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Inhalt bereitgestellt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney. Alle Podcast-Inhalte, einschließlich Episoden, Grafiken und Podcast-Beschreibungen, werden direkt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney oder seinem Podcast-Plattformpartner hochgeladen und bereitgestellt. Wenn Sie glauben, dass jemand Ihr urheberrechtlich geschütztes Werk ohne Ihre Erlaubnis nutzt, können Sie dem hier beschriebenen Verfahren folgen https://de.player.fm/legal.
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Squid Game is back—and this time, the knives are out. In the thrilling Season 3 premiere, Player 456 is spiraling and a brutal round of hide-and-seek forces players to kill or be killed. Hosts Phil Yu and Kiera Please break down Gi-hun’s descent into vengeance, Guard 011’s daring betrayal of the Game, and the shocking moment players are forced to choose between murdering their friends… or dying. Then, Carlos Juico and Gavin Ruta from the Jumpers Jump podcast join us to unpack their wild theories for the season. Plus, Phil and Kiera face off in a high-stakes round of “Hot Sweet Potato.” SPOILER ALERT! Make sure you watch Squid Game Season 3 Episode 1 before listening on. Play one last time. IG - @SquidGameNetflix X (f.k.a. Twitter) - @SquidGame Check out more from Phil Yu @angryasianman , Kiera Please @kieraplease and the Jumpers Jump podcast Listen to more from Netflix Podcasts . Squid Game: The Official Podcast is produced by Netflix and The Mash-Up Americans.…
Indie business club with Barfield and McKinney
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Inhalt bereitgestellt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney. Alle Podcast-Inhalte, einschließlich Episoden, Grafiken und Podcast-Beschreibungen, werden direkt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney oder seinem Podcast-Plattformpartner hochgeladen und bereitgestellt. Wenn Sie glauben, dass jemand Ihr urheberrechtlich geschütztes Werk ohne Ihre Erlaubnis nutzt, können Sie dem hier beschriebenen Verfahren folgen https://de.player.fm/legal.
A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries.
indiebusinessclub.substack.com
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indiebusinessclub.substack.com
31 Episoden
Alle als (un)gespielt markieren ...
Manage series 3586385
Inhalt bereitgestellt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney. Alle Podcast-Inhalte, einschließlich Episoden, Grafiken und Podcast-Beschreibungen, werden direkt von Mel Barfield & Ben McKinney, Mel Barfield, and Ben McKinney oder seinem Podcast-Plattformpartner hochgeladen und bereitgestellt. Wenn Sie glauben, dass jemand Ihr urheberrechtlich geschütztes Werk ohne Ihre Erlaubnis nutzt, können Sie dem hier beschriebenen Verfahren folgen https://de.player.fm/legal.
A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries.
indiebusinessclub.substack.com
…
continue reading
indiebusinessclub.substack.com
31 Episoden
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×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* Subscribe now 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 & Ben Find 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.com…
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 & Ben Find 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.com…
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 show@indiebusinessclub.com 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 ( show@indiebusinessclub.com ) 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.com…
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 again Seyam Hamed on how to rest without the guilt Felicity Wild on what clients really want Grace Hall on how to get a retainer Raymond 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 off Christine Gritmon on when to work for free Rachel 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 online 2) network, network, network - meet people, with the goal of friendship first 3) 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.com…
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 show@indiebusinessclub.com 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 show@indiebusinessclub.com 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.com…
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 show@indiebusinessclub.com 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.com…
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 show@indiebusinessclub.com 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.com…
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 show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in a future episode. Cheers, Ben & Mel Find 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 16 Heart Shaped Box: niching 15 The Masterplan: goal setting ft Janine Coombes and friends 15 The Masterplan: goal setting b-side Word of the year b-side LinkedIn revisited 14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti 13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker, Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan 12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward 11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering 10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 00 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…
