Michaela Leyland is the founder of Wood For The Trees Coaching and a "hybrid" freelancer, as a performance and mindset coach, for the last 7 years.

Michala believes that freelancers, and other business owners, should have greater clarity of their vision and then live their vision now, because our vision is very much possible right this minute, even when we set future-forward goals.

In this episode, Michala talks about the freelancing journey that has brought her to today. She also shares some of her experience and wisdom to help you plan for the coming weeks, months, and the year ahead too.

#EFWeek 2021 is an annual event focused on recognition and community building — providing freelancers with the opportunity to come together, focus on issues close to them and take collective action. In this episode, I chat with 2 of the founders of European Freelancers Week with other freelancers chipping in too. 

We talk about the state of freelancing, what collaboration looks like, how Governments can (and should) do more to help, and much more too. 

Get involved at [email protected] and #FreelanceHeroes across social media. 

Steve Folland and Frankie Tortora are two heroes of mine, for all they give to supporting freelancers around the world. They run their own communities, podcasts, book clubs, and more and, in this episode, I felt it was time to get to know them a bit better. What made them set up their own communities? How does it help them and their members? What have been their own highs and lows of their freelancing journey? These questions and more are chatted about and more. About Steve Folland Steve is a video/podcast producer, running his business whilst also looking after his two kids. His other babies are the long-running Being Freelance podcast where Steve chats to freelancers from around the world about their story. And co-hosting the award-winning* Doing It For The Kids podcast - a fun Q&A for those parents freelancing 'with kids in the mix'. He does this with his friend, co-mentor and founder of the Doing It For The Kids community, graphic designer Frankie Tortora. These days Steve spends a lot of time hanging out in the Being Freelance Community where he brings together self-employed creatives from around the world for support, fun and biscuits. *Bronze for Best Business Podcast at the British Podcast Awards 2020 and shortlisted again for 2021! About Frankie Tortora Frankie is a freelance graphic designer, mum of two and founder of Doing It For The Kids — a community by and for freelance parents. Through the DIFTK blog, Facebook community, face-to-face meetups and podcast, Frankie is proving that all sorts of good stuff can occur when self-employed parents are given the opportunity to connect. Connect with Frankie at francescatortora.com and doingitforthekids.net.

“If you don't see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” ― Beverly Cleary, American Writer

But what is the writing process? Should I write with an ebook in mind or a printed version? How many words should it be? And, arguably most importantly, should I pitch it to a publisher or self-publish it? 

Even before your pen has been put to paper, then are many things you should know about the book you are about to write, and Eloise Cook, Publisher at Pearson, is here to help as she answers your questions. 

About Eloise Cook

Eloise is Publisher of the Trade, Consumer and Professional Business Publishing list at Pearson, and looks after the Financial Times Publishing and Pearson Business imprints. She is an engaged hands-on editor who's part author coach, part content editor, working with authors to help develop and shape their idea from concept to publication, and always on the hunt for practical, informative and engaging books that help readers improve their personal and professional lives. So if you're a subject expert with something interesting to say, get in touch via [email protected].

You can find 10 Questions about your Book idea here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eloisecook/.

Ayo Abbas started her Marketing Consultancy with verve and energy. Then, a few weeks later, a global pandemic hit which impacted Ayo's ability to grow the business as planned. Did it dampen her spirit? Not at all. Like many freelancers, Ayo had to dust herself down, look for the opportunities in front of her and grow her not let the world around her affect her new freelance business any more than it needed to. 

In this episode, Ayo candidly tells her story and shares her experiences to help any new freelancer, or experienced one, looking for diamonds in the rough to help their freelance business kick on. 

Ayo Abbas, Marketing Consultant, Abbas Marketing

I'm Ayo Abbas, marketing consultant and founder of Abbas Marketing.  I have 20 years' experience in B2B marketing and have represented many major construction and professional services firms and think there's a gap in the market for practical business advice for SMEs.  [email protected] or www.abbasmarketing.com

Links

Link to marketer without a brand - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ayoabbas_branding-builtenvironment-marketing-activity-6758362378586349569-XMhM

Link to my website www.abbasmarketing.com

Link to Carilion blog https://www.abbasmarketing.com/blog/carillion-fall-construction-broken

Link to the Times piece (£) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/toxic-and-dysfunctional-industry-in-race-to-the-bottom-kmd8n7ct9

How has the pandemic changed the perception of freelancers? What value do freelancers truly add to the wider business community? How can freelancers get in front of the exciting businesses they truly want to work with, and the right people who work within them? How can freelancers help themselves when it comes to late payments?

