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Matt Stait transformed his life through martial arts - but like so many in our amazing Xolopreneur community, his freelance career has taken him in various unanticipated directions. From his own championship achievements, he has found new ways to inspire audiences beyond those who can attend his gym in the UK, by mastering online publishing.

In demand as a speaker, consultant, and author, Matt has achieved great success recently with short-form video content, which is the perfect medium for him to educate and share the skills he has developed - on Youtube Shorts, Reels, and TikTok.

Today, Matt generously shares his insights into mastering this new medium, and unpacks the skills he teaches other businesses, when they want to create and grow a TikTok presence from scratch. So, if you're even remotely curious about what all the fuss is about, and/or whether you should be on TikTok yourself, you'll want to listen hard to today's episode.

Matt is definitely not a lipsyncing teenager, but there's a lot more to this fast-growing platform than that these days.

Catch up with Matt online:
https://www.facebook.com/matt.stait.5/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-stait/
https://www.tiktok.com/@modernsamuraima?lang=en
www.differentthink.co.uk
www.modernsamurai.online

And remember that the Future Is Freelance podcast is brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now, you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for free for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap

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Freelancing as a company-of-one is a great way to live - flexible, versatile, and autonomous.

But, as a solopreneur, you have different vulnerabilities, when unexpected change happens.  Have you ever thought about how you'd cope, if something came up and you simply couldn't work as normal, if your whole world shifted overnight?

Or what if your client had a crisis, which directly impacted on your work together? What kind of relationship have you really established? Because there are other kinds of crises that affect the whole world at once, as we all know. If you can't prepare for unknown unknowns, how can you future-proof your income and lifestyle, when there's no in-house team to have your back?

As freelancers, we are usually more diversified than employees, in terms of our income and activities, and we're also used to change. That's a superpower we can use, to keep up with a changing world, and support our clients and associates through changes too.

Your podcast host Maya Middlemiss has rolled with some big shifts during her freelance career, from the global ones you all know about to individual family challenges, and she's learned a thing or two about positioning a solopreneur career for resilience - not just because she writes and researches future tech trends.

Nobody knows what the future holds, but you can face better than most, if you expect a state of flux, and keep one eye on the horizon.

You can keep up with Maya's projects and publications here,

The Future Is Freelance podcast is brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now, you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months - the perfect home for your resilient, future-proof, location-independent business.

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Many freelancers are drawn to platform like Upwork to find success at the start of their solopreneur journeys, but many fail to crack the code: ending up disillusioned with a race to the bottom on costs, or finding it impossible to successfully pitch for gigs - never mind reaching the point of having the right work (at the right price) come to find them directly.

Today’s guest, graphic designer Kelley Kemple,  has worked out viable strategies for making Upwork work - and today she generously shares them with listeners, to help you succeed too, whatever your hustle. By shifting mindset to recognise the potential of Upwork as a market full of people who are ready to hire, she approaches things differently to many suppliers. And her actionable tips will be invaluable for anyone striving to do what she has done (and will be equally applicable on other similar platforms too,)

Kelley also shares her story of transitioning from working in a corporate job, turning her side hustle into her main job, and the role Upwork played in her being able to do that. She now runs her own business, Hidden Path Creative, a company specialised in brand identity, packaging and web design.

Find Kelley and her company here:
https://www.hiddenpathcreative.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/hiddenpathcreative/
https://www.facebook.com/HiddenPathCreative
https://www.instagram.com/hiddenpathcreative/

The Future Is Freelance podcast is brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now, you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap 

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Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is an attractive route to freelancing - and an easy option for anyone who was lucky enough to be born a native speaker of the global tongue for business and communications.  

But making a decent hourly rate is challenging, with a proliferation of platforms and marketplaces, and varied levels of qualification and experience required.

Today we talk to a solopreneur who has not only made a career success of specialised English teaching, he has created a great lifestyle as well, and travelled the world. Combining unique niche industry knowledge with a commitment to professional development, Russ Pearce is proof that TEFL can truly take you places, in every sense. 

What could you do, to leverage native linguistic advantage, alongside personal career experience and subject matter expertise? The sky's the limit (especially if, like Russ, you're an aviation specialist.). He even has time to write a great travel blog too - www.anythingbutpaella.com - as he explores the lesser known parts of his chosen home in Spain.

The Future Is Freelance podcast is brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap 

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Lona Alia is not a freelancer right now... She's presently the head of revenue at SafetyWing, who specialise in underwriting the insurance needs of the new remote and mobile global population.

So it's unsurprising that her journey to this point was entrepreneurial, and further that she lives and embodies that spirit and lifestyle, even while running a large international team.

