indie business club
- Episodes
- 53
- Released
- every two weeks
- Latest episode
- Nov 13, 2026
About the podcast
A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries.
Episodes 53
45: Toxic – internet beef and meeting your heroes
This is one of those incredibly serious episodes where we tackle the big issues facing society and the world at large. Which is why Mel brings up what she’ll eat now that her local kebab shop has closed …
Show notes
This is one of those incredibly serious episodes where we tackle the big issues facing society and the world at large. Which is why Mel brings up what she’ll eat now that her local kebab shop has closed.
Alongside that meaty (of dubious sources) topic, we chat about:
- the podcast guest Phill almost cancelled
- how Mel was challenged to a LinkedIn joust
- Phill’s controversial plan to grow this show
- the infamous saw man
and public shaming (what more could you want!)
Sadly, Mel has informed me that listener numbers have dropped since I started co-hosting, so please, please, please listen, or she’ll boot me off for an AI clone.
Oh, and how many triangles can you see in the indie business club logo? And how many corners? 🤔
Cheers,Phill (& Mel)
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
P.S. 🖕
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com44: Bitter Sweet Symphony - social media
Mel loves social media. Phill hates it. We pressed record and had a debate even the Oxford Union would be proud of. Plus, Mel challenged Phill to a plank-off (yes, you read that correctly).Today’s episode is …
Show notes
Mel loves social media. Phill hates it. We pressed record and had a debate even the Oxford Union would be proud of. Plus, Mel challenged Phill to a plank-off (yes, you read that correctly).
Today’s episode is all about social media (some find it bitter, some find it sweet, for some that makes a symphony) and how we freelancers can use it to grow our businesses without losing our minds. We chinwag about:
why Mel and Phill quit Twitter (RIP, bird app)
whether social media changes what we deeply care about
if Phill can plank for longer than 30 seconds
a trip to psychology corner
plus a special end of year announcement…
For those choosing to watch the video, I sincerely apologise about my sweaty pits.
Cheers,Phill
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com43: No Scrubs - how to make working from home work
Well, looky here. Phill’s been given the keys to the Substack! HA! Look here’s Mel’s diary. Today we’re covering the meaty topic of working from home, where doctors literally get to wear no scrubs. Tune in to …
Show notes
Well, looky here. Phill’s been given the keys to the Substack! HA! Look here’s Mel’s diary. Today we’re covering the meaty topic of working from home, where doctors literally get to wear no scrubs.
Tune in to hear us discuss:
farting-from-home
are co-working spaces worth it?
body-doubling, what it is and if it makes us more productive
productivity apps that we actually use
another book recommendation
And find out whether Mel can spell floccinaucinihilipilification correctly.
Mel didn’t eat breakfast before recording this, so direct any complaints you have her way.
On Tuesday at 2pm BST, tune in to hear (and indeed see) Mel and her business partner Dave Harland talk to The Marketing Meetup. Sign up’s here.
Cheers,Phill
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com42: Island in the sun - taking time off when you’re your own boss
We’re doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if you’re thinking “Mel, you JUST emailed me”, it’s on purpose. This episode is named …
Show notes
We’re doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if you’re thinking “Mel, you JUST emailed me”, it’s on purpose. This episode is named after the absolute belter by Weezer because hopefully some of the time off you take as boss of your life involves an island in the sun.
It’s become apparent that our episode themes will be loosely observed, because we have a tendency to take detours and get distracted. Here’s some of what we covered…
the time(s) Phill lied to everyone
when Phill made friends with Matt Hancock
my obsession with work jollies - I’m on one as I type, actually
the benefits of holicise
work life balance (lolz)
And there’s some useful stuff in there about how to manage your workload too.
Oh, and Phill wants to know if you like him. He’s a middle child, like me. So expect us to be needy, squared.
I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s here
Do you like Phill? Do you?
ByeeeeeeeeeMel
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com41: Back to the start - origin stories
Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - we’re talking origin stories.In this first episode of a new era, my new co-host Phill …
Show notes
Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?
This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - we’re talking origin stories.
In this first episode of a new era, my new co-host Phill Agnew joins me for storytime about how we each go to the point in our careers where we decided “Nah. Employment’s not for me.”
We cover…
how Phill started out in marketing (he’s a PROPER marketer)
why I’m unemployable at this point
a trauma dump-slash-rant about crummy leadership
how Phill built up his podcast Nudge to be the UK’s #1 Marketing podcast (depending which day you look at the charts and whether his competitors are cheating with bot engagement)
Phill has frankly unrealisticly high expectations on how much feedback he’s going to get from you. Please prove me wrong and tell us what you like (or don’t) about the new ibc duo. And whether Phill should pass his probationary period.
You can email [email protected] or even better do a LinkedIn post about it so we get some sweet, sweet reach 👌
I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s here
ByeeeeeeeeeMel
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.comCrossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
Make sure we’re friends on LinkedIn - I’m revealing my new co-host tomorrow This is a crossover episode of Search With Candour podcast (hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward) and indie business club podcast (hosted by …
Show notes
Make sure we’re friends on LinkedIn - I’m revealing my new co-host tomorrow
This is a crossover episode of Search With Candour podcast (hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward) and indie business club podcast (hosted by me, Mel Barfield), discussing how you can use your hobbies to help build your “personal brand”. I first met Jack at BrightonSEO a few years back - he was the first listener in the wild that I ever met and I was FLOORED 🥰 We’ve been talking about a crossover episode ever since and we finally did it.
At Candour’s studio in Norwich we talked about how Jack balances his personal brand with employed work, and how we both use our hobbies (ranging from board games and films to music and, of course, cheese) to connect with people on a human level.
We also talk about how who you work with affects your brand reputation and why nerding out about the things you care about is so important.
It’s a long and winding conversation, partly because we enjoyed nerding out so much, partly because we recorded on a Friday afternoon, and partly because that’s just what happens when you put two podcasters in a room together with microphones.
Expect detailed descriptions of our favourite cheeses, best Batmans and I try and defend Superman III as the superbest Superman film (more on that in my episode on Phillip Oakley’s new podcast btw).Listen wherever you cast your pods. Or watch us on YouTube 👇
Byeeeeeee,
Find my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey (except not this time) Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
Listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
Catch up on other recent episodes 👇
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com40 Lucky Man: lessons in luck with John Lyons
We get quite personal in this episode, so skip through from about 11minutes to about 13minutes in if you’d prefer not to hear the part where we talk about mental health, marital breakdown and suicidal ideation …
Show notes
We get quite personal in this episode, so skip through from about 11minutes to about 13minutes in if you’d prefer not to hear the part where we talk about mental health, marital breakdown and suicidal ideation.
This episode of the podcast is all about one of my favourite topics - LUCK. Specifically, in careers. I chose John Lyons as my guest because a) he’s a legend and b) I knew he had a great squiggly story about how he got into marketing.
We talked about…
how a chance situation made John want to be an architect
the chance situations that meant he dodged being one
when “fails” lead to something better
traits and behaviours of lucky people
how Hat and Bins became John’s distinctive brand assets (or… diSTINKtive chortle chortle)
the, at times, lifesaving beauty of internet friends
…and we lament the loss of #MarketingTwitter (I miss you, pals).
I need your help
Someone’s given the podcast ONE MEASLY STAR on apple and spotify and it must be personal 💅 because the jingle is worth two stars alone. If you’ve ever enjoyed a smidge of an episode please give the pod a 5-star review to drown out my solitary hater 🙏
Here it is on SpotifyHere it is on Apple Podcasts
About my co-host
Here, have John’s bio from his website because I’m lazy - John Lyons is a London & Essex based Fractional CMO with over 20 years of experience in B2B technology and professional services marketing. He has worked with brands including LEGO, Deutsche Bank and Manchester United, and specialises in revenue-focused marketing strategy for scale-ups and funded startups.
And like my last guest, John is no stranger to indie business club. He was our voicenoter two whole years ago on the second ever episode 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients. You can find him on LinkedIn too. He’s got some freebie publications on his website including the B2B Growth Companion mentioned in the episode.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the song Lucky Man by The Verve. It includes these lyrics which are definitely, definitely about personal branding and sharing your personality more online. Probably. Maybe.I’m stood here naked, smiling, I feel no disgraceWith who I am
Byeeeeeee,
Find my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com39 Video Games: using video to market your business, with Jonny Rose
LinkedIn has reintroduced its video feed tab. Unfortunately, it all seems to be Stephen Bartlett, “shark tank”, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Bleugh. And more recently, lots of film clips with slowed-down …
Show notes
LinkedIn has reintroduced its video feed tab. Unfortunately, it all seems to be Stephen Bartlett, “shark tank”, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Bleugh. And more recently, lots of film clips with slowed-down atmospheric music over the top 🙄
So, it’s up to us to populate the feed with better videos. A moral duty, really…
This episode of the podcast is all about using video to promote your business, so I asked my pal Jonny Rose along for a chat.
