March 29, 2024

Thrive Insider

Exclusive stories of successful entrepreneurs

Amy Suto, CEO and Co-Founder of Kingdom of Ink – a writing services company

What’s your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?

I came up in Hollywood as a TV writer, and I was moonlighting as a memoir ghostwriter. My freelance writing career took off, allowing me to travel and meet clients all over the world. Because of my success, I realized I could help other writers do the same. My partner Kyle Cords came up with the idea of Kingdom of Ink, and we launched the business together.

Describe the process of launching the business.

In March 2021, we launched Kingdom of Ink with our inaugural group of writers. We created a competitive application process that only accepted the top 1% of freelance writers from entertainment backgrounds, and met with dozens of those top applicants before narrowing the pool even further. Then, we began accepting our first clients right after March, continuing to fine-tune our systems and workflow.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?

We’ve retained clients by going above and beyond in delivering the best copywriting and memoir ghostwriting services on the Internet. Because of that, we’ve naturally attracted clients through referrals and word-of-mouth.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

We’re doing great! We’re seeing a steady growth in great clients, and we’re continuing to seek out amazing writers and connect them with projects they love.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?

Yes, I’ve learned that there’s a massive amount of effort that goes into getting something started. But once you’re rolling, the momentum begins to take over from there, and that’s really cool to see. We’re investing in a lot of long-term growth strategies, and that’s been helping us grow organically.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

We use Notion for our internal documents and workflow, Discord for our freelance writing community, and Honeybook for our client portal.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?

When we started the business, my co-founder Kyle and I absorbed dozens of business books like Good to Great, and went through Y Combinator’s Startup School. While we’re more on a trajectory of a boutique writing services company rather than a startup, we’ve learned a lot of awesome lessons from the world of tech.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?

Every entrepreneur should prize adaptability and flexibility in their work. Being able to adapt to changing trends and new information will help you keep your company on-track and allow you to weather any storm!

Where can we go to learn more?

You can visit KingdomofInk.com to learn more about our company, or AmySuto.com to learn more about my work as a writer and founder!