Freelance Feels: Conversations about self-employed life

Freelance Feels with Sarah and Kathryn Phillips: Founders, Well and Truly Workshops

It's another double interviewee episode! And two more sisters who went into business together. We talk productivity, 'tech hygiene' and what it's like being business partners with a sibling.

Well & Truly are specialists in work productivity and wellness brought to you by sisters Kathryn & Sarah Phillips. Launched in 2019, but 7-years in the making, Well & Truly is a company inspired by their own health setbacks and family grief.

Both sisters have trained and worked with some of the world’s leading businesses which include Hermes to Jamie Oliver Group, with experience of working in Paris to New York to London. Today Well & Truly helps ethical organisations all over the world from Zoopla to Gravis offering workshops to one-off training sessions to transform team productivity and wellbeing in the workplace. Based in London - Well & Truly are rapidly becoming known as the leading experts in adaptability and resilience in the workplace. This year Well & Truly has plans to not only grow the number of companies they can support but also grow their visibility and credibility in the media. 

Find them at https://www.wellandtrulyworkshops.co.uk/

Freelance Feels with Lucy Orton: Positive psychology coach and self-sabotage expert

Time to talk self-sabotage! Lucy Orton is a certified positive psychology coach, podcaster and expert on self-sabotage. Her popular weekly podcast 'Self-Sabotage To Success' is in the top 5% of podcasts globally and has reached no.7 in the UK Apple Entrepreneurship charts. 

 

We talk about her challenges as a freelancer, how we can try and manage self-sabotage and podcasting.

 

Lucy empowers female, purpose-led entrepreneurs to step away from mindset gremlins and a critical inner voice and into their rightful space in the world. Lucy is passionate about championing women so they are able to completely shift how they see themselves, creating huge and lasting impact for themselves and others. 

 

You can find out more at https://www.lucyorton.com/

 

 

Freelance Feels with Anna Codrea-Rado: Journalist, podcaster and author 'You're the Business'

Two words really stuck with me from this chat: ‘Emotional Tax’ – the feels of dealing with all the ‘things’, especially finances, as a freelancer.

It’s one of the many brilliant insights from Anna Codrea-Rado, who joins me to talk about freelancing, her new book ‘You’re the Business: How to build a successful career when you strike out alone’ and her ways of managing the challenges of freelancing on our mental health.

Anna Codrea-Rado is a journalist, podcaster and campaigner. She writes about business, culture and technology with a particular focus on working life, and has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, Wired, the Paris Review, and New York Magazine.

Anna launched the #FairPayForFreelancers campaign in 2019. The campaign calls upon the media to pay its freelancers fairer, better and faster.

Alongside the writer Tiffany Philippou, Anna co-hosts the hit weekly podcast Is This Working.

Twitter: @annacod | Instagram: @annacod | Website: annacodrearado.com

Freelance Feels with Shona Chambers: Marketing Consultant and Founder of 'The Self Employed Club'

Time to talk marketing! I chat to marketing consultant Shona Chambers who is also founder of The Self Employed Club. She talks about making the leap from redundancy to freelancing, putting yourself out there in the self-employed world.

We talk about real-life networking vs online networking with new connections (virtual coffee, anyone?), with lots of advice on how to go about it, and why Shona believes we need to connect with other humans especially when we live and work alone.

From the idea of competition as a freelancer and focusing on your own work to comparing on social media and ‘failing’ on Instagram, she shares her insight and experience. Oh, and I learn about using Pinterest for business, too!

Shona Chambers is a freelance marketing consultant  with a career spanning over 20 years, working with both large and small companies. Shona has also created her own businesses, including a networking group for the self employed and freelance community, Self Employed Club. 

Find Shona and get in touch with her about work collaborations at www.shonachambersmarketing.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/SEmployedClub/

@selfemployedclub

Freelance Feels with Steve Keith: 'The Branding Man' and founder of the Queer Student Awards

This episode I speak to Steve Keith, AKA The Branding Man, all about his journey from teaching to self-employment, and his passion for helping young people. We chat about the impact of lockdown on work, the feels of coming out of lockdown as a self-employed person, the nerves we might be feeling about socialising and networking, as well as dealing with anxiety and moving to a new city when you’re freelance and finding time for new friendships as well as work connections.

 

Steve is an employer brand consultant on a mission to help more young people, regardless of their background, to access the world of work by supporting employers in creating memorable brand experiences that both recognise and celebrate difference. He hosts the My Career Story podcast, a weekly conversation during which he learns more about the inspirational career stories behind the guests featured. As a cisgender gay man he is an advocate of the LGBTQ+ community and recently launched The Queer Student Awards. Find out more about his work at thebrandingman.co.uk and follow him on Instagram @thebrandingman

Freelance Feels with Sarah Owen: World Bipolar Day special episode

To mark World Bipolar Day, I spoke to Sarah Owen, co-author of 'Bipolar Disorder - The Ultimate Guide'. Lots of advice here for those who wish to better understand Bipolar Disorder as well as those who manage it alongside freelance life.

Sarah started at Cosmopolitan in 1994 (health & beauty intern/assistant/editor) for three years before going freelance. Over three decades she has written health features for a wide range of publications (including The Sunday Times, The Express, The Daily Mail, Marie Claire and Psychologies) and created lots of online content (for, among others, Boots, Aviva, Asthma UK and British Heart Foundation).With her cousin Amanda Saunders, she co-wrote 'Bipolar Disorder - The Ultimate Guide' in 2008 (published by Oneworld Publications) and fully updated it in 2020). Four generations of their family have/had bipolar - their shared grandfather, Sarah's dad, Amanda's mum, Amanda (who has cyclothymia, a milder form of bipolar), Sarah's sister and Sarah's son. The book was recently featured in the no1 spot on Bipolar UK's 'Top 10 good books about bipolar'. Sarah and Amanda are panellists at Bipolar UK's online conference on World Bipolar Day (30 March). 

Pitching and writing articles - and working with a friend! With Heidi Scrimgeour and Hazel Davis: Founders of Museflash Media

Time to talk pitching! Heidi and Hazel run Museflash, which runs pitching courses and workshops as well as training and bespoke mentoring and now virtual retreats! Is there no end to their talents? They're both full-time freelance journalists, too.

I've taken part in Museflash webinars and pitching course, and love the community they've created. So for this second 'double guest' episode I ask them all about setting up a company with a friend, pitching (just don't call your pitches your 'babies'!) and staying balanced when you're also making a living from pitching ideas.

Find out all about Museflash at museflash.academy, or follow them on instagram @museflashmedia

 

#pitching #journalist #journalism #journalistadvice #pitchingadvice 

Freelance Feels with Fiona Thomas: Author 'Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and be your own boss'

Fiona Thomas is an author and freelance writer with work published in iPaper, Grazia, Happiful Magazine and Huffington Post. Her most recent book Out of Office: Ditch the 9-5 and Be Your Own Boss is a guide to freelancing.

We dig deep into the feels of using social media, running a business online, following and muting, making time for your mental health, the feels of finances and how being in control of your rates can help your mental health as well as exercising on Instagram...

As always there are loads of practical tips from personal experience to help you on your own freelance journey.

Talking of which, find her on Instagram @fionalikestoblog 

Twitter: @fionalikes

And her website is https://fionalikestoblog.com/

Buy the book at https://amzn.to/3cR14Qa

And listen to her podcast here:  https://fionalikestoblog.com/out-of-office-podcast/

 

Freelance Feels with Marina Gask: Co-founder of Audrey Online

Co-founder of Audrey Online, Marina was not only launch editor of Sugar magazine, she was also editor of More! magazine, so I was delighted when she agreed to speak to me about her journey from editor's office to freelancing and co-founding Audrey Online.

Audrey is a members club and community for women who consider themselves 'Generation Restart'  - "an online magazine full of inspiration and advice, plus a community for women who want to explore hopes and dreams, share tips and resources and ‘cheerlead’ each other along the way."

Marina co-founded Audrey with strategic business consultant Faye Watts. Find out more at Audreyonline.co.uk

You can read Marina's full career journey at http://marinagask.com/a-brief-history/ (Or listen to the podcast!).

 

 

 

Freelance Feels with Francesca Specter, founder of Alonement

Season 5 begins with a chat all about managing your alone time when you're self employed with Francesca Specter, founder of the 'Alonement' movement with blog, podcast and online community.

As always there are lots of practical tips in the episode, and Francesca talks about how she created the concept of Alonement, even trademarking it.

Francesca Specter is a London-based journalist and founder of the platform and podcast, Alonement. Prior to launching Alonement in 2019, Francesca was the deputy editor of Yahoo! Lifestyle. She has formerly worked as a reporter at the Daily Express, and her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Telegraph and Grazia. She holds an M.A. degree in Magazine Journalism from City University, London, and she has been nominated for several awards for her work, including the PPA Digital Rising Star award. Alonement is Francesca’s first book.

Find the book, pod and social links at  https://www.alonement.com/