Conversations with Kristina Gorr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Gorr.

Hi Kristina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The amount of journals that filled the bookshelves of my childhood bedroom is uncountable. I am wired to write and have been passionate about it since before I can remember. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t obvious to me. I entered The Ohio State University as a deer-in-the-headlights freshman with “exploration” as my major of choice. No, it did not mean I wanted adventure. It meant this country girl had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Coming from a high school graduating class of 59 to an incoming class of nearly 8,000 was a shock in and of itself, let alone trying to decide my entire life’s trajectory.

Luckily, I found my people in a small church group on campus and gradually started wobbling on shaky legs around campus. I eventually decided to study Strategic Communications with a minor in Business. At Ohio State, this meant I was trained to enter the world of public relations and fully expected to get a job in PR upon graduation. The real world had other plans, however. A recession was rocking the economy like a headbanger with no rhythm, and I was told by my academic advisor that it would be 12-18 months before I would get a job. Cut the music — how is anyone supposed to live in a city like Columbus with no job for that long? Knowing the answer (you can’t), I put on my self-motivated big girl pants and applied to over 150 jobs, tracking each application and response (or lack thereof) in a spreadsheet. I got TWO interviews and was offered one job. Three months after graduating, I began working for a small agency who specialized in automotive training for dealerships across the country. It sure wasn’t PR, but it allowed me to pay the rent and lease my first car. I got to travel and learned a ton about curriculum development, training, and what the working world is like. I gleaned more knowledge during my time traveling the country and writing engaging training exercises than I did throughout my entire collegiate career. Being thrown into the deep end and learning to swim alongside good people was truly the best way for me to cut my teeth.

Just after my fifth anniversary with this agency, and 3 months after the birth of my firstborn son, my tenure abruptly came to an end. Long story short: I had to move out of state by the end of the month or say ciao to the company. My husband, Matthew, was still a PhD student at OSU and we were not sleeping…like, at all. Because…baby. I was basically the walking dead, surviving on the kindness of our family and friends to make sure we were fed and could nap sometimes. There was no way on God’s green earth that I was making that move and becoming a single mom until Matthew could join me. So that was it. I no longer had a job. I got mad. I cried. I mourned. I cried some more. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the biggest blessing in disguise for my entire family.

Once my husband graduated, we knew we would be moving for his PostDoctoral Fellowship. We didn’t know when that would be or where we’d be moving, so it felt odd to try and find another office job when things were so up in the air. And the cost of childcare was expensive — I wanted to try and work from home if I could. I joined a Facebook group for Virtual Assistants, hoping to find something — anything — that could help me supplement my husband’s graduate student stipend until we moved.

Through that group, I connected with a gardening blogger whose blog was doing so well she needed to hire someone to manage her newsletter and Facebook posts. “Hey, I like to write, hire me!” She said yes, woohoo!, and became my first long-term client. Around that same time, I attended a virtual speed networking event for Ohio State alumni and met a fellow Buckeye who owned a construction company in Texas. He hired me to write blogs for him for three months. While it was a short gig, that relationship triggered a word of mouth marketing ripple that funded my business through our family move to San Diego, California, welcoming our second child, and our move back to Ohio. I slowly began to realize that this ghostwriter gig could be more than just surviving while my husband finishes his education and training. It could be a career — and a successful business — that I loved while also allowing me to stay home with my now three absolutely incredible children. As I’ve gained experience over the last twelve years, I’ve experimented with service offerings and sharpened my focus. Ultimately, becoming a business owner was not a choice I made with intention, but has been incredibly rewarding. I am exactly where I am supposed to be!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve struggled a lot with Imposter Syndrome and comparing myself to others throughout my journey. From a business owner perspective, the pressure to make a gazillion dollars and smash through revenue/sales goals is intense. This was especially true before COVID. And while it’s simmered down a bit since then with the work-from-home revolution, if you hop on any social media, you’ll still see it: people talking about how they grew their business from 0 to 7 million in three years; hired teams, opened offices, are CEO at 25… They either brag about working so much or brag about how much they are making by working very little. It’s a rat race that I tried to run for a long time. There was one year that I decided to focus on digital marketing services, expanding my offerings so that I could stay relevant in the age of AI. It took me a year to realize it was a mistake — time, money, and heartache all daily swirled the drain. I was trying to compete against folks who were more qualified and more experienced than me in those areas, and while I certainly can do those things well, they are no longer my focus. I don’t need to build my business like everyone else. I work part time. I don’t need to make more money than I need. I don’t need bragging rights or vanity metrics to provide fulfillment. I just want to do what I am passionate about: writing.

And DAGGONIT, I’m good at it and have made ghostwriting my core service offering despite getting hit daily with AI shrapnel. Yes, I’ve lost clients since generative AI became a thing. But some have come back to me after realizing the difference a real human makes. I’ve leaned into my expertise and unashamedly taut being a human-first ghostwriter. I get pushback and people try to tell me I’m doing it wrong or I’ll get left behind. I disagree. It’s tempting to take the easy path, but I’ve been able to raise my rates and do more of what I truly love.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am passionate about helping others tell their story in a way that perfectly captures who they are as people, both personally and professionally. Helping someone explore and discover their unique voice, and infusing their personality, tone, attitude, and quirks into it is exhilarating! I encapsulate their voice within brand voice guidelines that creates a consistency in their written communication that sparks confidence and clarity.

I ghostwrite messaging that often comes in the form of blogs, website copy, newsletters, memos, reports, LinkedIn profiles and posts, speeches, and books. For leaders, the genuine connection happens with their people by finding the tear between work and life, exploring the correlating areas, and blending them into an authentic voice that reaches people where they are to inspire them to action. My clients are equipped to lead well, even when they aren’t in the room, by sharing a genuine, human-first message that resonates.

I am different from many ghostwriters in that my process involves getting to know my clients inside and out and encouraging openness, vulnerability, transparency, and love in their messaging. With me, the work is centered on who you are as a person — and who your people are — and harnessing that truth to communicate a message that can’t be ignored because it’s different, unique, and magnetic. When this shows up in messages, it catapults connection and effectiveness.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I decided to take a risk when I pursued contract work instead of another full time office job. Looking back, I’m honestly surprised I took the risk. I was the breadwinner and had a new baby. I had no backup if I couldn’t find work. But my desire to be at home with my baby was strong, and I had the support of my husband and other close family and friends. Uncertainty is terrifying, but that risk is one that paid off more than I could have ever imagined. Today, I don’t really think of things as risks, because my faith grounds me in knowing that everything is held in the hand of a sovereign God who cares for his creation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://craftedvoice.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinagorr/