The Moxie Podcast

With nearly 300 episodes under his belt on his podcast The Startup Life, Dominic Lawson has created a legacy that empowers entrepreneurs around the globe. As my guest this week, he tells us how to unleash your inner greatness and create something that will impact the world for the better.

His guests have included the best global business minds, including Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph. But before you start comparing your journey to his, listen to his hard-fought journey to success. Dominic will also share tips for starting a thriving podcast on a budget, growing in your craft, and putting skin in the game for the best results.

In this episode you’ll hear:

1. How you can make a lasting impact, no matter your backstory.
2. The trick to moving from the sidelines and ignoring the haters that try to limit your potential.
3. Why Dominic’s wife is the great woman behind his entrepreneurship and success.
4. The difference between playing at business and becoming a legitimate player in your field.
5. Top tips for getting big names involved in your content, even when the initial deal falls through.
6. Why doing the work is the only way you can grow your business, craft, and impact.
7. Steps for building a successful podcast, including how to use the smartphone you’re holding now to get started.
8. About the dangers of focusing on download numbers, overvaluing equipment, and only using social media to promote your content.
9. Why Kobe Bryant continues to inspire Dominic and pushes him to experiment with his podcast.
10. How to demand your value as a freelancer and stand up for your work.

Happy International Women’s Day! Today’s guest is a seven-year freelance copywriter and passionate supporter of women’s empowerment. As a self-professed “Type Z” person, Sarah Robb uses her quirkiness to help brands create content that makes a real difference. 

She met with me this week to share why her experiences in a stifling, male-dominated work environment led her to freelance, how she finds the right clients, and what she loves about living that #bosslesslife.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. The evolution of Sarah’s brand and how it helped her find clients that appreciate her quirkiness.
2. What sour gummies, slang, and hot dogs have to do with copywriting.
3. Ways to use words to create content that people want to connect and engage with.
4. How a traditional job affected her creative energy, even in an agency she loved.
5. Her 20/20 hindsight on the ups and downs that defined her early freelance career.
6. The trick to understanding and demanding your worth as a freelancer.
7. ...and why always getting enthusiastic yeses from clients about increasing your rate is a problem.
8. All of the great experiences her business allows her to enjoy as an avid outdoorswoman.
9. Why working in a male-dominated environment, even with great coworkers, made her passionate about women’s empowerment.
10. How learning to say no can set you up to say “Hell yes!” to great opportunities.

Marek Hosek is not a freelancer. And, in fact, you probably aren’t either. Listen this week to hear why freelancing is only the first step, how being an independent creator opens more doors, and why the connections you build matter most.

With 19 years of independent creation under his belt, Marek shares his journey as a graphic designer and savvy business owner. You’ll discover his thoughts about client relationships, living below your means, and doing work that really matters.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. All about visual communication and the power it has in branding, social movements, and everything in between.
2. The dangers of assuming you know more than your clients.
3. Why listening and building connections with clients are the best things you can do to sustain your business long-term.
4. His reasons for living below his means, even in his success.
5. The downsides of having steady work and plenty of clients.
6. What independent work and the service industry have in common.
7. Why freelancing isn’t — and never should be — free.
8. How freelancing is to independent creation what acoustic covers are to a rock band.
9. About Marek’s trips to Haiti and the Dominican Republic and how they sparked an incredible force for change.
10. Why your former-side-gig-turned-business should, well, have a side gig.

Did you know people of color make up less than 40% of all freelancers? Join me and 13-year freelancing veteran, Anthony Sills, as we consider the why behind this number and how we can help make freelancing a viable career option for everyone in every community.

Today, you’ll also learn how to be mindful about building your own business processes, how to create long-term client relationships, and the reasons you should always ask, “Why?”

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. Why cultural pressures can minimize the value of freelancing for many people of color.
2. Why freelancing limits the risks of relying on the “security” of employment.
3. Why sharing your success as a freelancer can inspire others to pursue their dreams, particularly as people of color.
4. Why freelancing is less about money and more about how you value your time.
5. Why Anthony continues to fight culturally dismissive attitudes around his work as a black freelancer.
6. Why you should build business systems that work for you, rather than making you work for your business.
7. Why discovering how you can bring value to your clients starts with conversation. (Hint: It’s all about asking, “Why?”)

Podcaster extraordinaire and travel expert Kristin Quiroz Bayona joins me this week to discuss the ins and outs of podcasting and how it can help your brand. She also shares why discomfort can be the greatest teacher and motivator in accomplishing big things in both work and fun.

As host of her podcast, “The Explorer in You,” Kristin uses her love of travel and curiosity to inspire everyone to take action and pursue their goals. After recently having me on her podcast, we sat down to learn about her freelance journey.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Kristin’s podcast uses the power of simple storytelling to share a variety of perspectives in the travel space.
2. What led her to turn her blog into a podcast.
3. ...and how you can do the same.
4. The behind-the-scenes work that goes into making a podcast that keeps you focused on your brand and vision.
5. Why make-up was the first step to her success as a podcast host.
6. How to use discomfort as a motivation to do big things.
7. About the power of turning fear into curiosity.
8. Tips for naming your business and/or podcast.
9. The importance of listening to your body and instincts on your journey to success.
10. Why treating yo’self is so important for hustlers and busy freelancers.

When the pandemic left copywriter Samantha Tseng underemployed, she took control of her career. In less than a year, she built a five-figure freelance business with clients from around the world (including Mercedes-Benz). She joins the podcast this week to share how she turned adversity into opportunity.