We talked about…
how to get over yourself and get serious about using video
why you’ve got everything you need in the palm of your hand
how getting organised is half the battle
the place for scrappy vids versus polished edits
how we’re no longer in the knowledge era, we’re in the experience era
…and of course, Jonny’s top tips for planning and recording your videos.
We’ve also got Will’s Book Shelf, where Will Slater gives us some sage wisdom.
Jonny Rose runs Storyclub where he gets b2b founders confident on camera and turns that into consistent content that actually builds their businesses. Jonny gets people as comfortable as possible before they start recording. But we know lots of people are doing this solo and it’s all too easy to be overly perfectionist and talk yourself out of it. So he’s here as your personal coach/nagger.
The benefit/payoff from posting videos can be a slow burn - often it takes time to gain traction so you need to post consistently for a while. Don’t just give up after a couple of vids. You’ll only get better and better at it.
I have no problem filming myself, or capturing footage from a day out. My stumbling block is I can’t be arsed to edit it. Jonny suggests getting an editor from Upwork or Fiverr to remove that friction point, to avoid ending up with a huge content graveyard of outdated footage (sob). Maybe I’ll try it some time. But I do find it hard to pay people for stuff I could do an okay job of myself. It’s a character flaw, truly.
Jonny’s a fan of scripts for longer videos to remove a stumbling block, keep you on track, and stop you waffling. It also stops you getting frustrated at yourself and prevents you quitting before you’ve got the job done.
But immediacy still has a place. Whipping out your phone to have a quick unscripted rant or deliver something with urgency is authentic and relatable so don’t always over-script yourself.
About my co-host
Jonny Rose is an expert in all things video. He runs The Story Club where he helps B2B founders get confident on camera and turn that into consistent content that actually builds their business.
You can find him on LinkedIn. If you’re thinking “hmm this all sounds familiar” this is Jonny’s second time on the podcast, kind of. Because he provided a very helpful voicenote in episode 31, Moving Pictures.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the Lana Del Rey song Video Games because it should be fun to create video content to market your business. It can be, I PROMISE.
Have a nose at my calendar (and come along)
11th September - I’m at the East Anglian Marketing Awards in Norwich. I judged the freelancer category and I can’t wait to celebrate with all the finalists.
17th September - I’m at Nudgestock to cheer on speaker (and friend of the show) Phill Agnew and try to edge my way closer to Rory Sutherland (who defo perceived me at Atomicon last year when I was sat in the front row - a start).
1st October - Off to Manchester for the inaugural You Are The Media lunch club. A right trek from my house in Northamptonshire but worth it to support Mark and our glam host Judith (and our slightly less glam Dave, who’s on the panel).
15th October - I’m speaking at Cowork Crew Northampton about how to be lucky. It’s £30 for a day of coworking and cake with some of the loveliest humans you’ll ever meet.
5th-6th November - I’m hosting CopyCon, a two-day online conference for professional writers. The ticket price goes up on Monday so get a wriggle on!
11th November - Dave and I are speaking at Social Day B2B Forum. We’re running a mini workshop on how to write uncrappy captions.
13th November - I’m hosting a panel at the Alt Marketing School Business of Marketing event at Canva HQ in London. My panel is all about careers (I used to be a careers advisor dontcha know) and there’s tonnes of other tickets start at £85 for digital, £135 in-person.
Future plans
You might have noticed (or worse, not noticed) I haven’t posted a new episode in a while. It’s been difficult to keep up momentum, find time to record new episodes and generally be organised with the podcast, alongside running Copy Or Die with Dave. So I had a chat with a pal yesterday about them becoming a regular co-host and we’re going to see how it goes. Guess who it is?
And ICYMI Bill Gates has a lot to say about AI. Would’ve been nice if he’d had his epiphany before forcing Copilot on everyone.
Byeeeeeee,
Find my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at You Are The Media’s Creator Day 2026. Huge thanks to FOUNDRY for hosting us - check out their coworking spaces in London and across the South …
Show notes
This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at You Are The Media’s Creator Day 2026. Huge thanks to FOUNDRY for hosting us - check out their coworking spaces in London and across the South coast (Eastbourne, Poole, Walthamstow, Hove, Wandsworth and Bromley) right here.
I’m joined by a coupla LinkedIn legend Dave Harland and Lea Turner. Accidentally done two Lea episodes in a row because I’m a little behind in releasing recordings, but she’s worth it 😏 This is (somehow?!) the first episode with Dave despite him being mentioned in approx 87% of eps.
We talked about all sorts including…
how LinkedIn has changed since Lea and Dave first started out
what seems to work now
where the line is between sharing your personality without getting too personal
whether LinkedIn premium is worth it
how to navigate the feed
tips for young people at the start of their career (spoiler: don’t use AI for your posts)
the effectiveness (or lack of…) of company pages
the best people we’ve connected with on LinkedIn
how writing helps you find your voice
the benefits of trying to be interested instead of interesting
About my co-hosts
Lea Turner is founder of The HoLT, the community where freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners connect, share ideas, and grow together.
Before starting The HoLT Lea spent four years training people how to use LinkedIn to grow their business, and she should know having amassed (at the time of recording) over 177,000 LinkedIn followers. Find Lea on LinkedIn and find out more about how to become a HoLTie right here.
Dave Harland aka The Wordman is a copywriter, event speaker and all-round good egg. He’s my biz partner at Copy Or Die - to can get us in fill in our briefing form 😉 and get Dave’s emails here. He’s also working on his course on how to Write The Funny - get on the waitlist.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the first track on The Kooks’ Inside In / Inside Out album which came out (brace yourself) 20 years ago. “D’ya want to go to the seasiiide” next year? Creator Day returns on Thursday 6th May 2027. Get yourself on the guestlist.
Guesting
After I put it out there that I wanted to guest on more pods*, I got invited as a guest on the Content Byte podcast, run by Rachel Smith (from Rachel’s List) and journalist and content writer Lynne Testoni. Together they serve up weekly short bites of advice, tips and strategies. My episode is out now, all about how to get lucky in your career. Listen right here :)
*ICYMI this was the homework Charelle Griffith gave me in this b-side episode of indie business club all about how I'll grow this podcast.
Byeeeeeee,
Find my producer, theme composer and MUSE fan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com37 Fame Monster: being famous with Lea Turner
This episode is about the pros and cons of being (in my case, very mildly) famous in your industryI’m joined by LinkedIn legend, founder of The HoLT, and all-round wonderful human Lea Turner.Lea knows a thing …
Show notes
This episode is about the pros and cons of being (in my case, very mildly) famous in your industry
I’m joined by LinkedIn legend, founder of The HoLT, and all-round wonderful human Lea Turner.
Lea knows a thing or two about being famous - she’s built a following of over 208k followers across LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.
In the episode we talk about…
- how Lea built her huge following
- what’s changed since she started posting on LinkedIn
- why fame is a luck multiplier
- how to get “more famous” in your industry
- why being famous isn’t all sunshine and lollipops
I invited Lea onto the podcast because sometimes I walk into a room and a couple of people know who I am, but I don’t know who they are. For Lea, it’s like that times a hundred. This balance of “power” is sometimes a bit strange to navigate, so I wanted to know how Lea copes with her microfame and what tips she has for people looking to grow their “personal brand”.
I hope you enjoy listening in on our candid conversation.
About my co-host - Lea Turner
Lea Turner is founder of The Holt, the community where freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners connect, share ideas, and grow together.
Before starting The HoLT Lea spent four years training people how to use LinkedIn to grow their business, and she should know having amassed (at the time of recording) over 176,000 LinkedIn followers. Find Lea on LinkedIn right here.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the Lady Gaga album Fame Monster, with notable tracks Paparrazi, Money Honey and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich 😎
Guesting
After I put it out there that I wanted to guest on more pods*, the lovely Lucy Heavens invited me onto her CMO Therapy podcast. My episode is out today, all about tone of voice. I had a lovely big ol’ chat with Lucy getting all passionate about word stuff.
Listen right here :)
Excuses, excuses
I hoped to get this episode out about two weeks ago. But I was too busy with work. Then last week I was too busy having fun with my pals at The Marketing Meetup conference. ICYMI here’s my highlight reel from Dave Harland’s talk.When Ben left the podcast, I was determined to keep up putting episodes out every two to three weeks. But a heaptonne’s changed since then. Before, I was working with my three retainer clients (Copy Or Die, The Marketing Meetup, Bignose & Beardy).
Now, I’m still working with all three. But my role at Copy Or Die has, er, grown somewhat. Instead of working with COD founder Dave Harland one day a week I’m now full time as Dave’s Managing Partner and Brand Voice Lead. Which is a blimmin dream - he’s brilliant to work with and we have a lot of fun. Most importantly, our clients are happy bunnies. We’ve been nagged/advised by friend of the show (and next time’s guest) Jonny Rose on how to use video to better demo what we do. So expect some absolute cringe attempts as we “build in public” *gulp*.
