Finding balance between paid work and unpaid business building

When you keep getting distracted by the competition: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Kirsty Moore. Kirsty runs baby massage classes in North London. She says: “How do you keep focus on your business when competition keeps popping up? It’s so easy to get distracted and compare in terms of content, pricing, offerings etc. How do you stop yourself from getting distracted by what others are doing?” by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

Freelance friction. When working evenings and weekends eats into 'family time': This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a CORKER of a question from 'Detective Grace Ace' aka Anonymous. She says: “Looking for a pep talk please! I have just changed from a fixed hours contract (22 hours/week) to setting up on my own in a different field. My husband and I have two preschool children and I have always been responsible for childcare. They are in playschool four days a week so I have 20 hours a week of regular work hours. With two kiddos, inevitable illness, appointments and holidays, it always falls to me to reduce my hours to pick up the slack. When I was working fixed hours and needed to make up time in the evenings or at weekends it was fine. But now I can set my own hours, my husband asks me not to work evenings or weekends as it eats into family time. All the while wondering when I will start earning money... I have tried explaining what the childcare by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

Trying to work when the kids are sick (again): This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Michelle Kondrich. Michelle is an illustrator and podcaster, she says: “So many sick days!! Our girl was sick over the weekend... seemed better so she went to school on Monday... but we picked her up early so she could rest more. Then more vomit and home on Tuesday all day. And then picked up early on Wednesday after things moved south. Here's a question for the podcast, what do you do with a sick kid when you have loads of work and your partner can't be home to help? Ours watched a lot of TV since she had zero energy but I felt terrible about it. Oh yeah and a follow-up: isn't the guilt associated with parenting SO FUN?" by Doing It For The Kids

23 min listen

Emotional soup! How to keep things clear when work and life all happens under one roof: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Janie Skuse. Janie runs a digital marketing business with her husband, she says: "Emotional soup! I work with my husband, both at home. He does full-time hours up in the bedroom/batcave, I look after our 3-year-old full-time and have 2 hours ‘off’ each day while she’s at nursery and evenings to work (ha!). If EVERYTHING happens under one roof, how do you keep things separate/clear?" by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

When people seem to think your job is a "hobby": This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Jo Breeze. Jo is a crowdfunding consultant and writer, she says: “My work makes a genuine contribution to paying the bills in our house. It’s not quite 50/50 but some months it’s pretty close. But when I tell people what I do, I sometimes find there’s an assumption that it’s a hobby that I’ve taken on to keep me busy (HAAA) around children. I feel especially awkward when people tell me about their wife or their friend who’s ‘self-employed like you’ when it turns out what they mean is sells things on eBay sometimes, or similar. How do I assert that actually my job is a ‘real’ job, without doing down the choices of other women?” by Doing It For The Kids

18 min listen

When you have kids around and need to take a client call: Our very first episode! Wahooo! This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Jessie Healy. Jessie is a digital marketing strategist, she says: "If you have a client call and your kid is awake, do you try to hide it, move the call, or just be honest about the crazy kid noises?” by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

How to grow your business when real life has other ideas: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Nicky Raby. Nicky is an actor, business and life coach, writer, speaker and podcaster. She says: “Something that’s coming up a lot with my clients at the moment is the idea of Dream Life vs Real Life. How do you continue to expand and grow your business when real life circumstances change? Like, you’ve had a baby (or another baby)? Or you suddenly have to care for an elderly relative? Or something happens in your relationship, and life takes a different turn?” by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

Staying visible over the summer holidays: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Ben O'Brien. Ben is an illustrator, he says: “HOLIDAYS! Have you got any tips on how to get work done through the school holidays. I work from home and my wife (although self-employed) works elsewhere so it comes down to me more often to be with our son. 2 years ago I just couldn't get through the summer holiday, I managed to work on commissions I had, but I had no time for self-promotion, maintaining client relationships, updating my portfolio etc so by the end of the holidays commissions were drying up. It felt like I ran my business into the ground a bit and it's been uphill ever since. Every school holiday or half-term means another dip in my business. There's always a few playdates and summer camp days, plus my wife tries to take days off when possible, but it's never quite enough. So, with the next Summer holiday coming up, do you have any tips at a by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