Episode 19 of indie business club podcast is coming at you faster than usual. We recorded a second episode on conferences, called Daytripper, so we could include feedback we got from LinkedIn. If you missed our first conferences episode, The Day We Caught The Train is here . If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 Voicenoted We’ve got a voicenote in from the inimitable Susie Palmer-Trew. Susie is a change consultant and founder of Growth Club, a community for people in the change management industry. Susie is also a public speaker and explains her different approaches to events, depending on the context. Your friend and mine Okay, so we’re cheating this time and calling all the LinkedIn contributors our friends of the show. Whether they like it or not. Exclusive Creator Day discount for our subscribers Speaking of conferences… why not come along to You Are The Media’s Creator Day 2025, on Thursday 15th May in Poole, Dorset. If you stick around until the Friday, we’re recording a live episode of our podcast at around 11ish at Foundry . Our email subscribers can save £40 off the cost of a ticket for Creator Day. Book here and use the code IndieYATM. 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 want to warm our cockles with a glowing testimonial we can brag about? Get in touch on show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in a future episode. Cheers, Ben & Mel Find our producer, theme composer and mouthclick collector Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶Support the show at ☕ ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub 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…
Episode 18 of indie business club podcast is called The Day We Caught The Train and it’s all about going to conferences, networking, and events as an indie business owner. In it, we cover: the CPD benefits of attending industry conferences the other reasons it’s well worth going how to decide which events to attend If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 Voicenoted We’ve got a voicenote in from lovely Nick Crawford , marketing strategist at Twist Consultancy Ltd . Nick has benefited from networking over the years and he also runs the Milton Keynes Marketing Meetup . Your friend and mine This week’s YFAM is Lorna Smart . Lorna is a proof-reader and she’s been such a huge support since before we even started the podcast back when we were doing our “Barfield & McKinney” LinkedIn lives. So thank you Lorna, we appreciate you! YouTube Did you know you can now watch the show on YouTube here ? Email the show Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or a filthy conference story that HR had to get involved in? Get in touch on show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in a future episode. Cheers, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and scissor jockey 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.com…
Episode 17 of indie business club podcast is called Hanging On The Telephone and it’s all about professional ghosting. In it, we cover: reasons why prospective clients might ghost you ways to try and prevent it happening what to do if you do get ghosted and if you’re ghosted on payment, this blog from FreeAgent might be useful If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 Voicenoted We’ve got a voicenote in from cat-daddy Will Slater , creative content specialist at 43 Clicks North. Will’s also an event speaker and specialises in storytelling as a marketing tool. Your friend and mine This week’s YFAM is the lovely Heather Pownall . Heather is an award-winning media and marketing consultant, podcast producer and ideas machine . She’s also producer for friend of the show Ange Lyons’ podcast, Creatives Like Us . YouTube Did you know you can now watch the show on YouTube here ? You get to see all our facial expressions and the messy bits Ant cut but I can’t be bothered to trim off the video. Email the show Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or a story about how you’ve been ghosted? Get in touch on show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in a future episode. Cheers, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and kitchen renovator Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶Support the show at ☕ ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible The back catalogue 16 Heart Shaped Box: niching ft Ayo Abbas and Raymond Manzor 15 The Masterplan: goal setting ft Janine Coombes and friends b-side Word of the year b-side LinkedIn revisited 14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti 13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker, Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan 12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward 11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering 10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans, Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 00 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…
Hello, If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 In episode 16 “Heart Shaped Box”, we talk about… how and why to niche ikigai (Mel had written it down wrong, no wonder she couldn’t say it) Voicenoted We’ve got a voicenote in from marketer Ayo Abbas, an award-winning strategic marketing consultant who specialises in working with construction and built environment firms. Ayo also has a podcast (podcast pals!) called The Built Environment Marketing Show. You can find Ayo here on LinkedIn , here on her website and here for her podcast . Your friends and mine Raymond Manzor is a sustainability copywriter for climate heroes. Ray also has a substack where he writes about climate change issues. What do you reckon? Mel set a goal for ten listeners to email in and let us know what they think of the show. We’ve had some incredible feedback in so far but we’re greedy and want more more more so please let us know what you think of the show. It helps us stay motivated 😉 show@indiebusinessclub.com Email the show Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Or a story about how you niched? Get in touch on show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in our upcoming Q&A episode. Cheers, Ben & Mel Find our producer, theme composer and big kid Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶Support the show at ☕ 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…
