networking – Nika Talbot

One of my goals for 2024 is to make new founder friends – not just on LinkedIn but in person.

I love virtual events, but there’s nothing like the magic of in-person and travel to lift your spirits. Since Covid, I’ve been mainly wfh, and life can feel a bit small and routine when you’re doing the same things every day, especially if you’re working weekends on a side project.

I mentioned it to a friend (who is also working all hours on her own stuff), and she said, “Yeah, I don’t know what day it is!!” I need to take a tip from the Geishas and change my outfit a few times a day rather than staying in sports gear. Make each workday an occasion because it is. Details matter!

So, I’m on the hunt for events for creative entrepreneurs; the smaller, the better. I’ve bought a ticket for Craft + Work, an intimate one-day event (max 50 tickets) built around personal stories and group convos. I chatted with the founder this week, Keir Whitaker, and what an inspiring story about how this came to be.

If you can’t find local business events that inspire you, start your own! Go, Keir. Here’s his review of the 2023 London event and I love the ambition—he’s also hosting it in New York and Toronto later this year. Having an event scribe capture the day is genius—those goody bags are a keeper!

“Chris was a great addition to the day. He was justifiably “expensive” but it was a bit different.”

As David Hieatt [Makers + Mavericks] says:

Let’s assume the economy isn’t coming to save your business anytime soon.

Think of your business in a new way.
Find a new reason to exist, a new customer.
Get the confidence and the fun back.

We must replace this struggle fest with brave new different thinking.

Your network is your business.

Kicking off with an NUJ London Freelance branch event tomorrow to celebrate International Workers’ Memorial Day (April 28). It remembers those who have lost their lives at work, or from work-related injury and diseases.

No conflict of any size in history has ever been this deadly to journalists so it feels important to gather in person. All welcome. I’ll be there.

Nika ✨

Media meets for 2024

Workers’ Memorial Day Rally: honour the Gaza dead and support the living. April 29, London [NUJ]
Magazine Mayday: an afternoon of magazine chat at one of the quirkiest pubs in Macclesfield. May 1 [Grub Street]
The Newsletter Conference: the first-ever gathering of newsletter professionals worldwide. May 3, NYC [Who Sponsors Stuff]
Makers + Mavericks Off-Grid 2024: a hackathon for you and your biz. May 4, Cardigan, Wales [Hiut Denim Co]
CEX: the 2024 learning and networking event for content entrepreneurs. May 5-7, Cleveland, Ohio [The Tilt]
Craft + Work: an intimate day built around personal stories and group chat about building better businesses. May 31, London [Keir Whitaker]
FIPP World Media Congress: bringing media and tech together. June 4-6 in Cascais, Portugal [Mx3]
Publisher Podcast Summit and the first-ever Publisher Newsletter Summit: shape and refine your pod & email strategies. June 12, London [Media Voices]
Nudgestock 2024: where behavioural scientists, creative minds, and marketers unite to tackle the toughest human challenges. July 5, London [Ogilvy]
Ideas Fest: Glastonbury for business. September 12-13, Tring, Herts [Ideas Forums]

Read, listen, watch

▶️Find a Female Founder: a new directory to find & buy from women-led businesses launches with its first cohort of 150 service-based founders [Female Founders Rise]

▶️Why finding clients on LinkedIn is such a sh**show at the moment [Lizzie Davey]

▶️Saving emails is a pain in the ass. We made it easy [Email Preview]

▶️What worker-owned outlets charge for paid subscriptions. I looked at 14 outlets to see what they’re doing [Journalists Pay Themselves]

▶️Italy: the digital nomad visa we’ve been waiting for [The Freelance Informer]

Work with me

Wanted to be Jane Bond but ended up in journalism 🤷🏻‍♀️

I run Firebird, the content consultancy helping entrepreneurs impact the world with their stories. I want to see more female founders succeed. See my services here.

Newsletter Talent Directory! For creative collaborations. Feel free to add your deets here.

Cost of living – your freelance thrive guide | #105

I’m speaking at an NUJ session on freelancing and the cost of living crisis this month.

LFB’s shot at crushing the crisis, or anyway, offering a micron of easement via a 2-hour Zoom confab on 24 November, 6.30-8.30pm, open to all NUJ freelancers who care to come.

And you, if you like? I can invite a guest or two.

Two hours of problems and here’s-some-good-news-tho and try-this/try-that to address what we’re all dealing with currently. Full details here.