When your friends say they love your work but don't actually buy it: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Rachel Brownlow Brown. Rachel is an illustrator and designer. She says: “People I know think I'm doing really well with my business because they see me building the business online, but actually I'm not bringing in much money yet (I'm currently living off redundancy money from my old job). I feel like they're really supportive with liking and sharing my stuff, but so many people I know have said they love it and want to buy something but never actually do (apart from my mum who probably has made up the majority of my sales!). So I suppose my question is around how I translate those positive comments into sales? It feels more icky to "sell" to them when I know them, but they are the ones telling me they like it!” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

How to eat something other than biscuits: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Holly Smith. Holly is a celebrant and coach, she says: "Food! I know I struggle to eat well during the week because if it's a toss-up between work and tidying up, and feeding myself something more than biscuits, then the latter never takes priority. How can I fit proper, nourishing meals into my life when I’m so pressed for time?” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

Finding balance between paid work and unpaid business building: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Master Galactic Shepherd (AKA anonymous). They say: “Short version: Is it really a good idea to turn down (properly) paid work to carve out time for business building? Long version: 'Successful' freelancers on interviews always say not to get too bogged down in client work and leave plenty of time for websites, blogging, networking etc. But why would you turn down (sensible) money short-term for the promise of something long-term? Is it on the basis that it’ll inevitably mean more money/ better clients/ more passive revenue? Or am I missing something in my delight at being able to pay the mortgage this month?!” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

Life right now: Soooo, we've gone a bit off-piste this week. We sat down to record an episode as normal, but in reality just ended up talking about what's been going on in our lives during the Coronavirus 'Lockdown'. Clearly we needed to get some stuff off our chests! We hope us sharing our frustrations and observations from the past week will help you too. Enjoy. by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

School newbies! Adjusting to working within school hours: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Jon Richards. Jon runs Obladee, a design studio specialising in branding and identity design. He says: “With our oldest just starting school, I’m wondering how others deal with the change of routine with set drop off and pick up times? Is there any tips or advice of how to adapt to these new work hours from parents that have school kids?” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

How to avoid procrastination: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from copywriter Barney Harsent. He says: "Dear Frankie and Steve, My name is Barney. I am a middle-aged copywriter. So far, so good. Apart from the writing copy bit. Not all of it, of course. The unpaid jobs, favours for friends and surprisingly successful (and lengthy) replies to people I've only met on social media I can manage. Increasingly, however, I find it more difficult to concentrate on the paid work. What tips do you have to avoid procrastination? (I mean, honestly, even this note is longer than it needs to be. I'm a lost cause. *SOBS*) Thanks in advance for your help, Barney (aged 47 and a 1/2)" ••• This episode is supported by the lovely people at Crunch, an online accounting service that supports freelancers, small businesses, and practically anyone who’s self-employed. Quote “DIFTK” to get 10% off their packages. by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

How to feel like you're moving up, instead of just along: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from copywriter Maia Swift. She says: "I've been freelance for nearly four years now, and, although I have good months and rubbish months, on the whole it's going well. In fact, to anyone just starting out as a freelancer, it would probably look like I'm making a success of it - I work on interesting projects, my day rate is reasonably high and I rarely have to hunt for new leads. But, in spite of all that, I still rarely feel like I'm 'successful'. Before having babies I had a LA-DI-DA job title at a well-respected agency, and I guess part of me feels like I gave up on my career and any 'career progression' when I left. I used to have objectives, and win pitches and manage freelancers etc etc, so now I'm not sure how to make myself feel like I'm doing well. It doesn't help that a lot of what I do is basically invisible - I don't have a product by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

What to do when you have nothing to do: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Lyndsey Yates. Lyndsey is a graphic designer and founder of Nine Dots Creative, she says: “Today, after a crackers boombackers (my phrase, I just made that up) week, I have nothing to do. Well, nothing pressing anyway. So far I've spent 2 hours faffing about on my laptop (AKA browsing Facebook and looking on eBay). Now the guilt is starting to set in that I'm not being productive enough. I would actually LIKE to do something with my day — it's not all fuelled by guilt — but I think I’m actually now paralysed by possibility. All the things I've been meaning to get round to are just swimming around my head! Tell me fellow DIFTKers, how do you deal with these days? I feel like I've been cycling down a hill really fast and I've stopped too quickly and gone over the handlebars.” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

When your "friend" wants some free business advice and asks to meet in person: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Nicola Washington. Nicola is a writer and social media manager, she says: "What do you do about the “friend” who wants some free advice and expects you to take a two hour round trip to meet somewhere “mutually convenient”? My preferred “Mate, people pay me for this shit” might not cut it.” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