Byeeeeeee,
Mel PS: This was a long episode, so Will’s Bookshelf gets a break this time.
Find my producer, theme composer and man with a plan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com36 Delivery: newsletters with Molly Scanlan
How to use a newsletter to grow your business💌This time, I’m joined by Molly Scanlan to discuss how to grow your business using the ancient (okay, at least decades-old) art of writing newsletters. Like this …
Show notes
How to use a newsletter to grow your business💌
This time, I’m joined by Molly Scanlan to discuss how to grow your business using the ancient (okay, at least decades-old) art of writing newsletters. Like this one. But do as I say, not as I do.
We talked about…
- why you should start (or resurrect) your newsletter in 2026
- how a newsletter isn’t the same thing as email marketing
- examples of newsletters we love and why
- how a newsletter can “world build” as well as show your authority
- why you should talk about your newsletter “to an uncomfortable degree”
And your friend and mine Will Slater is back with #WillsBookClub
About my co-host - Molly Scanlan
Molly Scanlan is a web designer, event speaker, quizmaster puzzlenerd and karaoke diva. She builds sustainable websites for non-evil businesses. The websites she makes are “better for the planet – but don’t look like they’re woven from brown rice”.
Like me, Molly is a columnist for Freelancer Magazine. She also co-founded a social enterprise and co-hosts Cowork Crew London with your friend and mine Ange Lyons. She is busy.
Molly also has one of my favourite newsletters of all time (it’s SO short!) called Molly Gets It Done, which is why I’ve asked her to join me on this episode. She’s also one of my business besties. Find her on LinkedIn right here.
Tracklist
The name of this episode is Delivery, a song by Babyshambles from their 2007 album, Shotter’s Nation. I was single for the first time in my adult life in 2007. I had a great time. It’s also when I was last single because it’s the year I met Mr Barfield. 19 years ago?! Bloody hell.
It’s classic 00’s Britpop-rock and I chose it because if you send out newsletters you might choose to monitor your delivery rates and open rates… geddit?
Resources
In the episode, we talk about newsletters we love. You should try ’em some time. But first, Molly’s newsletter again - Molly Gets It Done - it is SO SHORT!
Ange Lyons’ Font Love FridayA monthly newsletter on fonts, typography, and designery things
Lucy Werner’s Hype YourselfNB - in the episode, I called this newsletter “a substack” and spoke about how it’s on that platform, but it’s now hosted elsewhere. Partly due to the horrible situation we speak about in the episode. Signup is at the bottom of this page.
Dave Smyth’s Five LinksA short roundup of links to do with user experience, privacy, accessibility and sustainability.
Amy Nolan’s The Doodle DabblerA short newsletter by our favourite doodler (and friend of the show) Amy Nolan, which includes a doodle prompt to get you scribbling.
The Welsh Kitchen by Ross ClarkeGet a recipe to a traditional Welsh dish along with links to Welsh songs and other Welshy things.
Dave Harland’s The Word Friend of the show Dave can explain what his newsletter’s all about. Emails to “help you come up with the weird, witty and funny words and ideas that all of the bore-bag brands in your sector struggle with.”
She’s so lucky
As a freelancer, you've got to ask yourself one question… “Do I feel lucky?”
Well, do ya, punk? If not, Freelancer Magazine’s running a two-day masterclass series on 4th and 5th March. I’m running a workshop called “How to be lucky and win the freelance lottery” where I go into the (proven!) ways you can adjust your attitudes and behaviours to get more lucky. You get over a dozen other expert sessions, for keeps. Get your ticket here.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.comb-side: how I'm going to grow this podcast
I blagged a mini strategy session from the wonderful Charelle Griffith 👌In episode 34, Charelle talked us through how to do our annual plan. I then asked her for a little bonus chat at the end about how she …
Show notes
I blagged a mini strategy session from the wonderful Charelle Griffith 👌
In episode 34, Charelle talked us through how to do our annual plan. I then asked her for a little bonus chat at the end about how she thinks I should grow this podcast. Her first question absolutely stumped me.
Why do I want to grow this podcast? Errrrr… 🤷♀️
In brief - to build my profile, help as many people as I can, hopefully get it to a point where it pays for itself.
Charelle then gave me the best bit of advice I think I’ve ever heard. And it’s so beautifully obvious. It’s easier to get people to listen to your podcast if they already listen to podcasts. So guesting on other people’s podcasts is a great way to bring in new listeners who are already podcasty.
So I did what I was told.
I posted on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok saying “please can I come on your podcast”. Now I’ve got around a dozen invitations to work through. Thank you everyone who’s reached out or tagged their podcast pals.
If you have any podcasts you think I should pitch to (or your own that you’d like me to guest on 😉) please reply to this email to let me know.
Creator Day
I’m back at Creator Day in May to record another live episode of indie business club podcast. I’ve got two special guest co-hosts lined up to do it with me - all will be revealed next week. I can’t wait. It’s always such a fun time in Poole. Speakers at the event include previous guests Gus Bhandal and Phil Agnew along with Lea Turner, Michelle Goodall, Jon Alexander and Katie Stokes.
📅 Thursday 14th May (with my live podcast recording Friday 15th, in the morning)
🌊 Poole, Dorset
🎟️ Tickets from creatorday.uk
🍦 Save £20 on your ticket by using the code TeamMel
There’s also a special Cowork Crew on the Wednesday 13th May, so I’m going to try and get there for the Wednesday through to Friday.
Freelancer Magazine Masterclass Series
Freelancer Magazine is running a two-day masterclass series on 4th and 5th March. I’m running a workshop called “How to be lucky and win the freelance lottery” along with a tonne of other freelancer experty people talking about topics like branding, onboarding, tone of voice and PR. More info right here (my affiliate link, where it costs you the same as it would if you bought it anywhere else, but I get a bit of cash to help fund the podcast).
You get 14 practical workshops designed by experts especially for freelance business owners, with recordings to watch back whenever you like.
The value is ridiculous so get your ticket here (again, there’s recordings, so don’t worry if you’ve got other stuff on that week).
LinkedIn Algorithm Be Like
I enjoy everything has ever written but this post in particular tickled me. Go follow him here and on LinkedIn. I’ve cut and pasted his post to maximise the chance you’ll read it but please go and thumb it here too.
Andrew’s post:
—————————————————————
HAGGLING WITH LINKEDIN OVER THE REACH OF MY POSTS:
ME:
Hi LinkedIn. Do you reckon you could show this post to a decent chunk of my followers please?
LINKEDIN:
Dunno. What’s it about?
ME:
Just trying to let more people know about the work I do.
LINKEDIN:
15.
ME:
Excuse me?
LINKEDIN:
15 people. That’s how many people we can show it to.
ME:
That seems… a little low.
LINKEDIN:
Now it’s 12.
ME:
Well, what about this. A pal of mine is looking for work, what can I get for a post telling people how good they are?
LINKEDIN:
4.
ME:
Come on.
LINKEDIN:
7, but three of them are chickens.
ME:
You’re joking.
LINKEDIN:
Yeah. They’re all chickens.
ME:
Can you show it to anyone who aren’t chickens?
LINKEDIN:
Do you have Premium?
ME:
No.
LINKEDIN:
Then you get the chickens. And we hate you.
ME:
Fine. How about a post congratulating an independent agency I know on a brilliant campaign they’ve just done?
LINKEDIN:
We can show that to literally one person. His name is Ken.
ME:
Will he be interested?
LINKEDIN:
Not really. He’s more into the chicken content.
ME:
So… why…
LINKEDIN:
Plus, he’s super angry, like all the time.
ME:
Ok…
LINKEDIN:
You want us to show this thing to Ken?
ME:
Definitely not.
LINKEDIN:
That’s probably best. He’d really hate it and he gets super rude. You got anything else?
ME:
Well, there is this one thing, but I doubt it’s worth mentioning.
LINKEDIN:
Let’s hear it.
ME:
Well, I used A.I. to create this shoddy video of me playing crazy golf with all the different Batmans and…
LINKEDIN:
100 million.
ME:
Woah, really?
LINKEDIN:
200 million. Everyone should see that A.I. Batmen Crazy Golf Video. It’s super aligned to our vision and values, somehow.
ME:
Wow, that’s amazing, thanks LinkedIn! Then I can just add a link to my…
LINKEDIN:
A single chicken. And you’re shadow-banned. And we killed your fish.
——————————————————————
Byeeeeeee,
Mel
Find my producer, theme composer and certified grownup Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com35 Hysteria: promoting yourself with Gus Bhandal
Make 2026 the year you promote the absolute heck out of yourself 👌This time, I’m joined by Gus Bhandal to talk about ways you can build up some good old fashioned hysteria for your personal brand and your …
Show notes
Make 2026 the year you promote the absolute heck out of yourself 👌
This time, I’m joined by Gus Bhandal to talk about ways you can build up some good old fashioned hysteria for your personal brand and your business.