Of course, a deep understanding of the needs of solo operators is essential, in order to create products which serve them well. And as a Y Combinator graduate, Lona loves combining the startup intensity and drive, with the personally liberated lifestyle of digital nomad living, travelling around Europe with her young daughter. 

She is also living proof that you don't have to sacrifice the solopreneur mindset, OR your preferred lifestyle, just because you scale up successfully in response to global need.  Lona's insight and vision into entrepreneurialism and the future of work and life is informed and inspiring, and we also touch on the truly borderless Plumia project - which aims to create a brand new online country (though that is going to need a whole other episode to explore fully!)

Meanwhile, keep up with Lona online:
URL: www.safetywing.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/nomadcities/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/safetywing/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/safetywing/

And don't forget that the Future Is Freelance is  brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap 

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This week’s episode is your podcast host, Maya Middlemiss, flying ‘Xolo’ (sorry, not sorry…) 

Maya reflects on her journey through various models of business formation over a long period, and the evolution of what she has come to call ‘Minimum Viable Freelancing’ - the amazing intersection of circumstances which enables anyone to get started working for themselves today, from anywhere in the world. 

The possibilities are infinite, when you combine the potential of location-independent operation with: 

• Minimum viable learning 
• Minimum viable tech 
• And minimum viable presence. 

It might not be the traditional way of funding and starting a business, but it unlocks unbeatable freedom - to experiment, to grow, to succeed. 

Don’t forget to let Maya know what you think, via [email protected], or tweet @mayamiddlemiss with your thoughts. You can connect with her on LinkedIn too https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmiddlemiss/

 Brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap All the time you need, to validate your minimum viable business idea - so what are you waiting for?

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Mark Izatt is a luxury brands consultant, early adopter of e-residency, and board member of the non-profit EERICA: the Estonian E-residents International Chamber Association.

EERICA is the official 'voice' of the more than 80 thousand strong community of e-residents, to the government of Estonia. They fulfil a vital lobbying and policy-making role, but also offer members highly valuable professional networking opportunities. For Mark, it's a chance to give back to e-Residency and Estonian business culture, which he credits with unexpectedly reshaping his whole approach to business and entrepreneurship.

As a freelancer, Mark provides a very interesting example of the way you can create a resilient and interesting portfolio career by combining a range of long term roles and directorships, if the gig-driven lifestyle does not appeal - a good reminder, for anyone considering their options in this space. And he includes some excellent tips for de-risking the shift into adopting an e-resident business lifestyle.

You can find out more, and sign up for updates, at https://eerica.ee/

Also do connect with Mark and his varied roles and interests online:
www.markizatt.com
 insta: markaizatt
twitter: markaizatt

Brought to you by https://xolo.io - and right now you can try our flagship Xolo Leap product for *free* for 3 months! https://www.xolo.io/zz-en/leap

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Freelance tech storyteller Jennifer Riggins joins us to talk about the power of LinkedIn - how to perfect your profile, interact with intelligence, and engage with elegance.  Every solopreneur can benefit from the insights you will hear, and taking notes is highly recommended!

Soon you will understand how LinkedIn search works (though it may be less smart than you think), how to use groups, the safe way to include outbound links, and what kind of results you can achieve, when you use LinkedIn the right way. 

And no, you don't have to pay for it!

Check out Jennifer's own profile to connect at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkriggins/, and catch her on Twitter too: https://twitter.com/jkriggins,

Brought to you by https://xolo.io

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Rowena Hennigan works remotely as a University Lecturer and Adjunct Faculty with TU Dublin,  and remotely operates her consultancy company RoRemote, providing wellbeing and mentoring services for corporate remote workers.  Rowena is an experienced traveler, combining remote work and travel, sometimes with her family too.

In this conversation Rowena talks about how she has grown her business around her own internal values and lifestyle, built out her service delivery by collaborating with other solopreneurs, and continually advanced the self-care and wellness agenda: for freelancers, and for everyone.

Keep up with her work online at  ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowena-hennigan/ and https://twitter.com/Ro_Remote if you like what you hear,

Brought to you by https://xolo.io

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Many dream of creating a perfectly balanced lifestyle combining professional activities, creative fulfilment, travel, and family. Hayley King is a true renaissance soul who has figured this out better than most, and now helps other people to achieve the same. 

As well as providing social media support to other businesses, she uses these tools very successfully to show up with authenticity and consistency, whether she's marketing market research, promoting her unique jewellery and poetry, supporting small businesses, or sharing her love of dogs! And she manages to do all this without compromising her creative integrity or personal sustainability principles.

 Intrigued? Then check out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/eurekaforbusiness
https://www.facebook.com/Houndstruth/
https://www.earthwindandjewellery.com/

Brought to you by https://xolo.io 

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Keep in touch with everything we do at https://remoteworkeurope.eu