Hello, and welcome to our first full-length podcast episode of 2025 🙌🏻 If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 In episode 15 “The Masterplan”, we talk about… how setting goals can help you to protect your boundaries the power of writing your goals down how setting a specific number as a target can have a limiting effect Mel’s knowledge of the phonetic alphabet (what a treat) how “vanity” goals can still influence your business positively setting aside time for thinking about your goals* the dog poo outside Ben’s house how to say hello in American (howdy to our US listeners 👋🏻) We (well, Mel) also set a goal for ten listeners to email in and let us know what they think of the show 👀 Just gonna leave this email address here… show@indiebusinessclub.com Always be improving You might notice in this episode we had precisely zero accurate statistics to hand. No wonder producer Ant gave us this succinct but stern advice after he edited it. Voicenoted As always, a cracking voicenote on the topic. Janine Coombes is a Sales and Marketing coach for 1:1 coaches, consultants, mentors & strategists. She’s also an event speaker and very experienced brand marketer. You can find Janine on LinkedIn, and at janinecoombes.co.uk . Get on the waitlist for the book she’s writing for coaches at easy-yes.com . Your friends and mine Just to mix it up, we’re giving a shout out to two of our friends who have exciting stuff in the pipeline. Friend of the show Dave Harland is launching a course called Write The Funny, which is basically 20 years of Dave’s wordmessaboutery condensed and refined into a video course. Sign up at thewordman.co.uk/course for a healthy discount when it comes out. And our first ever Your Friend And Mine back on episode 01, Ange Lyons has launched her very own podcast called Creatives Like Us . The podcast is dedicated to opening up the conversation and amplifying the voices of underrepresented creatives, especially people of colour. Hosted by graphic designer Ange, this podcast is all about breaking down barriers and showing that a successful career in the creative industry is possible for everyone. Creatives Like Us is here to empower and uplift the next generation of diverse talent, whether you're a student, graduate, or exploring a new career path. Ange’s dream guest is Idris Elba so if you know him, hook her up! Ask us anything Got a burning question about being a freelancer, founder, or independent business owner? Send them to in to show@indiebusinessclub.com and we might feature you in our upcoming Q&A episode. Cheers, Mel & Ben *If you have a recommendation for a brilliant spa hotel in the Birmingham area for Ben and his business partner Dave to have a relaxing goalsetting day, let us know. 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…
On this minisode we discuss the concept of having a "word of the year". In case you missed it, we’re speaking at the Alt Marketing School open day on Thursday 16th January. There are 14 speakers and we’re talking about tone of voice and why it’s important for your brand and your business. Click the pic for tickets . It’s an affiliate link so if you opt for the paid ticket for lifetime access to the talks, we get some cash which we’ll put towards the cost of making the podcast. See ya, Ben & Mel Find our producer, theme composer and big kid Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible The back catalogue Replays here… b-side LinkedIn revisited 14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti 13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker , Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan 12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward 11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering 10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 00 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…
Hello, Mel here, We’re rounding off the year with a b-side to revisit LinkedIn. The b-sides are shorter chats than a normal episode, so if you've got any topics you'd like us to chew over for 10-15 minutes, let us know. A brief, unimportant disclaimer Turns out I got my Paul brothers mixed up in this b-side. Apologies to any boxing fans. Though, true boxing fans probably don't know their Jake from their Logan either. Ben's meme ban Since we covered all things LinkedIn in I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline , Ben's been more open-minded about the platform. He's even had some smash hit posts, though the experience left him “utterly underwhelmed”. He concedes there's that little dopamine hit from seeing red notifications. And being on the platform more has also led to him having more conversations, which is what it's all about of course. Ben's never had Facebook, so hasn't been exposed to the plethora of memes the rest of us have. I had to have a stern word to stop him tipping over into “what do you call a bread roll where you're from?” territory. Content pillars for the win Ben mentioned how useful it was to have his “three words” from the personal branding episode . It’s helped him lean into LI a little bit more. One of his words was witty (coz he is) which gave him a bit more confidence to share posts