Gus is a LinkedIn expert. I have an unhealthy relationship with LinkedIn. So of course we gave the platform some air time :)
But we also talked about…
how speaking at events has grown our profiles
the time Gus was a pub landlord (I didn’t ask if he ever got to shout “get outta my pub!”)
stuff we see other people post online that makes us go “oh noooo” 😐
why it pays to be positive when you’re putting yourself out there
getting famous (in our tiny bubble)
And your friend and mine Will Slater is back with more bizpiration in #WillsBookClub
Sidenote
On the topic of LinkedIn, I did a poll this week asking “If you know something was written by AI, do you keep reading?” Depending on what time you read this email, you might still be able to vote. But if you’re too late, you can at least see what the final tally was by clicking the picture below.
I find it so interesting that despite all the hype around AI and how we’ll get “left behind” if we don’t use it, 57% of this sizeable sample of humans finds AI generated writing a major turnoff. Something to bear in mind when deciding whether to a) get a robot to do it or b) bring in me and Dave at Copy Or Die copywriting agency to get some squidgy human brains on the project.
About my co-host - Gus Bhandal
Back to the episode, and my guest co-host Gus. He’s a marketing strategist, social media specialist, LinkedIn trainer, and founder of The M Guru. He recently launched The Squeeze, a LinkedIn focused membership for freelancers and founders who want to get more out of the platform. Gus also co-created the LinkedIn focused conference UpLift Live.
Find Gus on LinkedIn (chronically, like me) and on Instagram.
Next steps…
If you want to take LinkedIn more seriously, get yourself to UpLift Live to hear from the world’s leading LinkedIn experts and influencers. Including your friend and mine Dave Harland, who’s speaking at this year’s event. The full line-up is on the Uplift Live website.
It’s in Birmingham on Thursday 26th March and you can get £20 off your ticket right here by using the code MELB. I get a few quid when you use the code, which will go on paying sound guy (and sound guy) Ant’s next invoice.
Tracklist
BTW, today’s episode name is Hysteria, a single by Muse from their 2003 (whaaat?!) album, Absolution. I picked it because as business owners we need to hype ourselves up and whip our clients into a frenzy of hysteria, so that they’re uncontrollably excited to work with us. Also coz Muse were the first band I saw live when they supported Skunk Anansie at Cambridge Corn Exchange in 1999. Good times.
Let me know, how are you going to hype up yourself and your business this year?
I’m going to try and bag a couple of speaking gigs, run more workshops (IRL and in person) and get onto more podcasts as a guest (it’s less work than making my own episodes) 😉Speaking of workshops…
Freelancer Magazine Masterclass Series
Freelancer Magazine is running a two-day masterclass series on 4th and 5th March. I’m running a workshop called “How to be lucky and win the freelance lottery” along with a tonne of other freelancer experty people talking about topics like branding, onboarding, tone of voice and PR. More info right here (my affiliate link, where it costs you the same as it would if you bought it anywhere else, but I get a bit of cash for aforementioned sound guy).
You get 14 practical workshops designed by experts especially for freelance business owners, with recordings to watch back whenever you like. My talk is called ‘How to be lucky and win the freelance lottery’ (no lotto win guaranteed).
Also speaking are…
Alex Thompson - ‘Go from order taker to trusted partner: earn more by doing less’.Amy Nolan - ‘Amy’s lunchtime doodle creative livener’.Alastair Thomson - ‘Getting funky with finance’.Angela Lyons - ‘Create a memorable freelance brand across all platforms’.Anita Ellis - ‘First contact to signed contract – take control of your sales and onboarding process’.Eman Ismail - ‘Turn followers into clients: how to turn your newsletter into a lead machine’.Gus Bhandal - ‘The LinkedIn content superstar strategy’.Heather Murray - ‘Reach new revenue levels (without hiring) with AI’.Jess Bruno - ‘F*ck the algorithm – how to build a personal brand and double your visibility’.Lucy Werner - ‘Using your personal stories to get PR’.Penny Brazier - ‘Write like yourself (everyone else is taken)’.Ryan Percival - ‘Create a LinkedIn profile that works while you work’.Tamu Thomas - ‘Impossible to ignore: 3 steps to get paid to speak and build a magnetic expert profile’.
The value is ridiculous so get your ticket here (again, there’s recordings, so don’t worry if you’ve got other stuff on that week).
Byeeeeeee,
Find my producer, theme composer and certified grownup Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com34 Running/Planning: plan your business year with Charelle Griffith
Create a plan to make 2026 your best year in business yet 👌Producer Ant says this might be his favourite episode so far. But is he just hyping me up since it’s my first episode of the post-Ben era? 🤔 Have a …
Show notes
Create a plan to make 2026 your best year in business yet 👌
Producer Ant says this might be his favourite episode so far. But is he just hyping me up since it’s my first episode of the post-Ben era? 🤔 Have a listen and let me know what you think.
My first guest co-host is Charelle Griffith, a business growth strategist, award-winning Chartered Marketer, event speaker and The Annual Planning Queen 👑
Planning your business year
I’m the voice of the (lazy) people - I don’t do much planning in my business. But Charelle’s seen the difference it can make when people take planning their business seriously.
In the episode, we talk in-depth about each step of Charelle’s framework:
1) Review and reflect on the past year2) Set and record your goals for the upcoming year3) Marketing strategy4) Monitoring
Charelle gives a compelling case for why we need to plan. For example, did you know, one study found self-employed/freelance workers take an average of just two weeks off each year?
One of the (many) golden nuggets of advice Charelle gives is to book out your time off at the start of the year, to make sure you’ve ringfenced your downtime. There’s a heaptonne of similar gems of wisdom in the episode, so let me know which part resonates with you most.
And if you’re put off by the enormity of planning for a whole year, remember that while the plan you get at the end is important, it’s the process that’s the most valuable part. The thinking, the reflecting, the decision making. It’s vital you set time aside to think properly about all elements of your business. I hope this episode helps to convince you.
I couldn’t have hoped for a more generous, fun guest. Thanks Charelle for giving us so much businessy goodness.
And in a new feature, your friend and mine Will Slater dips into a not-so-obvious business book to give us a bit of inspiration in #WillsBookClub
About my cohost - Charelle Griffith
Through her business, CharelleGriffith.com, Charelle provides business growth and marketing consulting, mentoring and training to help small, but mighty, business owners to strategically grow thriving businesses they love, and that enable them to live their best life.
Find Charelle on LinkedIn and on Instagram.
Resources and next steps…
You can download Charelle’s free Annual Planning Checklist and her Annual Reflection Questions. And if you want to book your private 1:1 Annual Planning Strategy Day with Charelle, you can read more about it right here.
Tracklist
Today’s episode is named after the song Running/Planning by CMAT. Because we often spend so much time RUNNING our businesses we forget to make time to PLAN, geddit? Also, I’m obsessed since seeing her perform live last month (ICYMI).
Needy feedback request
As you know, I’ve been a bit *gulp* about going solo(ish) with the podcast. So I’d love to hear what you think about the new episode and format. I’m open to constructive criticism obvs, just maybe save it til January after I’ve had a nice little rest. Hit reply to this email, or comment if you’re reading in Substack.
Cheeeeeers,
Find my producer, theme composer and big biz boi Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.comb-side: training and CPD
This is the last episode I recorded with Ben before he left the podcast. If you didn’t want to do your CPD homework you just had to say so, Ben 😏This will be the last indie business club episode for a little …
Show notes
This is the last episode I recorded with Ben before he left the podcast. If you didn’t want to do your CPD homework you just had to say so, Ben 😏
This will be the last indie business club episode for a little while. I’m going to take some time off to plan out how to move forward with it. But whatever the format ends up being, I’ll definitely have…
indie business insights
guest co-hosts and
my sound guy (and sound guy) Ant
Anywayyyy, back to today's b-side: training and CPD (that’s Continuous Professional Development).
Ben and I discussed the benefits of attending conferences and training, as well as talking about budget-friendly free (and nearly free) ways to get your CPD fix.
I was surprised at how little budget people who responded to the ProCopywriters survey commit to CPD. But then I am an absolute schlaaaaag for a conference. And I class that sort of in-real-life CPD as a massive part of my marketing. It’s also worth noting, times have been difficult for many freelancers out there so the budget isn’t always there to do all the courses, conferences and meetups you want to.
But if you’re looking for an affordable way to get out of the house and learn, the Marketing Meetup has local in-person events. You get pizza, drinks, and a marketing talk from as little as three quid. I host the Northampton one - come along on 6th November if you’re close by. TMM also has a huge back catalogue of recorded webinars on their website. Including the one that we were on :)
It can be really difficult to prioritise CPD as a business owner when you’re juggling a million and one other things too. But even just dedicating 10-15 minutes a day to reading, listening to a podcast, watching a webinar, it adds up across the week to make a big difference.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.comb-side: awards, revisited
When we covered the topic before (in episode 14 Handbags and Gladrags), we set ourselves the goal of becoming an award-winning podcast.And if you want to be award-winning, you have to actually enter awards …
Show notes
When we covered the topic before (in episode 14 Handbags and Gladrags), we set ourselves the goal of becoming an award-winning podcast.
