Julie Cortés Freelance Rockstar

If you're looking for a dynamic speaker to shake things up, you've come to the right place.

Inspiring. Authentic. Insightful. Motivating. Entertaining. These are all words audience members and event planners alike have used to describe my presentations.

Available for IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL presentations, I offer:
⭐ Keynotes
⭐ Breakout Sessions
⭐ Workshops
⭐ Trainings
⭐ Fireside Chats
⭐ Round Table Discussions
⭐ Group Coaching
⭐ And More

Whether you're looking for a speaker for a conference, classroom, program, seminar, webinar or summit, give your audience what they crave: a lively experience to walk away inspired, empowered, and equipped to succeed.

Most requested topics:
⭐ Freelancing / Self-Employment
⭐ Branding + Promotions
⭐ Hiring Freelancers / Gig Economy
⭐ Mindset + Badassery

Word on the street:

"Julie's an outstanding & entertaining speaker who keeps her audiences engaged. I highly recommend her to any group or organization needing a speaker. You won't be disappointed!" —Paul Tosh, Associate Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City

"I loved Julie's presentation at our state conference! She energized us with her passion & helped people improve their communications businesses with some great tips. I highly recommend this BADASS!" —Angie Prather, VP Marketing & Communications, Wichita Regional Chamber

"Talk about a gal in her element! Julie Cortés is a motivational, professional rockstar who can elevate you as a person, your team, & your career. My organization could not have been happier with our results from Julie." —Jenny Rohr, Technical Trainer, Evergy

Julie Cortés has been called a powerhouse, dynamo, and self-made solopreneur. She prefers the term ‘rockstar.’

She’s forged a dream career path and created opportunities once never thought possible. Over the last 25+ years, she’s gone from freelance copywriter to founder, course creator to adjunct professor, and business coach to international speaker.

Her accolades include being named Innovator of the Year by the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, Top 100 Small Business Influencer Champion by Small Business Trends, Women’s Business Advocate of the Year by the Kansas Department of Commerce, Small Business Superstar by the KC Chamber of Commerce, and winning the very first national Community Freelancer Award by The Freelance Conference. She’s been interviewed and featured on / in a variety of media, most notably CNN, Freelancers Union, Clients from Hell, Nation 1099, KCTV5, KCUR, KKFI, KMBZ, KC Star, KC Business Journal, Thinking Bigger, and Startland KC.

For more than 25 years, Julie’s served as a copywriting and proofreading resource partner for ad agencies, design studios, large corporations, and small businesses. She’s worked with the likes of Payless ShoeSource, H&R Block, and Hallmark, and has written for most mediums in a variety of industries. She loves high-level concepts, creative solutions, and branding projects, and has been awarded with Ad Club ADDYs, BMA Fountains, DMA Ambits, AIGA A-Awards, and FX ICE Awards.

She is the founder of The Freelance Exchange (FX) of Kansas City—a not-for-profit professional trade organization that serves advertising / marketing freelancers. Since 2003, the organization has offered continuing education, social activities, networking, mentorship, and promotional opportunities. It’s also served the business community with a free and easy-to-use resource to find the talent they need. The club is now gearing up to open in other cities.

Julie developed a much-needed, college-level Freelancing 101 course for the world-renown Kansas City Art Institute, where she’s taught commercial and fine artists as an adjunct professor since 2017. The course curriculum is based on everything a beginning self-employed creative needs to know. A first of its kind, this class regularly ‘sells out’ and has a waitlist every semester.

Due to popular demand from her professional peers, Julie took those same lessons from the classroom to launch a coaching arm to her business. Today, she helps freelancers, solopreneurs and creatives with their self-employment journeys, whether they’re looking to make the jump to full-time freelance, just starting out, or wanting to level up. To date, she’s helped scores of individuals locally, nationally, and internationally.

What started as speaking to local colleges soon spring-boarded into a national and international speaking tour. Julie has spoken at the HOW Creative Freelance Summit, the Women | Future Conference, Global Entrepreneurship Week, The Freelance Conference, Freelance Business Week, Freelance Buffalo & Beyond, Isolated Talks, SCORE Mentors, AIGA, Ad Club, Social Media Club, KC Art Institute, the University of Kansas, and more. Her go-to topics include creative self-employment, branding and self-promotions, and mindset / badassery.