he finds amusing. He's trying to be less formal and more off-the-cuff. I’m a fan. BUT Ben's actually let his LI presence slip since we recorded the b-side. Admittedly it’s the school holidays but SORT IT OUT, MCKINNEY *wags finger* Are you planning to get on LinkedIn more in 2025? We're here for you. Well, I am anyway. Ben might need to be dragged along with you. See you in 2025, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and big kid Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible The back catalogue Replays here… 14 Handbags and Gladrags: Industry Awards ft Charles Commins and Fab Giovannetti 13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker , Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan 12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward 11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering 10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 00 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…
Hello, Award-Winning-Copywriter Mel and Non-Award-Entering Ben here. Today’s episode is called Handbags And Gladrags. It’s all about industry awards and whether they’re worth entering as an indie business owner. Spoiler: Mel says yes. Industry awards don’t always come with a great reputation. I (Ben) have definitely been a bit sniffy about them in the past. But it’s been a lovely thing to see the joy and confidence that winning first place in the Brand Copywriting Category at the recent Women In Marketing Awards has brought Mel, as well as the deserved attention she’s received because of it. She also took home a cool little award which looks like one of the crystals off The Crystal Maze. I always wanted to go on that show. Although I’d have probably got myself locked in in the Science zone. Anyway, back to the show. We talked about why you should put yourself forward for awards in your industry. And what to look out for when checking if awards are reputable. Mel also talked about how the glow of winning reaches well beyond the adrenaline of the awards night. As well as the obvious confidence boost, the validation and promotion from industry peers and the feedback from the judge (copywriting legend Vikki Ross ) has led directly on to Mel winning more work. An award-winning podcaster No, not one of us (yet). Although, on that, we did set ourselves a challenge of winning (or at least entering the indie business club podcast into) an award next year. Our voice note comes from expert producer and award-winning podcast host Charles Commins. Charles voicenoted us on his way to Football Supporters Association awards, where his pod It’s All Cobblers To Me was nominated for Best Club Podcast Of The Year. He spoke about how winning the award in 2021 gave him and his business that little extra bit of oomph. Fab Fab’s fabulous shout-out This week’s Your Friend And Mine is Fab Giovanetti , headteacher at the Alt Marketing School and host of Cowork Crew in Cambridge. Fab also hosts her own podcast, The Alt Marketing pod (which Mel and I have recently guested on :). She’s an absolute force for good and I’m so pleased she’s a friend-of-the-show. Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .See ya, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and tall Swift fan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn 🐶 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible The back catalogue Replays here… 13 You’re The Voice: Tone Of Voice ft Nick Parker , Rishi Dastidar and Amy Nolan 12 Plug In Baby: Software ft Jo Shock and Jack Chambers-Ward 11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals ft Bob Burg and Penni and Jo Pickering 10 Paranoid Android: AI vs creativity ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 07 A Design For Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 00 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…
Today’s episode is called You’re The Voice, and we talk about what tone of voice is, why it’s important to you and your business, and how to get in touch with your own unique verbal identity. It’s a bit of a high-pressure episode because we both offer tone of voice work in our businesses (me as a freelancer , Ben as part of Copy Or Die , the copywriting agency he runs with friend of the show Dave Harland) and we kinda need to know what we’re talking about. Did we do ourselves justice? You decide. What is tone of voice? In a nutshell, tone of voice is the way you sound across all the places you use words. Your voice is the personality and the tone is how it’s adjusted depending on the context. You can fit in or stand out, depending on your brand. The famous buzzword bingo brands like Oatly, Innocent, and Liquid Death get a mention. But tone of voice isn’t just for “wacky” voices. It’s for immensely serious, professional, dare we say dull voices too. Why is it important? You’ve got a voice whether you like it or not, so we recommend that indie business owners and freelancers are aware of how they want to sound. The important thing is that you stay true to the brand/yourself. We talk a bit about how to get in touch with your own verbal identity including using “morning pages” (free-flow writing) to allow your voice to come out. For larger outfits, it’s important to have a guide that lets everyone “sing from the same hymn sheet”. A strong, consistent tone of voice can help your customers and wider network get to know, like, and trust you. Which, as we’ve covered in previous episodes, is the key to getting referrals and business leads. Voicenotes from voice people We’re fortunate to have two fab voicenoters this time. Rishi Dastidar is a poet , tone of voice expert and brand copywriter who