And if you want to be award-winning, you have to actually enter awards. Even Oscar winners have to be put before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “for your consideration”. So we stuck in our application. Indie business club got shortlisted in the Podcast Jingle Of The Year (well done, Ant!) and Podcast Of The Year in the business and money categories at the Independent Podcast Awards. As finalists we'll also be up for the big one, the overall Independent Podcast Of The Year🤞🏻
Soon, we’ll find out if we won. Will report back 🫡
In this b-side, we also chat about how winning a copywriting award last year has impacted my business and why you should put yourself forward for stuff too.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com33 Freelancing - indie business club x TMM
Ben and I are on our way to Manchester today for CopyCon 🤩 I spoke at the event last year and the year before that, our Copy Or Die pal Dave Harland spoke. Dave’s meeting us there and this time, we're looking …
Show notes
Ben and I are on our way to Manchester today for CopyCon 🤩 I spoke at the event last year and the year before that, our Copy Or Die pal Dave Harland spoke. Dave’s meeting us there and this time, we're looking forward to a totally talk-responsibility-free CopyCon with lots of learning, loadsa laughs, and hopefully a sizeable karaoke sesh.
We do love giving an event talk, though. Last week we spoke together at Nottingham Digital Summit all about how you can “shorten the gap” by using three strategies; tone of voice, curiosity, and reciprocity. Maybe you were there? :)
If you weren’t but you're nosy (or just like chocolate brownies) we've popped the resources right here. You get:
- the best brownie recipe in the world
- our guide to tone of voice
- our talk slides (which you won't have context for if you weren’t there, but they sure do look pretty if I say so myself)
New episode out today
This podcast episode is our conversation with The Marketing Meetup’s Joe Glover all about freelancing.
We look at…
- our freelance origin stories
- what to think about before taking the leap
- how to attract clients
- how to cope in tumbleweed times
- pricing your work
- and loads of other stuff
Dedicated listeners will spot that this is recycled content. Yes, it is :) but we recorded some new podcast content this week…
Awards, revisited
Yesterday, we recorded a follow-up to our previous episode about awards (Handbags and Gladrags). It’ll be out in a few weeks. It’s almost a year since I won the Women In Marketing Brand Copywriting Award, so the next episode is a look back on how it’s impacted my business (spoiler alert = 💰)
And ICYMI indie business club has been shortlisted for Podcast Jingle Of The Year, and Podcast Of The Year in the business and money category at the Independent Podcast Awards. We’re off to London in a few weeks for the awards show. I might pack my sequinned dress for max glam points. Ben’s outfit is TBC. At lunchtime on the awards day we get to go and poke around at Apple Podcasts HQ in Battersea.
We’ll (obviously!) let you know how we get on.
YouTube
The episode is already on the TMM YouTube channel right here 👇
Cheers,
Find our producer, theme composer and bald-faced beaut Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com32 All These Things That I've Done: portfolios
This episode is called All These Things That I’ve Done and it’s all about how to put together a portfolio to show off what you can do. We look at…creative ways to give a good account of yourselfwhy it’s best to …
Show notes
This episode is called All These Things That I’ve Done and it’s all about how to put together a portfolio to show off what you can do. We look at…
creative ways to give a good account of yourself
why it’s best to get something out there, even if it’s just “for now”
the importance of making your portfolio as “you” as you can
Make sure you subscribe to the channel to get your bell poked when the YouTube video goes live.
Voicenoted
Today’s voicenote is from long-time (day-one listener!) friend of the show, copywriter and poet Gemma Strang. Mel first met Gem at the Women In Marketing Awards where they were both shortlisted. Gemma is a true creative with a fizzy brain. It comes through in her portfolio, which you can ogle here: Gem’s Portfolio and find her on LinkedIn here.
Your Friend And Mine
This time our friend of the show is photographer Wendy Gannon, who you can find on LinkedIn. Wendy is the Queen of Angles, a personality-led photographer and consultant for unapologetic female founders. You can read more about her empowering project, femalefivemillion.com
Stuff we said we’d put in the show notes
Joe Coleman’s incredible website - getcoleman.com
A creative prompt generator shared by Leigh James
Pat on the back
Finally, some news we’ve been itching to share with you… indie business club has been shortlisted for two awards at the upcoming Independent Podcast Awards 🎉🥳.
We’re in the running for Podcast Jingle Of The Year, and Podcast Of The Year in the business and money category.
Way back in episode 15, The Masterplan, we set a goal for indie business club to become an award winning podcast. At the time we didn’t even know if there were awards for pods like ours, but we found the IPAs soon afterwards and nominated ourselves.
That’s right, we nominated ourselves.
Initially I felt a bit cringe about it. But I re-listened to our episode on industry awards (episode 14, Handbags And Gladrags) and got over myself. Mainly because of what our voicenoter from that episode Charles Commins said:
“It's lovely recognition of the work that you have done, and it can give you a little bit of gravitas. And even when you put yourself up for awards, to get nominated, to be seen by maybe your peers, whoever it is that's judging those awards, to be recognised as one of the best entrants into that category in that awards that year is fantastic. So it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling.”
We wanted that warm, fuzzy feeling.
And Charles* is right. To be shortlisted feels amazing. I’m really proud of us.
The awards night takes place in London in a few weeks. Mel and I will be there, and we’re hoping to tempt Producer Ant down from the North. We’ll keep you posted (about Ant, and whether we win).
Cheers,
Find our producer, theme composer and beardless (*sob*) beauty Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.
*Charles’s podcast “It’s All Cobblers To Me” is also shortlisted at the IPAs, in the sports category 👏👏👏
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com31 Moving Pictures: using video in your marketing
This episode is called Moving Pictures and it’s all about using video to market yourself and your business. We look at…why some people would rather poo in their hands and clap than record themselvesreasons you …
Show notes
This episode is called Moving Pictures and it’s all about using video to market yourself and your business. We look at…
why some people would rather poo in their hands and clap than record themselves
reasons you might want to consider choosing videos over doing the above
how to get over yourself and get started
I’m currently editing the video version of this episode, which will go on YouTube by the end of the week. Make sure you subscribe to the channel to get your bell poked when it goes live.
Voicenoted
Today’s voicenote is Ben’s stiff competition for “loveliest voice on this episode” it’s Jonny Rose. Jonny runs The Story Club where he helps B2B founders get confident on camera and turn video into consistent content that actually builds their business.
You can find him on LinkedIn where he shares tips and (kind) nags to get people to use video in their marketing.
Disclaimer… we say on the episode that LinkedIn changes the rules so quickly everything could have changed by the time this airs. And maybe it has?! Big thanks to Jonny for recently sharing this PDF LinkedIn report on video, which seems to put B2B video front and centre again.
Your Friend And Mine
This episode’s YFAM is Craig Williams, a graphic designer providing box fresh designs that deliver excellence for events. When I went to Craig’s LinkedIn profile to get the link to put in these show notes I was THRILLED to see how he’s laid out his bio with song title references as subheadings. So go have a look and connect with him while you’re there.
And if you’re catching up on your to-do list, break up the boredom by watching our last episode. Phill from Nudge podcast tells us all about behavioural psychology and how you can use certain principles to your advantage when marketing your business. Watch it here 👇
Cheers,
Find our producer, theme composer and bearded beauty Ant Henderson on LinkedIn. 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com30 Where Is My Mind: marketing psychology with Phill Agnew from Nudge podcast
Want to trick people into buying from you? Then read on!Jokes, that’s deeply unethical, please don’t do that.Today’s pod episode is a bit special. Firstly, it’s episode 30 (toot toot 🎺) and secondly, we’ve got …
Show notes
Want to trick people into buying from you? Then read on!Jokes, that’s deeply unethical, please don’t do that.
Today’s pod episode is a bit special. Firstly, it’s episode 30 (toot toot 🎺) and secondly, we’ve got a guest! He’s the host of the UK’s #1 marketing podcast and he’s also probably the UK’s #1 “marketer who could trick you into buying something from him” (but he won’t coz he’s a nice guy) it’s…
👏 Phill Agnew from Nudge 👏
The episode is called Where Is My Mind and it’s all about principles of behavioural psychology you can (ethically!) use to your advantage as an indie business owner.
We had a lovely time recording with Phill. Lotsa laughs and lotsa insights including…
- how to get some reciprocity (I can’t say it without singing Lauryn Hill in my head - IYKYK)
- why it helps to demonstrate the effort behind your work instead of outsourcing everything to AI
- the pratfall effect and why showing your human side helps (to a point)
- how obsessed Phill is with Ben’s lovely voice (🙄)
We also got some behind-the-scenes intel on how Phil uses psychology to promote his own podcast Nudge, including how he gets people to sign up to his email list.
