MEET A MEMBER - PAUL DEVEREUX

This week’s Meet a Member is  Paul Devereux who lives in Birmingham, UK.

Seeing as you don’t live in Los Angeles how did you end up joining Brits in LA?

Many years ago…

Well, more like 7 actually, I was part of the bar team who opened Soho West Hollywood.

Somehow I’d been lucky enough to get a year visa and live the dream in L.A.

Within the first few weeks I found Brits in L.A through an expat I was working with. No matter what happens whenever you leave ‘Ol blighty’ it's alway nice to have a little piece of home on your doorstep, and Brits in L.A delivered this.

After my 365 days were up (to the day) I left West Hollywood to go on to pastures new.

However, the pull to come back and live in L.A gets stronger as each year passes.

Have you ever visited Los Angeles - if so we would love to hear what your impression of LA is?

My first impression, I think most people can relate to.

It's like a live version of America's got talent. By this I mean it's like a people-watching on steroids. I loved it. After a few months, you settle in and accept it for what it is.

As for the people, personally I found everyone I met very friendly and accommodating, and now have friends for life because of my brief stint over there.

Do you think you could ever see yourself moving to LA, if not tell us what keeps you in the UK?

I can’t make the move just yet as I’m about to work with a client in the Crypto space. Which once the project is revealed I might have to relocate somewhere else for the time being.

Other than that, I would move back to L.A in a heartbeat. And that’s the plan. Since leaving Soho House I stepped out of hospitality which had been my home for over a decade and took it upon myself to learn the evergreen art of copywriting.

This would then give me the freedom to eventually head back to the West Coast for Round 2.

Do you have a hidden gem that you want to share with us?

In Birmingham? The airport I reckon...

Joking aside, Birmingham is where a lot of my family are, so it’s always nice to come back.

However, since leaving L.A I haven't lived in a country longer than a year at a time so it’s difficult to pinpoint one. I don’t regard myself as a

traveler by any means, but I’ve been lucky enough to have roamed around a little.

If I was to pinpoint a place as a 'gem', it would be Vietnam. Fantastic people and it still hasn't been taken over to the point where it’s become tacky.

Why would you recommend other overseas readers joining Brits in LA?

There are countless groups on Facebook when you move to a new city. However, you rarely come across one where the members are prepared to help each other out.

It’s no secret us Brits are a cynical bunch and when we’re on our home turf it seems to be a national sport to cut each other down. I've been guilty of it myself.

I feel living in L.A takes that out of you a little, or at least gets you to bury it out of sight for a while. Its refreshing.

We hear you have been working on an exciting project. Care to tell us more about it ?

As I touched on before my bread and butter is copywriting. And the plan this year is to build my L.A portfolio so I have a solid reason to get back to the place I’ve felt most comfortable in the last few years.

Copy in your business, whether it be on your website, or what you regularly email to your subscribers is of huge importance when building relationships with clients or customers. They need to be treated as if they’re a friend or family member.

Once you've built the connection, it generally leads them to becoming a lifelong customer.

That’s what I looking to help any Brits in L.A with their own companies do.  If you feel you want a chat and maybe pointing in the right direction, then drop me an email and we can set up a call. If I can help, fantastic, and if not, at least you get some free advice.

Don't worry I’m not a salesman. I just believe that helping people is always a good way of racking up some karma points.

Lots of our members join our group Brits in LA seeking out words of wisdom - what is the best piece of advice you've been given ?

“Never smoke medicinal marijuana after you've drank too much tequila, otherwise it’ll end in tears”

And guess what...He was right.

Lastly , how can we find you on the Internet ?

I’m quite stealthy on the internet just because I like to work with a few good people at one time. So the best way to contact me is by email at paul@winngwithwords.co.uk.