writes regularly for The Guardian. Nick Parker is an author and creator of Voicebox , a full tone of voice tool/system. He also has a short course that you might find useful when trying to spot which of his Eleven Primary Voices you identify with the most. You can also read more about tone of voice on Nick’s Substack Tone Knob. Voices in voiceland To learn more about tone of voice, we suggest (as well as Rishi and Nick) you go follow people like… Vikki Ross (check out her bland book for what not to do) Jonathan Wilcock - SoWhatIf? Felicity Wild - Brand Language Lab Bethany Joy - Bethany’s beautiful website Chris West - Strong Language Your Friend(s) And Mine This time we give a shout-out to long-term friend of the show, penfluencer, line tamer, and Freelancer Magazine ’s number one doodler, Amy Nolan . Amy runs her illustration business inkypix4u and has a clipart shop where you can buy her doodles to use in your projects and presentations. Here’s one I bought earlier…but please don’t steal it coz it’s Amy’s IP. Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .See ya, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and labrador Swiftie 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.com…
There’s so much tech around nowadays, it’s hard to know where to start. Today’s episode is called Plug In Baby , and we talk about which software we use in our own indie businesses. Safe to say, we aren’t the techiest of bros. Tetchiest, more like. We’ve got a voicenote from exec VA and all-round processes legend Jo Shock , who talks us through what to consider when choosing your software. You can find Jo here , where she has a free Client Management Journey Checklist: Streamlines Virtual . In the episode, we cover all kinds of software from financial tools to streaming and client management stuff. Ultimately, we favour simple-to-use analogue tech without too many bells and whistles. Bring back music-only iPods! Ben’s software TL:DL just make friends with someone who knows how to use Canva 😏 Your Friend And Mine This time we’re shouting out Jack Chambers-Ward . Jack works for Candour as Marketing and Partnerships Manager and hosts the Search With Candour podcast. He is also a published author and runs a very successful long-running pod called Sequelisers , all about movie sequels. Jack and Mel met at BrightonSEO, where Mel was dumbstruck to hear Jack listens to indie business club podcast. Our first listener in the wild! Jack lives in Norwich so Ben auto-likes him (kidding, he’s not a fan of ALL Norwich people... but he does like Jack). Maybe one day we’ll get to do a collab / crossover episode. Quick reminder, we’re both at Cowork Crew Cambridge tomorrow Friday 15th November. Ben’s speaking about how to be your own best customer. Mel’s at Cowork Crew Northampton next Thursday 21st November, speaking about how to find and use your unique voice. Annnd find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .See ya, Mel & Ben 🎙️ 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.com…
We met up in Norwich this week (thanks, half term) to plan out our upcoming episodes. We’ve got topics up to #20, but we always welcome suggestions. Themes include tone of voice (suggested by Amy Nolan), software, and copywriting (it’s probably about time). Today’s episode is called Somebody Told Me, and we talk about how inbound referrals can boost your business. We picked this theme because both of us have benefitted massively from inbound leads. When you’re recommended by someone else, onboarding the client is often a far simpler process. We got our longest voicenote yet, but we know you’ll forgive us when you hear it’s from a legend in the field of referral marketing, Bob Burg . He of “know, like, trust” fame. You might remember us taking about the principle on the Personal Branding episode, Shiny Happy People. Bob is a Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker on referrals, relationship building, and genuine influence. He co-authored the international bestseller, “The Go-Giver” and co-founded The Go-Giver® Success Vault . Bob outlines the four main benefits of marketing your business based on inbound referrals, including the borrowed influence and trust you get from being the name people suggest when you’re not in the room. Your Friend(s) And Mine You say Kah-bo, I say Kay-bo. Let’s call the whole thing off. Not really. Also, it’s Kabbo so we were both wrong. The people (that’s right, it’s a duo) we feature as this episode’s Your Friend(s) And Mine are partners in both business and in life. They run Kabo Creative, a website and graphic design studio. It’s Penni and Jo Pickering ! They also run The Marketing Meetup Northampton with Elisha Horrocks, and the couple also founded Cowork Crew Northampton. Busy busy! You can find Penni and Jo on LinkedIn and at coworkcrew.com , kabocreative.com and The Marketing Meetup Northampton . Ben and I are both speaking at Cowork Crew in the next few weeks as it happens… Ben’s at Cowork Crew Cambridge on Friday 15th November, speaking about how to be your own best customer. We’ll both be there so come and say hi. Mel’s at Cowork Crew Northampton on Thursday 21st November, speaking about how to find and use your unique voice. Friends of the show Molly Scanlan , Ange Lyons and Tom Garfield are involved with Cowork Crew, too. Molly is hosting the new South East London Cowork Crew , with Ange as the first speaker on Friday 22nd November. Tom is setting up Central London Cowork Crew , launching soon. Sign up for updates. We know ALL the best people 😎 Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .See ya, Mel & Ben 🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audibl eThe back catalogue 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 07 A Design for Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland 10 Paranoid Android: AI ft Tom Albrighton and Molly Scanlan Find our producer, theme composer and labrador Swiftie 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.com…
