If you’re looking for more information and enrollment details for the Freelance After 50 Summit, please visit the Summit page here(affiliate link): https://aff.freelanceu.com/54280/162512

Welcome to this insightful conversation with Franklin Taggart and Craig Cannings, the founder of Freelance University. If you're re-entering the job market, especially if you're over fifty, this video is a must-watch. Craig Cannings introduces the Freelance After Fifty Summit, happening from April 15th to 17th. This event is perfect for those looking to join the freelance world, offering inspiration and insights from successful freelancers. You'll also be introduced to the community and resources offered by Freelance University, a highly regarded resource for freelancer careers of all kinds.

In this virtual coffee break, Franklin and Craig discuss the origins and growth of Freelance University. Craig shares how he and his wife started the university sixteen years ago, rebranding in 2018. Freelance University has become an amazing resource for freelancers of all styles, shapes, and forms. Craig's new YouTube channel, Freelance After Fifty, caught Franklin's attention, and Craig explains the inspiration behind it. He reveals that over three-quarters of their audience are over fifty, committed to learning and slowly rolling out their businesses. This demographic has become their best customers, leading to the creation of Freelance After Fifty.

Craig discusses the changing reasons people are freelancing today. While the laptop lifestyle was popular five to ten years ago, the pandemic and economic climate have shifted people's focus to financial opportunities. Many are starting side hustles to supplement their income or building full-fledged freelance businesses. Craig emphasizes the importance of mindset when transitioning from an employee to an entrepreneurial mindset. He shares his own experience of awkwardly shifting from a job to running a business and highlights the need to rewrite your job description as a freelancer.

The conversation delves into common surprises for new freelancers, such as the significance of mindset, the myth of "build it and they will come," and the importance of community. Craig explains how Freelance University provides a supportive community for freelancers, especially during challenging times like the pandemic. He shares success stories of students who started freelancing after fifty and built thriving businesses.

The summit covers various topics, including finding your freelance path, starting a side hustle, getting your first client, and carving out a freelance lifestyle that fits your needs. Craig highlights the importance of leveraging AI tools and technology to stay in demand and improve efficiency. He shares insights into the evolving freelance industry, emphasizing the plethora of opportunities, automation, and the growing interest in remote work.

Freelance University Home: https://www.freelanceu.com/

Freelance After 50 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@freelancefifty

Chapters

00:00:00 Summit Invitation and Link

00:00:58 Craig Cannings Intro

00:02:08 Inspiration for Freelance After 50

00:04:26 Shifting from an Employee Mindset to an Entrepreneur Mindset

00:07:18 Facing Limiting Self Beliefs

00:07:57 Common Surprises of New Freelancers

00:10:50 Introducing the Freelance After 50 Summit

00:14:42 The Terror of Entrepreneurship

00:17:43 Summit Information and Enrollment Details

00:20:43 Finding a Freelance Niche

00:25:59 Changes in Freelancing Since Craig Started

00:29:49 Future Opportunities for Freelancers

00:31:57 Next Step for Summit Enrollment

00:32:38 A Couple of Summit Speaker Highlights

00:34:53 Freelance University Resources and Community for Freelancers

00:36:48 Franklin’s Summit Topic and Invitation

In today’s coffee break -- pulling the plug on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, and Twitter/X

My enjoyment of social media has just gone through the floor for the last few years, and it's gotten worse. I don't feel like I'm serving myself by staying in that environment. I joined Facebook and Twitter back in 2009. At that time, I was going through a pretty serious health crisis and it felt good. To be in a place where I could actually reconnect with people going all the way back to my elementary school days. It was fun to be there and you could count on that if you posted something that a good number of your people following you would see it.

I want to say also it hasn't been easy to get to this point to pull the plug. I've had a lot of value over the years from from Facebook and Instagram. Just in terms of making connections there. Now every time that I've thought about leaving. I've had to weigh what makes it worth staying, and I have to be honest with you that it's just gotten worse and worse over the years. For every for every friend’s post that I see. I'll see ten other posts that I didn't subscribe to. The algorithm just continues to feed me things that I didn't sign up for, and I just don't want to do that anymore

I do plan on doing a little bit more direct emailing. I'm going to continue to make videos and a podcast. And I'll continue to show up on LinkedIn on occasion. One of the things that I also intend to do is to spend more time reading actual books. I intend also to look at the quality of what I post online, more so than the quantity of what I post online. So it may be that I only post a few times a year from here on out. But I really want to make sure that what I'm putting up there isn't. Just some AI generated crap. I want it to be helpful. Thoughtful. I want it to be meaningful to me at least.

If you have my e-mail, send me a note. If you don't have my e-mail, there is a contact form on my blog and you're welcome to use. Find me the old fashioned way. I already feel better. I already feel like that I have some time back. I think that the quality of my life is going to improve dramatically from this decision and I'm going to encourage you to think about even just giving yourself a break from it for a little while and see what the difference is.

