Indie Business Club

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 th

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.Q

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 tha

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 & M

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 i

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

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 podcastsIn the talk we mention Ben’s speaker performances at Creator Da

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 pl

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

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 tip