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Indie business club with Barfield and McKinney

Hi, Mel here, Today’s episode is called Paranoid Android, and it’s all about AI. Specifically, generative AI. Even more specifically, the large language model (LLM) kind. Think ChatGPT and the suchlike. This one's a re-record because my mic - despite being plugged in and switched on - wasn't picked up by the software. Even though the software said it was. I’m over it, though. Quick disclaimer...if you use AI, we aren't judging. We're just giving our views as (spoiler alert) humans who value human words. This episode includes a voicenote from one of the cleverest people we know, Tom Albrighton . Tom's author of multiple books including the most recent AI Can't Write, But You Can and you can find him at abccopywriting.com . Tom explains how the beauty of communication is that it's one human to another; something AI can never replicate. If nobody could be bothered to write it, why should we bother to read it? I mention some of the latest uses around AI I heard about when I spoke at BrightonSEO. Brands are now creating content with the specific intention of content being used to train up LLMs. The favoured method appears to be a hybrid "teammate" approach where brands use generative AI and have humans as the prompters and editors. We acknowledge we've been in an AI-less bubble, surrounded by people who are similarly as disenchanted with the whole prospect. Visiting a tech conference was an eye-opener for me regarding how widely used it is outside that bubble. Is it cheating to use gen-AI? Perhaps not if both parties agree to it first. We discuss the wider ethical considerations of using LLMs. For example, it's estimated to "cost" 500ml in water per 100 words ChatGPT generates. So the considerations go way beyond just contracts and disclosure. Some commenters have compared the cold, metallic churn of AI to how humans get inspired by other words and works of art/music. Ultimately we find this an incomplete, frankly insulting comparison. The human sum goes... inspiration + your skills + your life experience = unique creative output With AI, it's… input + prompt = unoriginal output We liken the creativity to wallpaper paste, to avoid offending fans of the colour beige and the flavour vanilla. Sorry, painters and decorators. For us, it comes down to a matter of professional pride the satisfaction of getting from A to B by earning it through mental effort questionable ethics, on every level icky vibes But we asked the question, are we getting left behind? Will we look back and wish we'd embraced our robot overlords sooner? We're okay with going against the tide for now. Our advice to anyone who's concerned about the impact of AI... Start to differentiate what you offer Stand out from the boring content Become essential to your clients Ask yourself, “How am I different? How am I better?” There is so much you can do for your clients that AI just can't. So get out there and make it visible. We also highlight how important it is to have a strong verbal identity/tone of voice and subtly (shamelessly?) point out that we can both provide that service to clients. Sound guy (and sound guy) Ant finally gets his “personal brand” words we forgot to give him previously. And Ant’s band got a mention, too. Can you spot him? Your Friend And Mine This time we shout out a freelancer we respect for her short, funny and fact-sprinkled newsletter almost as much as we respect her for her ability to create low-carbon websites and speak at events. She’s also just a genuinely ace human we both have the honour of calling our friend. You can find Molly Scanlan on LinkedIn and at her website mollygetsitdone.com . Find us wherever you get your podcasts, and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible The back catalogue 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 07 A Design for Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson 09 Shiny Happy People: Personal brands ft Lea Turner and Steve Folland See ya, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and labrador Swiftie 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.com…
Hallo, Ben here, Today’s episode is called Shiny Happy People, and it’s all about building a personal brand. Mel and I dig into what a personal brand actually is, and what having one might do for your business. Have you got a personal brand? Do you want one?? Do you need one??? In this show, we’ll ask and answer all those questions and more. As a slight spoiler, Mel will say that we’ve all got a personal brand whether we like it or not, and I’ll try and get over the slightly icky feeling that leaning into my own personal brand leaves me with. Our voice note comes from a social media queen, Lea Turner , who tells us how she used her own personal brand to build a community that has changed her business and her life (P.S. Lea’s just launched her own podcast - here’s the Spotify link… ). There’s a slight cringe moment where Mel and I try and describe our own and each other’s personal brands in three words (we’re both kinder to each other than we are to ourselves), and we finish the show with our famous Your Friend and Mine feature. This week it’s the inspirational Steve Folland from Being Freelance . Find us wherever you get your