On a completely unrelated topic.. 👀 In the episode Phill mentions the 25 books he recommends you read in 2025 and 5 you should avoid (you can tell he’s a psychologist). Slap your email address in right here at this here link here here it’s this one here to get Phill’s knowledge in your box.
YouTube
I’m behind in editing the episode videos for YouTube because it takes lots of effort (which is a good thing - see above) but I skipped a few to make sure this one is ready to view in time so you get to see Phill’s lovely face. Watch it here.
We’ll leave you with Phill’s testimonial about the episode 😎👇
"I don't think I've laughed this much on a podcast in a long time"Cheers,
PS: The capital of Tuvalu is Funafuti.Find our producer, theme composer and legal eagle Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch older episodes of the show on YouTube here. 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com29 We Want The Airwaves: starting a podcast
This episode is brought to you by Copy Or Die, the copywriting agency we work at, which Ben co-founded with Dave Harland. If you say you listen to the podcast we’ll probably give you I dunno, 0.05% off or …
Show notes
This episode is brought to you by Copy Or Die, the copywriting agency we work at, which Ben co-founded with Dave Harland. If you say you listen to the podcast we’ll probably give you I dunno, 0.05% off or something.
Hi, Mel here,
Today’s episode is all about starting a podcast. In our first attempt at recording our last episode (on starting something new), we rambled on and on about indie business club. It felt too self-indulgent (even for us) so we re-recorded that episode and made starting a podcast an episode topic in itself. As you can tell by the extended runtime, we enjoyed self-indulgently talking about ourselves.
In this episode, we cover
a bullet point, quick (hah!) recap of our podcast origin story
decisions to make when considering starting a podcast
quick audio quality wins (including getting your mic the right way around)
cushions, and other sound mufflers
bare minimum gear and tech requirements
some “behind the scenes” chat about how we’ve improved stuff along the way
how and why to put structure into your podcast
Disclaimer: we are not podcast experts. Far from it. This is just a conversation about how we’ve done things, and why.
A rare time I’ve checked what I said I’d put in the shownotes 👇Podcasts we’ve been on as guests…Mel’s is hereBen’s is here
And we had a question in from Martin Dewar about what gear we use. Here’s our “stack” (as the kids call it):Ben’s mic: Rode NT-USB.Mel’s mic: Rode Podmic USB - and we both have mic arms so we can avoid bashing the mics too much. Riverside FM for recording.Anthony P Henderson’s magic scissors (and magic brain) for editing.Canva and Riverside for editing the videos. Canva for our graphics. Substack for publishing the podcast and sending out these here emails.
Voicenoted
Today’s voicenote is by Graham Coath, a LinkedIn content creative, podcast maker and business consultant. He also has a LinkedIn sales training course which you can read about here. Graham’s podcast with Marianne Mills is A Better Way Of Life.
Your Friend And Mine
This week’s YFAM is a beautiful human inside and out. Leyla Alexander is a graphic designer who helps brave brands stand out, connect, and grow with thoughtful branding and graphic design.
Alongside her design studio, she founded and runs You Are The Sea, a sustainable, ocean-inspired clothing brand that gives back to the sea by donating £2 to Surfers Against Sewage for every item of clothing sold. Find Leyla on Linkedin here and on her website where you can sign up for her newsletter, The Happy Palette.
Resources
One of the best ways to learn about podcasts is to listen to other podcasts! Shout out to Being Freelance, the podcast by our pal Steve Folland. Steve interviews freelancers about their journey and as he’s a podcast producer himself, the production value is excellent.
Colin Gray runs ThePodcastHost.com and has a youtube channel with tonnes of great info.
Our pal Charles Commins started Mic’s Podcast Club with Vic Turnbull. It’s a regular online meetup that’s a great source of support, advice and community.
Chris Stone has a newsletter here on Substack called Podcast Strategy Weekly.
Catch the replay
Have you seen our Marketing Meetup webinar on how to grow a freelance business? Please watch it to pump the numbers 😉
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com28 Roll With It: starting something new
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Nikki Pilkington - SEO expert, copywriter, legend, and friend of the show. You can get 20% off Nikki’s full SEO course and on-page SEO toolkit with our code …
Show notes
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Nikki Pilkington - SEO expert, copywriter, legend, and friend of the show. You can get 20% off Nikki’s full SEO course and on-page SEO toolkit with our code IBC20. Learn more at nonwankyseo.com
Today’s episode is all about starting something new. It’s called Roll With It (we promise we aren’t just jumping on the Oasis bandwagon…)
In the episode, we talk about- why you should follow your gut when something keeps “winking” at you- shiny object syndrome (and what it could mean)- worky and non-worky new things- how taking advice from others can be a good (and bad) idea- examples of people we know who have gone for it and started something new
We ripped off Buzzfeed/LadBible so this is a listicle episode 😉 Here are some things we think you should consider before starting something new…
1) Do you actually have time to do this thing justice?2) If it’s a product or service, does anyone actually want it?3) How realistic are you being with yourself about the work involved?4) What’s the cost to you?5) What’s the ROI?6) What does success look like?7) What should you outsource?8) If you’re starting with someone else, how will you divide up tasks?
And of course you can expect our usual conversational meanderings.
If you’re pondering a new thing, give the episode a listen and then let us know if it’s helped.
Voicenoted
Today’s voicenote comes from friend of the show Sophie Cross. Sophie is editor and founder of Freelancer Magazine, the quarterly print magazine that also offers subscribers lots of other benefits including three virtual coworking calls per week and lunch and learn sessions. You can subscribe at: freelancermagazine.co.uk - look out for our faces in there. Thank you Steve, Jen, Glenn and Fiona for your kind words :)
Your Friend And Mine
This week’s YFAM is Glenn Sturgess, a legendary copywriter with an illustrious career as head of copy at some of the biggest agencies and businesses. Glenn’s written ads that you’ve definitely seen and heard. He's now freelance and running his business Write This Way Ltd. Glenn is incredibly generous with his time and advice and he’s a big supporter of the show too. Find Glenn on LinkedIn here.
Catch the replay
We spoke to Joe Glover all about freelancing at The Marketing Meetup webinar. Please watch it so the view count gets nice and high. Coz we’d love a part two 😉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6H03qh6UA4&t=1s
Thank yoooooou,
Mel & BenFind our producer, theme composer and audioslave Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch older episodes of the show on YouTube here.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com27 Music Sounds Better With You: audio branding
Hi, Mel here,Today’s episode is all about audio branding. And so, we’ve brought in the expert! Of course, it’s sound guy (and sound guy) our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson *insert big cheering noises …
Show notes
Hi, Mel here,
Today’s episode is all about audio branding. And so, we’ve brought in the expert! Of course, it’s sound guy (and sound guy) our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson *insert big cheering noises here - it’s what he’d want*
We talk about
why audio branding works
how to insert a little audio magic into your business
our favourite jingles (maybe we mentioned yours?) though sadly Ant was reluctant to sing despite being a literal rockstar (we’ll link to that story another day if he lets us)
some random jingle facts
We had an incredible response to my request for jingle suggestions on LinkedIn. Sadly, we couldn’t possibly run through the whole lot (the episode is already way longer than normal!) and you’ll have to listen to see if we got to yours ;)
George Levens and Emma Pritchard sent in some jingle voicenotes and a special thank you to the incredible Stefanie Mellano for her rendition of… well, you’ll have to hear it yourself.
Paul Burgess sent in some punk band covers of jingles:
Voicenoted
Today’s voicenote comes from our pal Jack Chambers-Ward. Jack is Marketing and Partnerships manager at Candour search agency, and he hosts the Search With Candour podcast and Sequalisers, a podcast about fixing bad film sequels. He’s already a friend of the show (episode 12) and he’s the first listener I ever met in the wild who we didn’t already know. Hopefully we’ll be able to do a podcast crossover with Jack some time.
As predicted in the show, we have not included all the links in the shownotes because there were frankly way too many to keep track of. But that’s okay because Google exists ;) I will remember to put this in though - Molly Scanlan’s newsletter (for excellent facts and info on how to be less evil) is at www.mollygetsitdone.com
Catch the replay
We spoke to Joe Glover all about freelancing at The Marketing Meetup webinar. Please watch it so the view count gets nice and high. Coz we’d love a part two 😉
Thank yoooooou,
Mel & BenFind our producer, theme composer and special VIP guest star Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch older episodes of the show on YouTube here. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com26 You Get What You Give: outsourcing
Today’s episode is all about outsourcing. Are you an outsourcer? Or an outsourceee? Or both? Did I just make up those words? At least one of them. Either way, to keep it easy we’re using “outsourcing” to cover …
Show notes
Today’s episode is all about outsourcing. Are you an outsourcer? Or an outsourceee? Or both? Did I just make up those words? At least one of them. Either way, to keep it easy we’re using “outsourcing” to cover any projects that are done by someone who’s not on the payroll.