These topics and more were discussed at Freelance Heroes Day and this episode is a recording of one of the panel discussions. This episode looks deep into the future of freelancing and its relationship with start-ups and bigger businesses. 

Joining Ed for this recorded Zoom chat are:

Sam O'Connor - CEO and Co-Founder of Coconut 

Merlie Calvert - CEO and Founder of Farillio

Alex Hughes - CEO and Founder of Shifties and Shift Momentum

* Coconut were also proud sponsors of Freelance Heroes Day and you can find out more about them at: https://www.getcoconut.com/freelanceheroes

What is it like to start a freelance business in 2021? How do you attract and win your first client?  What is the transition from an office environment to a company of one like? How should you manage your time? There is a lot to focus on, both big and small, when starting a freelancing journey. On top of that, there is the matter of a pandemic too.

This week, Ed chats to the third in a series of conversations with freelancers who launched their business in 2021.

Nakita is a graduate of the University of Cambridge where she read Politics, Psychology, and Sociology (specialising in Psychology). Since graduating, Nakita has spent several years in research (resulting in several papers of which she is a co-author). Nakita then went on to work as part of Human Resources coordinating Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion-related projects. This included working in higher education and supporting the construction and submission of Athena SWAN applications, the building of wellbeing programmes, and critical analysis and action planning following staff surveys.

This background and experience led Nakita to set up Five Ways Consultancy to bring together interrelated areas of work under the heading of staff engagement. Five Ways now offers a range of packages and individually tailored services to help companies critically assess and improve staff engagement.

Connect with Nakita on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nakita-gilbert-910b3aa5 and her website at https://www.fivewaysconsultancy.co.uk.

What is it like to start a freelance business in 2021? How do you attract and win your first client?  What is the transition from an office environment to a company of one like? How should you manage your time? There is a lot to focus on, both big and small, when starting a freelancing journey. On top of that, there is the matter of a pandemic too.

This week, Ed chats to the second of in a series of conversations with freelancers who launched their business in 2021.

Gareth Hawkins is a time-served Managing Director and an MBA Graduate, He has acquired, built and sold businesses over a 20-year career in the industrial engineering sector, and, in Q1 2021, he founded Enterprise Insights Ltd.

Discover more at http://e-i.london. Also check out Gareth’s podcast The Chief Executive Optimist, by visiting https://ceoptimist.com.

“Look back to learn how to look forward.” - Jo Girard

There is so much data available to us that understanding which data is most relevant to our freelance business, and how to use it efficiently, can be a daunting task. This week, we start to unearth the hows, whats, and where, to understand where we are in order to move forward.

Katie Thompson In Her Own Words

Professional content marketing with a sense of humour – if she says so herself.

Connect at [email protected] and www.katielingo.co.uk

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” – Walt Disney

What makes someone start a business in 2021? How different is it from when you started yours? This week, Ed chats with the first in a series of freelancers who launched their freelance careers in 2021.

In this first episode, we meet Deborah Frampton, a VA from Trowbridge in Wiltshire to learn why she started and what the journey has been like for her so far.

Deborah Frampton (in Her Own Words)

I help busy business owners leverage the Pinterest platform to drive traffic to their website and increase leads. As a search engine, Pinterest provides answers to questions that people are searching for along with eye-catching graphics.

I also assist the busy business owners with their email management, calendar management, and appointment booking, so they don't need to worry about forgetting to send that zoom invite or double booking their time.

Facebook groups are a fantastic way of building community with your potential clients/customers. However, they are very time-consuming. I offer to manage the day-to-day community management (post scheduling, commenting, event scheduling, etc) so the busy business owner can focus on other things they cannot outsource.

Connect with Deborah at https://firebirdva.comand on Twitter at https://twitter.com/firebirdva92