podcasts (or just listen by clicking the link above). And, as always, thanks for your support so far. The back catalogue 01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects ft. Tom Garfield and Ange Lyons 02 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients ft. John Lyons and Bonnie Harrington 03 All Together Now: Communities ft. Mark Masters and Ant Henderson 04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships ft. Jodie Newman and Sophie Cross 05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking ft. Pascalle Bergmans , Becki Wilson and Nikki Pilkington 06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline ft. Dave Harland and Jonathan Wilcock 07 A Design for Life: Creating for yourself with guest co-host Dan Nelken ft. Penny Brazier and The McKinneys 08 Chasing Rainbows: Business planning ft. Alastair Thomson and Melanie Johnson Find, follow, and enjoy us… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible and on the indie business club LinkedIn page .See ya, Mel & Ben Find our producer, theme composer and tallboy 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.com…
Hi, Mel and Ben here, Today’s episode is called Chasing Rainbows , and it’s all about business planning . There’s a strong theme of “do as we say, not as we do” in this episode 🙃. We both tend to approach our business planning with the start point of, “how do we want our family life to look?” We both have young children and share school run duties with Mr Barfield & Mrs McKinney. For others, business goals might be all about earning as much as possible even if it means working 80-hour weeks. Alastair Thomson ’s book How to Build a Better Business Plan: A hands-on action guide for business owners is available here . The Business Model Canvas is available online, this page has an explainer video and download. Both Canva and Miro have templates so have a look if you have those pieces of software. We discuss how important it is to have ringfenced time to reflect on the business and plan ahead. Ben attends Phil Budd’s quarterly planning sessions and Mel is part of friend-of-the-show Jodie Newman’s Business Allotment, with monthly planning. We give a shout out to Melanie Johnson (aka Mel1). Mel’s from The Sussex Social , and her LinkedIn newsletter covers all things social media marketing. Do you have a business plan? What format do you use? Please follow, like, review, whatevs… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben Find our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and our indie business club page is also there. 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…
I’ve got a special guest co-host this time, because Ben’s been on paternity leave. This one’s called A Design For Life and features the lovely Dan Nelken . In this episode we talk about the importance of creating stuff for ourselves. It’s a long one, as we covered a lot of ground. Dan explains how adding structure into your routine can improve your creative output, even if it feels counterintuitive to try and control the flow. There's a science behind why we get our best ideas when we're relaxed but as Dan points out, people who are prolific in their output tend to have windows of time, processes and discipline. Copywriter and literal rockstar Penny Brazier tells us how being in bands (see Tiger Island on Instagram) has helped fuel her creativity as a writer. Expect meandering detours through other topics including alcohol (or lack of), karaoke, Dan’s brother’s band , an exclusive revelation about Dan's pinkie, Sophie Cross rapping, Seth Rogen's pottery, and whether Canadians use the term "seaside". Dan’s website has all the info you need to sign up to his newsletter, buy his course and his book. Find him at nelkencreative.com I f you’re in the UK, Dan’s book currently has 18% off on Amazon - have at it here . Please follow, like, review, all that good stuff… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible Ben will be back on the mic next time, when we discuss business planning. As always, we’d love to get your feedback on the podcast so far and any topics you’d like us to cover.Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben (& Dan )Find our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn .Our indie business club page is also over there 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.com…
This episode is called I Bet You Look Good on the Timeline, and we’re talking about everyone’s favourite/most hated social media platform… LinkedIn. In the episode we talk about how incredible LinkedIn and how much Mel (hi) loves it. Ben is… slightly less enamoured. We went to top LinkerInner and Friend Of The Show Dave Harland for a voice note about the impact a single post can have. And as always, we shout out a fellow indie business owner we think is top notch. This time it’s Jonathan Wilcock , a copywriter and dungeon master at sowhatif.co.uk . When he’s not sweating over copy, Jonathan enjoys sweating over his victims, with his series Copywriters On The Rack. We’ve both had the honour of being squeezed for words. Read what Mel said on the Rack Read what Ben said on the Rack Please follow, like, review, whatevs… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible If you'd like the transcript (it keeps glitching) you can request it by emailing mel@allcopymel.com Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben Find our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn . Our indie business club page is also over there. 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…
