levels, new devils. And I’ve truly learnt to face these challenges right in the face, treat them as a message and lesson in and of itself instead of hide and avoid them.
What helped you take action, make progress and achieve it?
The simple fact that you simply cannot perfect something if you craft nothing at all. I have learnt to trust my intuition and redefined how I look at “success” - less tangible, but more from a space of impact, and how I chose to show up.
Especially in the challenging moments.
Is there anything you wished you would have done differently?
I don’t think so. I feel like everything I have done has led me to exactly where I need to be. If anything? I’d probably say I wish I wasn’t so hard on myself, and I wish I paused more to smell the roses and celebrate all the little, and big wins we’ve had along the way.
I’m still learning to do that!
What does life look (and feel) like now that you’re living in alignment with your true self?
Flow. Complete flow. I find myself feeling like the words, the ideas, the strategy just flows not just for me as a leader and CEO, but also for my clients and our students. I also feel a ZING in my energy which also ripples into my energy and how I show up.
I call these my ZING moments.
Do you ever have creative blocks and, if so, how do you overcome them?
All the time!
But creative blocks are usually a symptom of 3 things: you don’t have clarity on what you are trying to do, you do not have structure, OR you need sleep and rest (Ha!).
So I usually try to identify which of these 3 things are ACTUALLY blocking me, and sometimes this may actually result in me going for a walk, and doing a reset instead of trying to push ahead.
Career highlight so far?
Being paid and flown to speak overseas. My incredible team - they are truly something special. And our community - from students, clients to even those who are not clients but still cheer us on on the sidelines.
Running a creative business can be draining at times. How do you find balance and practice self-care?
I’m still getting better at this. But I’d say the biggest shift for me personally is redefining what rest and self care means. Less as a reward (what I use to do - e.g. if I get XYZ done, then I can rest) and more as a MUST as rest is productive.
By resting and creating space to simply be, this helps ME better show up for my clients, my community, and also ripples into the work I deliver.
What’s the best advice you have for others who want to follow their big dreams?
Pause and consider why you’re actually wanting to chase that dream. What I mean by that is, is that “big dream” actually YOURS?... or is it someone else’s big dream definition for you?
Do you have anything exciting coming in 2023 to share?
Yes. Ahhh, so many. I’d say personally I’m most excited about travel and being able to speak in person finally!
Favorite quote:
To get something you’ve never had, you’ve got to be willing to do something you’ve never done.
Favorite book:
Ah, so many! But at the moment, probably 101 essays to change the way you think, Brianna Wiest.
Biggest inspiration:
My Dad. His determination, grit and ability to step back up with grace even when things go down is something I have always remembered about him.
About Anita:
Anita Siek is a lawyer turned brand strategist and copywriter and CEO of Wordfetti, a human-centred brand strategy and copywriting house specialising in helping brands that don't do normal create a dent in their industry through the power of psychology and words.
With a big passion for words, language and how the delicate choices of how they can trigger different emotions and feelings in a reader, her and her team at Wordfetti are on a mission to spread the power of one of the most powerful tool we as humans have, being words, in igniting world-changing ideas, provoking thought, and driving impactful action.
In her spare time, you'll likely find her with her husband and two Shihtzu pups, Mochi and Hachi, on an adventure somewhere, or trying to finesse her skills as a wanna-be painter.
Anita's work has been featured on Forbes, Mumbrella, Smart Company, Thrive and more, and some of her clients include Australia's largest insurance group, IAG, Challenge DV (formerly known as Australia's CEO Challenge), Lack of Color, The Calile Hotel Group and Luna Bronze.