There are some people that are going to say, am I worried about what it's going to do to my business? I haven't seen any real benefit to my business in a long time and have been very inactive in terms of promoting my business in social media. I found that there are other ways that are much more effective. I don't have a huge business to promote. I only take a few clients at a time, and I don't really do a lot of other things other than maybe release the occasional blog or podcast or video. So I don't feel like that my business is going to suffer at all, in fact. It may actually improve. Take good care. See you here.

Chapters

00:00:00 Getting ready to pull the plug on Meta and X.

00:01:26 It isn’t getting better.

00:02:39 What to do with 16 years of stuff?

00:04:28 YouTube is still where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time.

00:05:05 Weighing the decision to stay or go.

00:06:49 Making online connections more meaningful.

00:07:30 Reading actual books.

00:08:38 If you have my e-mail, send me a note.

00:08:49 If you don't have my e-mail, there is a contact form on my blog.

00:09:20 I already feel better.

00:10:05 What about my business?

00:11:06 Revisiting an old New Year's resolution.

In this Virtual Coffee Break, Franklin Taggart welcomes media industry veteran Pete Pachal for an insightful conversation on the impact of AI on the media industry and creative sector. Pete, a seasoned editor and writer, shares his expertise and discusses his latest venture: The Media Copilot newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel.

Pete has been covering technology for more than two decades and has been following the field of artificial intelligence since before Gmail was trying to complete your sentences. Pete was Chief of Staff for Content at CoinDesk where he led the publication’s AI Committee and wrote the company’s guidelines for the use of generative AI. He’s also held senior editorial positions at Red Ventures, Mashable, and NBC Universal. His work has appeared in Fast Company, Forbes, TIME, and more.

In his meager spare time, Pete also hosts Pull To Open alongside journalist Chris Taylor, a weekly Doctor Who podcast that features thoughtful and entertaining commentaries on every single televised story. You can subscribe to the podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@PullToOpen

A few of the resources mentioned in this episode:

• ChatGPT

• Perplexity

• OpusClip

Important links for The Media Copilot

• Media Copilot newsletter: https://mediacopilot.substack.com/

• Training classes: https://learn.mediacopilot.ai/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@themediacopilot

Media Copilot on social:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-media-copilot/

• Twitter: https://x.com/themediacopilot

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themediacopilot/

#podcast #media #mediaindustry #petepachal #themediacopilot

While the tech gods have tried to assure us that human labor won't be replaced overnight, we've still seen early signs that the trend will be toward computers and machines doing the work humans once did. This isn't an abnormal pattern. From the earliest development of tools, the whole point has been for human labor to become easier and ultimately redundant. But can we be prepared for how the race will be affected as tech takes over increasingly highly skilled tasks?

Before I go any further, I must clarify that I am not anti-tech or anti-AI. I use the tools daily, and I'd be stupid not to. Some of the time required for my creative tasks has been cut by huge percentages. The search for relevant images for presentations that used to take hours has been reduced to minutes with the help of Dall-E and some well-defined prompts. I've been a Grammarly user for a few years now, and I've definitely seen an improvement in my writing as a result. Design tools for graphics, audio, and video have all helped streamline my own DIY production processes. So please don't think I'm against any of this.

That said, I have a few genuine concerns about the impact of AI in a few specific areas, represented by the following questions:

One of my supervisors used to say that when I did crisis intervention work. I believe it. The same theme has frequently emerged in recent conversations with friends and clients. We've noticed similarities as the relationship patterns from personal and family life play out in career and business situations. And why wouldn't they?

The challenges I face in marketing, selling, and delivering in my business have the same root as the challenges I have as a spouse, dad, son, and brother.  That root is me. But I'm no longer labeling it as a problem. I just have gotten okay with not being great at relationships.

I'm old enough to have read a lot of books, taken a lot of classes, attended plenty of weekend seminars, encountered encounter groups, and tried every way I know how to be better at it. But at almost 62 years old, I've decided that my odds for improvement seem to grow slimmer with each passing year. And it's become most important to just acknowledge all the ways I suck at relationships. And those realizations and acknowledgments apply to my career and businesses as well. 

"...it's become most important to just acknowledge all the ways I suck at relationships."I like people fine, as long as we don't have to spend much time together.

I've been a #selfhelp #selfimprovement #selfdevelopment junkie for decades.

I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on books, programs, curricula, behavior modification, weight loss, smoking cessation, discipleship training, and seeking my vision in the wilderness. If I had invested that money in making more money, I would be comfortably retired by now.

For all the time, money, and effort, I would have hoped for a better result.

As Jamie Smart says, shouldn't light be streaming from all my orifices by now? But I'm not much, if any, different than I was before all of this. I struggle with the same things, think the same negative thoughts, worry about everything, and don't see the improvement I've been striving for. I use the techniques - mindset shifts, meditation, yoga, nature walks, writing my desires and goals clearly, clarifying my intentions, and doing all the prescribed work - but I'm no better off as a person or in life.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't had anything better to do.

There are worse ways to spend a life. I've learned a lot about everything along the way, but I've realized that most of my work has been in the wrong direction. I never challenged some important assumptions about the promise of a better me. Until recently, I haven't considered that many of the beliefs I've constructed about myself weren't mine. They came from other people. Another #realization I've had is that many of the messages about myself I've bought into were intended to persuade me to buy something. And the king of all assumptions is that there is a "me" in the first place, let alone to make it better.

What if the me that is the object of all the betterment isn't anything more than a bundle of thoughts?

More to read on my blog: https://www.franklintaggart.com/2023/12/the-false-promise-of-better-me.html

I've had more than a few people contact me for coaching as they navigate new twists and turns in their career and business paths. Most recently, three find themselves having a Rip Van Winkle moment - waking up from a long nap to find that everything is different for them than before. One has been taking care of a dying parent, another has been sending the last of her children to college, and another has rekindled a music career after taking several years off to start another business. They've all returned to industries that aren't as familiar as the ones they left.

The pandemic effects are still landing for many people.

Music and meeting venues have only recently started reopening, and many have changed formats. I've noticed many businesses have continued to keep shortened or irregular hours than before the disruption. Schools and organizations have also changed their regular routines.

I went through a similar time when my music career was interrupted by a six-year series of health challenges.

#comeback #disruption #hiatus

If you've been interested in listening to podcasts but have found the medium and apps to be difficult and confusing, this episode is for you. The good news is that you probably already use an app where you can find and enjoy podcasts, and it's most likely the same app you're using to watch or listen to this show.

In this quick overview, we'll learn some of the most popular apps for podcast listening, how to find the podcasts you'll enjoy, and I'll tell you about a new free mini-course I'm offering called the New Podcast Listener's Primer. It's available now at my blog, https://franklintaggart.com.

In addition to the course videos, I've included a list of some of my favorite podcasts, a playlist of episodes from that list, and a handful of videos when I've been a podcast guest. If you're interested in booking yourself as a podcast guest or would like to find out how to start a podcast of your own, I invite you to schedule a free Best Next Step call with me. My blog has all the deets.

#podcasting #podcastapp #podcastlistening

When Podcast Movement announced that their annual conference was going to be held in Denver this year, I got excited. I've wanted to attend this conference ever since it started, but the timing and finances never seemed to line up. This year, thanks to the generosity of Buzzsprout and the close proximity of the venue, I was able to attend. Here are some of my highlights.

Podcasting is Still Growing

And it appears to be growing even more rapidly with YouTube's new commitment to podcast support and promotion. It's not just YouTube. Spotify introduced video podcasts into its features last year, and new networks were represented at every level at the conference. The overall trend is that podcasting continues to expand in every direction.

People Are Hungry for Podcast Curation

As more podcasts are becoming available, people are looking for reliable sources of curation for the podcasts they listen to. Networks are one of the prominent sources people are turning to for this kind of service. This need for curation is also putting some pressure on podcast hosting platforms to improve the quality of their search functionality and discovery features. I was blown away by the number of new networks I saw at the conference and the variety of niches and audiences they represented.

Video is Exploding

As I mentioned, YouTube and Spotify have created opportunities for podcast producers to include video in their show offerings. I know the video option has been available and popular with podcasters for years, but the increased support is causing some important shifts in the podcasting industry. YouTube has risen into the second slot from the top as the most popular place to watch or listen to podcasts. Spotify has also gained more podcast audiences as it increases access to its video-based podcast services. Several speakers and panels were dedicated to integrating video into the podcasting mix.

Monetization Options Are Increasing(In Some Ways)

Making money from podcasting is taking on some new shapes and appearances. The standard list of options like sponsorships, paid subscriptions, advertising, and product promotion is still on top, but there are new possible income streams coming forward for podcasters, especially those who are growing large and engaged audiences. Larger broadcast and production companies like Paramount, Disney, and iHeart Media are signing successful podcasts to their networks and offering unheard-of sponsorship deals as they diversify their markets.

New fan funding services similar to Patreon are also starting to spring up. Patreon has been a popular way for podcast producers to gain direct support from fans, but there are some fast-moving competitors whose presence at the conference was notable. YouTube and Spotify weren't alone in offering hosts direct support portals for fans to pay for support and premium access.

The only disappointing monetization news is the continued shunning of shows with long track records but smaller audiences. Many advertisers are raising their minimum audience requirements to a point that excludes all but the most popular podcasts. I'm hopeful that this will change, but I think it will take an organized strategic effort on the part of certain agencies to create a package that will work for all involved. I heard a few Braindate discussions on this topic that I'll be excited to watch as they unfold.

If you're just starting podcasting, I recommend checking out Buzzsprout. They are a small company with a big heart and do everything they can to nurture and support podcasters. They have packages starting at free, so you have nothing holding you back.

Do You Want to Start a Podcast?

I help people set up podcasts with a commitment to maximizing reach and keeping costs down. It starts with a free microphone placement session that you can schedule here: https://bit.ly/MicrophonePlacement

You paid for a better microphone. Let's make it sound great!