This episode is called Flaming Lips, and we’re talking about public speaking as a way to build your profile and attract more clients. We’ve both spoken on large stages, and one of the reasons we wanted to start a podcast was to… * improve our public speaking * get more speaking gigs, both in-person and on podcasts In the talk we mention Ben’s speaker performances at Creator Day this year and at Copy Cabana in 2017, which you can watch here . In this episode, Pascalle Bergmans gives us her top tip for people who want to start delivering event talks. Her website is presentales.com . And as always we have our regular “Your Friend And Mine” feature where we big-up a fellow indie business owner we think is great. Please follow, like, review, whatevs… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben Find our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and our indie business club page is 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.com…
This episode is called A Little Respect, and we’re talking about Client Relationships. We’ve got a contribution from creative force of nature Jodie Newman at The Business Allotment and as always we shout out an indie business owner we think is ace. One thing that came out in the discussion is just how much running an indie business relies on having processes and boundaries in place. We also touch on the danger of falling into the classic “employee mindset” trap. But we also talk about how to surprise and delight your clients, which Jodie is especially great at. Please follow, like, review, whatevs… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben PS: #TacticalBumlickerFind our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn and our indie business club page is on LinkedIn 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.com…
This episode is called All Together Now and we’re talking COMMUNITIES. We’ve both been part of various communities as freelancers, and in this episode we mention… Freelancer Magazine including its virtual co-working sessions and The Marketing Movement on LinkedIn by editor Sophie Cross . You Are The Media including the annual event Creator Day by Mark Masters (who features on the episode). Being Freelance , the community and podcast by Steve Folland . The usual beg to please follow, like, review, whatevs… Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible Thanks for listening, Mel & Ben Find our producer and theme composer Ant Henderson on LinkedIn - you’ll hear he’s taken absolute audio liberties during the “Your Friend And Mine” segment 😏 And our indie business club page is 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.com…
Ben McKinney and Mel Barfield discuss strategies for attracting clients during economic downturns, emphasising the importance of diversifying marketing efforts, posting on LinkedIn, and avoiding relying solely on one platform or approach. They also discuss the value of authenticity, consistency, and specificity in leveraging social media platforms for business growth, and share tips for managing challenging clients and projects, including taking a step back to assess situations objectively. Finally, they touch on various aspects of freelancing, including marketing oneself, managing clients, and finding work. Fractional CMO and Hat fan John Lyons gives his advice on how indie business owners should market themselves. Mel and Ben give an indie business owner a much deserved shout out. https://barfieldandmckinney.substack.com/ https://www.indiebusinessclub.com/ Produced by Ant Henderson Theme by Ant Henderson 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…
Ben McKinney and Mel Barfield discuss pricing strategies for freelancers and small business owners. They emphasise the importance of understanding value propositions, having a sales process, and being confident in pricing. They also addressed gender disparities in confidence and pricing, with findings from Ben's call for writers revealing a consistent gap in rates charged by men and women. Mel and Ben also covered intricacies of pricing and payment, including managing client expectations, negotiating rates, and receiving upfront payment. They stressed the importance of setting fair prices, balancing flexibility with capacity, and prioritising the client's needs. Tom Garfield provides his take on pricing, and Mel and Ben give an indie business owner a much deserved shout out. https://barfieldandmckinney.substack.com/ https://www.indiebusinessclub.com/ Produced by Ant Henderson Theme by Ant Henderson 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…
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Indie business club with Barfield and McKinney

Mel Barfield and Ben McKinney have been learning all about podcasts. Especially about how microphones work. And how they don’t. First sound guy (and sound guy) Ant informed Ben his microphone was back to front. Then Ant insisted an episode be re-recorded because Mel ’s mic was “way too hot”. All good fun though. This episode is “What’s The Story” - a shorter introductory episode to give some background to the podcast. Mel and Ben detail how indie business club came about and try to give one another's back stories. With mixed results. You can follow the podcast on… Spotify Apple podcasts Amazon Music Audible And follow indie business club on LinkedIn for random video snippets 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.com…
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Indie business club with Barfield and McKinney

A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries. Hosted by Mel Barfield and Ben McKinney . 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…
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