Juice on a Stick…and the Power of Perseverance

Ever heard of Frank Epperson?

Sure you have. Epperson, at age 11, invented the “Epsicle.”

It all started one unusually cold night in San Francisco, 1905. Epperson had just mixed fruit- flavored powder into a glass of water, a popular kid’s drink at the time.

How, he wondered, would this taste frozen?

Epperson left the glass on the porch. Lucky for him, it froze (San Fran doesn’t dip below freezing often). And voila — juice on a stick.

He promptly forgot the idea… until 18 years later, with five children of his own in the house, he needed to find a way to make money. The Epsicle seemed like just the ticket.

First hurdle, Epperson was broke.

Second hurdle, like I said, it doesn’t exactly get cold enough to start a Epsicle production line on your back porch every night. And home freezers had yet to be invented.

That didn’t stop Epperson.

He gained access to a commercial freezer. He hunted down a machine that could stamp his name on the sticks. Plus, the perfect glass mold for shaping the frozen desserts.

Still, local ice-cream makers weren’t interested. But Epperson pressed on.

On a suggestion from his own son, he swapped “Epsicle” for “Popsicle,” the name that’s still popular today. Then he applied for — and got — a U.S. patent on the idea.

In 1928, he sold that patent for a tidy sum to the Lowe Corporation in New York. Of course, he could have made an even bigger fortune if he’d hung on.

Point is, he hung in there. And he made it happen.

How, you ask, can this possibly pertain to becoming a wealthy freelancer?

I was in Baltimore recently, meeting with an old friend who happens to be a fine copywriter.

“I’ll tell you one thing,” said my friend, “one thing that’s really made the difference for me is just getting the stuff out there, getting feedback on it as fast as possible, and pushing it through so it can hit the mail.”

This guy, by the way, has written some monumental flops. Of course he has. However, he’s also penned some enormous successes. A few of which, he can point to directly as the cornerstone of his very successful career.

By contrast, I knew a young copywriter who cared very much about quality. He would write a headline and print it out. He’d try it in a couple different fonts. Then he would change one word, move a comma, and then change it all back.

Very impressive.

Except… he never seemed to get past tweaking the headline. He was obsessed with it. All while the other 16 pages of the promo begged to be written.

Sometimes, the only way to get over flops, failures and obstacles is… well… to get over them.

Literally. Rocket right over the top. Or plow right through the center.

Get it done, get it tested. And if it didn’t work, go after it again.

Action and perseverance. It’s the mantra of some of the most successful freelancers I know.

Is it yours?

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John Forde is editor of the Copywriter’s Roundtable, a published writer, and a direct mail copywriter since 1992. You can sign up for his free weekly e-letter at http://www.copywritersroundtable.com.