I’m pulling together some resources on copywriting and community – networks are your lifeline as a freelancer!

It’s not been an easy year. I’ve had two contracts cut short, and the IR35 saga continues – repeal now revoked – welcome to the UK! My freelance work has been more stable. It pays to work on critical projects that won’t be cancelled, like major events or design work. I had a kick-off call for a conference next March – a core part of their membership offering, and hybrid since Covid.

That means six months of pre/live/post comms work, which I’m grateful for – some stability and peace of mind.

There’s no shame in asking for help if things are quiet. Being bold and vulnerable – Lauren Pope was on Twitter.

I’m not super busy either, so focusing on biz dev till Xmas – need to update my portfolio and website SEO, do my comms calendar, grow this newsletter etc. Also doing a bit of mentoring via the NUJ and BIMA.

Investing in myself: upskilling and self-care, which includes massage – finding deep body work essential for joint stuff, creativity and mental health.

👀 My digital HQ – some freelance-friendly forums and networking I enjoy!

The Portfolio Collective

Center for the Transformation of Work

The Association for the Future of Work

Groove

r/freelance – have you noticed how most Google searches now have Reddit in the title? 🤔

Freelance Twitter community and #ContentClubUK #FreelanceChat #FreelanceMafia #CopywritersUnite

I’ve bookmarked them to save time and blocked out the calendar, or it won’t happen. I’m trying to keep Fridays free for networking – a social start to the weekend.

Offline networking, too – there is life beyond social media. I’ve signed up for co-working at The Observer Building – finally open for business! And a discounted rate till Xmas. It’s an inspiring work space and all creative/arts/tech/community businesses, so let’s see who’s around and what I can help out with.

It will make a change from working at home alone and lift my spirits.

For copywriting, media agencies have been a good source of work. Most use freelancers, so it’s worth getting on their books to find projects outside the UK market. Interesting to see how work is becoming fractionalised – I had a one-hour gig with Google – Small Business. Hoping for more little jobs like that – inbound enquiries, well-paid and it fits in with my other freelance work.

The news is all doom and gloom, but hang in there; there are reasons to be cheerful! Past data around recessions shows businesses are more likely to hire independent freelance workers during a downturn.

The future of freelancing – interesting to hear PwC’s thoughts on the future of work.

My strategy is to focus on building products, not rates – e.g. niche newsletters and digital downloads, and I’ve created some service packages.

You’re less likely to have your time commoditised, and you’re charging based on the value you bring, not your time. It’s scalable, too.

What are you doing to keep the fires burning? Love to hear your thoughts – feel free to send any resources to share on the 24th.

– Nika

Upwork – the new Hays! Love their ad campaign – much better user experience 😉

5 Things

👩🏻‍💻 What is the Metaverse? A free course explaining what it is and how to use it. New ways to connect, learn, and work. The eco ramifications and the role of decentralisation in making it ethical, inclusive and accessible. NFTs, crypto, avatars, devices, AR/VR/ER – a good overview! (Meta/Coursera)

💬 Dread networking? Here’s how to make it feel less icky. Showing up online is no fun if you take yourself too seriously. You have to separate yourself from your online persona and create distance. Loving Jodie’s thoughtful blogs for entrepreneurs who want to think differently. (Jodie Cook)

📧 How to add your newsletter to your Twitter profile (even if you don’t use Revue). A few people have asked me how I did this, so here’s a workaround – helpful if you use Substack, WordPress or Mailchimp. It does drive new subscribers – you just have to add them manually to your list. (Jacob Morch)

✍️ It takes this freelance writer just a few minutes to make her every client pitch 100% personalized. How to present your work to prospects (and save time on personalized pitches). Handy if you’ve written hundreds of articles on different topics. A fab tool – lovely to get a testimonial from someone thanking me for a book I wrote years ago! (Authory/Maya Middlemiss)

📆 Working on your content strategy? Here’s a brilliant content calendar from Anna McLoughlin of Inkspillers. Daily, weekly and seasonal prompts to help spark timely ideas and help you smash your goals. Working on mine and finding this helpful for goal-setting and staying focused. (ProCopywriters)

📣 Have a great story to share? Contact nika@nikatalbot.io

🖋 Need help with something? Write in with your questions

💬 Build your freelance network. Spread the word about my Freeletter

🥂 Enjoy reading this? Why not buy me a prosecco?