We discuss the pros and cons, what to watch out for if you’re outsourcing, how to be a good outsourceee (we should use more triple-Es in made-up words) and highlight how outsourcing can help you scale your business both up and down, depending on how things are going.
BTW, this episode is supported by Freelancer Magazine, the quarterly magazine for freelancers, founders, and the freelance-curious. Along with the mag (which is printed or digital) your subscription gives you a whole heap of other benefits including three virtual coworking sessions every week. You can subscribe here or find it on LinkedIn and on “instantgram” @freelancermag. Ben and I are both in the upcoming issue on client processes and getting new clients. Look! Ben’s the COVER GIRL!
Voicenoted
Our lovely pal Jo Marshall is today’s voicenoter. Jo runs All Things Words, the copywriting agency for higher education providers. Jo and her team provide copy audits, course copy and content. Shout out to Louis and Ivy too!
You can find Jo on LinkedIn and at allthingswords.co.uk.
Your friends and mine
A double bill this time and first up is VA to creative types like us, Erin Buck. Erin is a firm supporter of the show and knows a thing or two about podcasts herself, having hosted Women In Business podcast for multiple series. Find her at her website and on LinkedIn.
We also want give a shout out to friend of the show and past voicenoter (episode 13) Rishi Dastidar who has a new book which is out now. A Hobby Of Mine is published by Broken Sleep Books, and is described as “an unrelenting catalogue of cultural observations which becomes an absurd and profound portrait of modern life”
Buy it from brokensleepbooks.com and all good bookshops.
And can you do us a favour?
We’re speaking on The Marketing Meetup webinar this coming Tuesday 17th June at 2pm. Please come along and watch us get quizzed by Joe/James from TMM so we don’t have to talk to an empty room. Okay, so it’s virtual and there’s no real room… and you aren’t on camera anyway, but you know what we mean. Sign up is here.
Thank yoooooou,
Mel & BenFind our producer, theme composer and apprentice roofer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch older episodes of the show on YouTube here. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com25 Frankly, Mr Shankly: testimonials
Today’s episode is all about testimonials. But just before we get into it… we’re incredibly excited about this 👇We’re doing a Marketing Meetup webinar with Michelle L P Boland all about how to grow your …
Show notes
Today’s episode is all about testimonials. But just before we get into it… we’re incredibly excited about this 👇
We’re doing a Marketing Meetup webinar with Michelle L P Boland all about how to grow your marketing freelance / consultancy business in 2025. Doing a TMM webinar is major #Goals so please help us make it a success by coming along! 😄
We’ll talk all about how we’ve each built our businesses and give allll the indie business intel and tips. It’s not until 17th June but you can sign up here to get it in your calendar :)
Testimonials
Now. Onto the episode. It’s all about testimonials, which seem to be a sore point for lots of people. Do you…ask for them? get them? use them?
Full disclosure, we’re not exactly great at asking clients for them. This is one of our “do as we say, not as we do” situations..! It sometimes feels a bit icky. And then time just dribbles by and before you know it, two years have gone by. Bit late by then.
I asked people’s opinions on LinkedIn and got some great tips. Several people noted how it’s useful to be ultra specific about what you’re asking for. So if you want to highlight your organisation skills / communication / professionalism / slick onboarding process etc. (delete as appropriate) then tell your client that when you ask for a testimonial.
Others try and grab natural comments as they go along. There’s a “Wall of Remembrance” on the Copy Or Die homepage (scroll down a bit to see it) thanks to a plug-in called testimonial.to (I think we might have said i o on the episode sorryyyyy).
Voicenoted
Luckily, we have the Peter Pan of graphic design Dave Officer as today’s voicenoter to give us a steer. He made us ponder why it feels gross to ask for testimonials and talks about how he approaches asking for them. It was an epic feature-length voicenote, so we’ve had our sound guy (and sound guy) Ant weave Dave in and out of the whole episode.
Your friends and mine
The YFAMs from this episode are everyone we mention in this episode!Gemma Strang, Jodie Newman, Leigh James, Jo Shock, Stacey Eleczko (find her helpful article here), Eddie Shleyner, Dave Harland (again!), Adrian Elton, Amy Hawthorne, Jeremy Freeman, Gemma Champ, Lou Major, Erin Buck, Samantha Harman and Ruth Sedar.
We didn’t have time to cover everyone’s testimonials tips so we will revisit the topic in future. Email us on [email protected] if you have any comments and we’ll try and include them in our testies part two.
One last wang
Okay, it probably won’t be the absolute last time I wang on about this but we’re so proud of our live episode. We’d love you to listen to it if you haven’t already. We had a jolly old time making it, as you can see. Please give it a listen 😉 Thanks again to Mark Masters and the team at FOUNDRY Poole.
And one last ask
While we’re on the topic of asking for testimonials, can you leave us one please? 🙏 You email us ([email protected]) or leave one on our individual LinkedIn pages here for Mel and here for Ben. Or you can leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thank yooou!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com24 Let's Go Surfing: LIVE Q&A episode at Creator Day 2025
This earlier-than-expected episode is called Let’s Go Surfing* and it’s a LIVE Q&A episode recorded at FOUNDRY Poole as part of Creator Day 2025. Extra special thanks to Mark Masters at You Are The Media for …
Show notes
This earlier-than-expected episode is called Let’s Go Surfing* and it’s a LIVE Q&A episode recorded at FOUNDRY Poole as part of Creator Day 2025. Extra special thanks to Mark Masters at You Are The Media for organising the space and inviting us to record our first live episode *TV announcement voice* recorded in front of a live studio audience. Thank you to the team at FOUNDRY as well for taking such great care of us. BTW the video version of the live recording won’t go up for a little while yet - I’m still wrangling with the massive file size :)
Q’s got A’d (mostly…we’re okay admitting when we don’t know stuff)
We had a range of questions submitted on LinkedIn: Robyn Santa Maria on when to burn it all down and start againSeyam Hamed on how to rest without the guiltFelicity Wild on what clients really wantGrace Hall on how to get a retainerRaymond Manzor on where to focus your efforts when there are 29 things you could do right now
We also had questions live in the room: Mark Masters on how to switch offChristine Gritmon on when to work for freeRachel Extance on how to do market research
Photo credit: Steve Folland of Being Freelance
Thank you to everyone who came, especially Becky Greaves for sending me this link to a LinkedIn post Ben mentions on the show when talking about how engaging a freelancer on retainer is more cost effective than having an employee.
Creator Day
Friday’s recording closed out Creator Day. On Thursday, I spoke on stage** at the main conference day about how to be lucky. I talked about how chance events impact careers, and the three things you can do to harness luck:
1) get over yourself and post - put yourself out there online2) network, network, network - meet people, with the goal of friendship first3) go brain-to fingers - don’t over sanitise your content to the point it doesn’t sound like you anymore
It’s thanks to doing those three things that I ended up meeting Ben. And it’s how we’ve approached building an audience for indie business club podcast too. We don’t make promises about how you can hack your way to six figures, or sugar-coat freelance life to make it sound all sunshine and lollipops. We don’t have fake personas or masks we put on to record. We certainly don’t try and polish our episodes too much. And we try and get out there to events to meet people and turn online connections into real-life relationships.
Creator Day is one of those special events where you walk into the room and feel like you’re surrounded by friends. You might not have met all of them yet, but they’re future friends at least. If you want to get in on the action next year, earlywirly bird tickets are on sale now.
Your friends and mine
Thank you so much to everyone who came along to watch the live recording. We really appreciate you sticking around a little longer after Creator Day to join us in our first studio recording. It’ll be weird going back to recording remotely on Riverside!
Check out what friend of the show Amy Nolan created to showcase the day. What a legend. You can buy Amy’s doodles as postcards and pngs at her shop here.
We’re hoping to make it back again next year. What a blast.
Cheers,
Mel & Ben* (if you’re not sure if you know the song, you probably do)**if you were at Creator Day, I’d love to know what you thought of my talk. Please can you spare 3-5mins to fill in this form?Find our producer, theme composer and speedy splicer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch older episodes of the show on YouTube here. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com23 Separated by motorways: working with friends
This episode is called Separated by Motorways and it's all about working with your friends. We’re at Creator Day today. So the YouTube video will be up in the next week or so. Here we are at last year’s event …
Show notes
This episode is called Separated by Motorways and it's all about working with your friends.
We’re at Creator Day today. So the YouTube video will be up in the next week or so. Here we are at last year’s event, which was only the second time we’d met in person. This photo was taken at FOUNDRY, where we’re recording a live podcast Q&A episode tomorrow morning. Let us know your indie business/freelancer questions on [email protected] and we’ll answer as many as we can.
Could you work with your friends? Have you?
On the face of it, it seems like an easy decision to work with people you're friends with. But doing so comes with its own unique challenges and rewards. On this episode, we’ll talk about:
How to make a success of it (i.e. stay friends)
Making sure you're on the same page when working with your pals
Putting in place boundaries so it all works out
Voicenoted
We’ve got long-term friend of the show Bonnie Harrington on to talk about working with friends. Bonnie is a Bristol based copywriter specialising in writing for independent businesses and brands with a conscience. We've both worked with her and can verify she's ace. Find Bonnie on Instagram @wordsbybonnie and at wordsbybonnie.com
Your friend and mine
Today’s YFAM is Paul Smart, a business counsellor who fixes the “you” in your business. A bespoke mixture of counselling, coaching, mentoring and good old practical advice can get you where you want to go. Paul also runs a regular Friday music collective on LinkedIn which I love to get involved with.
CopyCon Discount
Save 10% on all tickets to CopyCon, the conference for professional writers. This October, we’re heading to Manchester for the main conference day on Friday 3rd. Get your tickets here.
Email the show
Get in touch on [email protected] with any questions you have about indie business life, or share your freelance/founder challenges. We may well feature you in a future episode.
Cheers,
Ben & Mel
Find our producer, theme composer and Sainsbury’s superfan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch the show on YouTube here. A like and a subscribe goes a long way 😉 If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
The back catalogue
21 Got Your Money: pricing projects
20 Joy Division: work-life balance
19 Daytripper: conferences part deux
18 The Day We Caught The Train: conferences ft Nick Crawford and Lorna Smart
17 Hanging On The Telephone: ghosting ft Will Slater and Heather Pownall16 Heart Shaped Box: niching ft Ayo Abbas and Raymond Manzor15 The Masterplan: goal setting ft Janine Coombes and friends b-side Word of the yearb-side LinkedIn revisited14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker, Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons00 What’s The Story? Podcast origins
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com22 Bloc Party: celebrating wins
Episode 22 is called Bloc Party and it's all about celebrating your wins as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner. Subscribe nAre you good at celebrating wins? Lots of freelancers, founders and indie …
Show notes
Episode 22 is called Bloc Party and it's all about celebrating your wins as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner. Subscribe n
Are you good at celebrating wins?
Lots of freelancers, founders and indie business owners are rubbish at it.
You hit a goal, you tick it off, you move on. Rinse, repeat. But if you don’t stop to enjoy the wins (however small) it can make everything feel like an endless slog.
In this episode we discuss ways to mark the milestones, what we’re going to do to celebrate one year of indie business club (coming up soon!) and we also talk about how it’s hard when you don’t have a manager to go “hey, you’re doing a great job!”
So in case no-one else says it to you today... Hey. You’re doing a great job.
It’s important to share and celebrate when stuff goes well.
One of our recent wins is partnering with ProCopywriters to promote CopyCon, which is in Manchester on 2nd - 3rd October. I spoke at the event last year and we’re both going along again this year with friend of the show (and Copy Or Die colleague) Dave. You can get 10% off your ticket with the code IBC10 for CopyCon 2025. Treat yo’self.
In the episode, Ben mentions how at Creator Day 2024 we took promo pics for the podcast. We also stepped out from the after party to listen to sound guy (and sound guy) Ant’s sample theme tunes for the podcast. Now Creator Day 2025 is in just two weeks (today 🎉) and you can get £40 off your ticket with code: IndieYATM
Voicenoted
Anita Ellis is a punchy copywriter for bold brands, offering brand positioning, web copy, and case studies. Anita talks to us about how she celebrates the wins (spoiler, it involves cake) and how important it is to record the small wins as well as big stuff. Shout out to Mr Ellis, who started Anita’s business birthday tradition.
Your friend and mine
Today’s YFAM is Jen Sands, an online business manager and wing-woman for entrepreneurs looking to scale and revitalise their business. Jen and her team of change makers and time reclaimers will help you create, systemise, and manage your processes. Jen’s been a great supporter of the show since day one and you can find her at jensands.co.uk.
Email the show
Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or feel the overwhelming urge to give us a glowing testimonial? Get in touch on [email protected] and we might feature you in a future episode.
Cheers,
Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and Sainsbury’s superfan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and you can watch the show on YouTube here. A like and a subscribe goes a long way 😉 If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com21 Got Your Money: pricing your work
Episode 21 is called Got Your Money and it's all about pricing work as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at …
Show notes
Episode 21 is called Got Your Money and it's all about pricing work as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner.
If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs with a £3 contribution at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
Pricing was the first topic we ever covered way back in episode one, released 27th June 2024. No need to listen to that one. Our sound quality and (professional podcast conduct) has come a long way since.
On this new episode, we discuss:
what to consider when you price up projects
charging for your time versus value-based pricing
how to deal with pushback on price
whether to work for free
It's such a complex and nuanced topic, we'll probably come back for a third episode in another ten months.
Voicenoted
Business coach Phil Budd gives us his thoughts on how to price up work as an independent business owner. Phil owns the High Performers Academy [ https://highperformersacademy.co.uk ] and is coach and business owner with ActionCOACH UK. You can find Phil on LinkedIn here. [ https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-budd ]
Your friend and mine
This time we give a shout out to Laura Bean. Laura's an internal communications specialist and copywriter who very generously let us know about a glitch on one of our YouTube videos. What a star. She's a wonderful supporter of the show. Thanks, Laura!
[ https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabeancopywriting ]
Listener discounts
You Are The Media’s Creator Day 2025 is on Thursday 15th May in Poole, Dorset.Mel’s speaking on the Friday morning, we’re recording a live episode of this podcast at 11ish at Foundry. Book here and save £40 with the code IndieYATM
ProCopywriters’ CopyCon 2025 is on Friday 3rd October in Manchester. With our code you can save on all packages. Book here and save 10% with the code IBC10
YouTube
And you can watch the show on YouTube here. A like and a subscribe goes a long way 😉 The latest episode will go up a little later today.
Email the show
Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or feel the overwhelming urge to give us a glowing testimonial? Get in touch on [email protected] and we might feature you in a future episode.
Cheers,
Ben & Mel
Find our producer, theme composer and beard trimmer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶Support the show at ☕ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com20 Joy Division: work/life balance
Episode 20 (TWENTY! 🥳) is called Joy Division and it's all about work-life balance. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖We first …
Show notes
Episode 20 (TWENTY! 🥳) is called Joy Division and it's all about work-life balance.
If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖
We first discussed the topic way back on our LinkedIn lives (we should bring those back). At the time, I had a lot going on and found the subject quite triggering. On the show, we discuss:
whether it’s actually possible to find balance as an indie business owner
ways to switch off
the “email fear”
apps that can help
how a creative outlet can help you gain balance
listening to your body
finding joy in your work
Voicenoted
This time we hear from our friend Bhavini Lahkani, a graphic designer specialising in brand identities and marketing collateral. Bhavini is an obsessive drinker of good coffee and eater of pistachio tiramisu (NEED) and you can find her at b81designs.com (where her blog is the excellently named “pixels & percolators”) and on instagram @b81designs.
Your friend and mine
This time we give a shout out to Timon Spiesschaert, an international listener based in Ghent. Timon is a freelance copywriter & digital marketer at his business, Timon van Gent. Timon is a great supporter of the show, often sending us messages and comments. Thank you, Timon!
Listener discounts
You Are The Media’s Creator Day 2025 is on Thursday 15th May in Poole, Dorset.Mel’s speaking and if you stick around until the Friday, we’re recording a live episode of the podcast at 11ish at Foundry. Book here and save £40 with the code IndieYATM
ProCopywriters’ CopyCon 2025 is on Friday 3rd October in Manchester, with fringe events the day before. With our code you can save on all packages. Book here and save 10% with the code IBC10
YouTube
We’ll never stop reminding you to watch the show on YouTube here. It takes ages to edit the videos so a like and a subscribe goes a long way 😉
Email the show
Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or feel the overwhelming urge to give us a glowing testimonial? Get in touch on [email protected] and we might feature you in a future episode.
Cheers,
Ben & MelFind our producer, theme composer and scissorati Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶Support the show at ☕ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub
🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible
The back catalogue
18 The Day We Caught The Train: conferences ft Nick Crawford and Lorna Smart
18 The Day We Caught The Train: conferences
17 Hanging On The Telephone: ghosting ft Will Slater and Heather Pownall
17 Hanging On The Telephone: ghosting
16 Heart Shaped Box: niching ft Ayo Abbas and Raymond Manzor
15 The Masterplan: goal setting ft Janine Coombes and friends
15 The Masterplan: goal setting
b-side Word of the yearb-side LinkedIn revisited14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker, Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons00 What’s The Story? Podcast origins
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com
These are the latest 40 of 53 episodes. You’ll find older episodes in the podcast’s feed.
Similar podcasts
More Business podcasts
Is this your podcast?
Confirm it with an entry in your feed: you get a code here, add it as podcast:txt to the channel of your feed, and we check it. Your podcast is then shown as “verified” on SoundNode.