As she tells her story, I know you’ll be as inspired as I was by her maturity, tenacity, and overall mindset. Samantha takes turning passions into profit to a new level, using her experiences and talents to benefit everyone around her.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. The reasons she moved from local to remote freelancing.
2. How offering new skills grew her business and led to her getting hired by Mercedes-Benz.
3. Why recognizing every client as an equal can boost your confidence.
4. About overgiving to clients and how that disrupts the balance of a freelancer-client relationship.
5. The truth about becoming an expert in your field.
6. How social justice, writing, and helping entrepreneurs that care about social justice define her work and passions.
7. Her trick to choosing jobs that result in the kind of samples clients want to see.
8. Strategies for building a community that helps you succeed.
9. The dangers of copying every business tactic recommended by successful entrepreneurs.
10. Why Samantha is giving her business course away for free — and where to find it.

My guest this week may be a peach, but he’d hate to hear you say it. Luke Peach is never afraid to try new things, whether it’s video editing, completing an Ironman Triathlon, or spearfishing off the coast of California. Listen in as we discuss his incredibly varied career and the beauty of designing your own life.

Description: 

Since he was 15, Luke Peach has been (mostly) successfully making a living as a freelancer in a variety of fields. On today’s episode, you’ll hear how he learned to respect himself enough to put a price on his work and how he came to that shift in thinking. Luke will also share the dark side of wanting to experience everything in life, how to balance the art of getting paid for your passions, and his secret recipe for the perfect breakfast burrito. 

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. All about Luke’s background in music, songwriting, and jazz piano.
2. His journey from being underpaid to understanding the value of his work.
3. What he can’t live without and why.
4. How he moved from working in audio to filming and editing videos.
5. Luke’s enneagram number and how that has influenced his career.
6. Just why his resume will never fit on one page.
7. The beauty of designing your life as the ultimate masterpiece.
8. About the dark side of trying everything — and why it’s okay.
9. Why freelancers should hit the books regularly.
10. And the downsides to being a Luke with a sister named Leah in the 1980s.

Luke on Online
Luke on Instagram
Luke on LinkedIn

Whether she’s dying paper with beets and avocado skins or helping a client communicate through beautiful graphic design work, freelance graphic designer Emma Bush is always ready to try something new. In today’s episode, we’ll discuss her commitment to teachability in both work and play. We’ll also discover the dangers of comparison as a designer, how she deals with creative blocks, and the best ways to determine your design style and brand.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. What Emma loves about all things Disney.
2. About the teacher who became her Mushu and how he led her to pursue graphic design.
3. Her brand’s evolution from her college days to now.
4. The trick to defining your own brand style.
5. Why warmth, natural beauty, and community define her design work.
6. How an attitude of teachability can encourage growth as a freelancer, creative, and person.
7. How to dye Dwight Schrute’s favorite color of paper.
8. The greatest threats to creativity…
9. ...and how trying something new can help.
10. Why you should surround yourself with a community of creative people of all types.

Emma on Online
Emma on Instagram

If you liked today's conversation with Emma please consider subscribing and following The Hectic Podcast on the platform of your choice for more talks with founders, freelancers, and experts in their fields. If you loved today's conversation, leave a review telling us about your favorite moment! 

Introducing The Hectic Podcast! Join host Darryl Kelly, CEO, and Co-Founder of Hectic, every Monday to hear exciting and inspiring conversations with other #freelancers on their journey to becoming unstoppable. You'll also learn from global industry experts and receive tips and insights on starting, running, and growing a freelancing career.

Benvenuto a Hectic Podcast! This week we welcome Felice Della Gatta, an Italian globetrotter and self-taught designer who joins us as Hectic’s Head of Brand and Creative Director. From his start as a high school dropout to his current status as a global, high-demand designer, learn how Felice built his freelancing career through both successes and failures. We’ll also explore the importance of compromises and how he inspired Hectic’s commitment to daily gratitude.

As someone who works from whichever country he chooses to visit at that moment, Head of Brand and Creative Director Felice Della Gatta lives the freelancer dream. Listen this week as we learn how he balances travel and work without breaking his professional commitments. You’ll hear why Felice always bites off more than he can chew — and why you should do the same. 

Oh, and if you love the stunning hummingbird that graces the Hectic brand as much as we do, you won’t want to miss his part in designing this image and the Hectic name.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Felice went from being unemployable, without experience or a CV, to growing a thriving freelance design business.
2. The qualities he looks for when choosing a new client and project.
3. About working for free and why it was a bad career choice.
4. His love of travel and how it was inspired by his father’s love of reading.
5. The trick to enjoying travel while managing your commitments to life and work.
6. Why he continually bites off more than he can chew and how it defines his growth as a freelancer.
7. How Felice and the team chose the hummingbird image used in Hectic’s branding.
8. His unique approach to traveling and how it enriches his experiences.
9. The importance of recognizing team involvement, not just your own accomplishments, in the work you do.
10. Why daily gratitude is important to him and how it became a driving principle for the Hectic brand.

Felice on LinkedIn
Felice on Dribble
Felice Online 

If you liked today's conversation with Felice please consider subscribing and following The Hectic Podcast on the platform of your choice for more talks with founders, freelancers, and experts in their fields. If you loved today's conversation, leave a review telling us about your favorite moment!