Tips for freelancers thinking about starting a family: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Adam Pearson. Adam is a market researcher, he says: “Hey Frankie and Steve! Me and my wife don't have kids at the moment. Screaming babies and kiddie tantrums in public places have been an excellent contraception over the last couple of years. But we definitely want to start a family soon. (Just don't tell my mum. She's obsessed.) Do you have any top tips for soon-to-be freelance parents? Or things you wish you'd known or thought about before you had kids? Thanks in advance. Hopefully we still want kids at the end of the episode…” by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

An introductory monologue from Frankie: New podcasts need trailers apparently. Who knew? by Doing It For The Kids

2 min listen

Saying NO. How to turn down work from 'red flag' clients: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a CORKER of a question from 'Detective Harper MacCleod' aka Anonymous. S/he says: “Can we have the 'turning-down work’ conversation? I've reached the stage where I can (to some extent) pick and choose my work. However, I’m a people pleaser and still find it difficult to say no. For argument's sake, let's just say my job involves drawing things. Mostly houses. (But I’m happy to be a ‘detective’ if you insist). Even when you’re desperate for work, let’s face it, there are projects that are more trouble than they’re worth. Even worse, some projects could end up costing you money or be professionally disastrous. I’ll give you a recent scenario. I was speaking to a potential client on the phone and all these red flags were popping up. The project was ultra boring and would eat into my capacity for more interesting projects. The client was awkward, querying t by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

Taking maternity leave when you have retainer clients: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from social media manager and copywriter Emma Victoria Stokes. She says: “As a freelancer — how do you take maternity leave with retainer clients still on board? And how long do the majority of freelancers have for maternity leave? I’m thinking about only taking 3 or 4 months ‘off’ as not sure if I’ll cope with financially but also organisationally with retainer clients.” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

When you try (and fail) to 'have it all': This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from freelance content marketer Stephanie Dunn. She says: “I’ve been on maternity leave since October but have recently taken on a couple of one-off projects and am now looking to work on a more ongoing basis. I would like — am trying to — work around looking after my 7-month old daughter: Essentially full-time mum, moonlighting as a content marketer. My husband works away so some weeks he’s here and can take her, but some weeks I don’t have childcare. Grandparents aren’t on our doorstep but can step in if I really need to go out for a meeting or something. Up until the last month, she slept really well, went down easily and slept through the night so I would work in the evenings for a couple of hours. Now though, she can take hours to go to sleep and wakes up in the night so it’s messing with our routine a little! I’ve tried to do some work in the day whil by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

When childcare help from your family isn't actually much help: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question submitted anonymously. Let's call the person... Gemma. She says: "If I'd gone back to my librarian job, my M-I-L was going to babysit for a full day every week to ease the financial burden and get baby cuddles in. However, now that I am fully self-employed, she 'pops down to visit' for 2-5 hours every other week, of which 1 hour is lunch that I am expected to cook, and eat with her. It's lovely of course, but it's hardly letting me get any work done.... It's obviously a favour so I struggle with the guilt of pushing it beyond being family time to being work time.” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

How to find focus in a fragmented day: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Ross Wintle. Ross is a software developer, he says: “How do you cope with days where you have lots of 'context switches' and can't focus. Like my 'half day' which is: - Get wife + pre-schooler out the house - School run - Off to co-working - Collect pre-schooler - School run (with pre-schooler in tow) - Feed school-kid - Hand pre-schooler to grandma - Take school-kid to swim class - Home for tea It does my head in, and though I have half a day of work in there, I rarely get anything done. The changes drain me so much. I find it exhausting too. Do you have days like that? Do you have tips for getting focus when your day is so fragmented? Do you just avoid planning in "deep work" for those days?” by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

How to explain your job to your kids: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Laura West, Founder of The Doers. She says: “I went freelance a little over a year ago and soon after launched The Doers — a marketing consultancy powered by freelancers (*ah hum* plug over!) I have 3 young children (almost 4, 2 and 9 months) and struggle to explain to them what I do, why I do it, why I don’t go into an office like Daddy etc. etc. Last week my eldest told someone I work in a cafe (not far from the truth, I love a cafe hop!) and I couldn't find a way to explain to him what I actually do in a way he could understand. Frankie, Steve and the DIFTK community do you have any nuggets of wisdom of how the explain the freelance life to little people in a way they understand and can be proud of what I do? Many many thanks, Laura” by Doing It For The Kids

22 min listen

Coping with the 'cult of busy': This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from freelance 'policy geek' Elaine Wilson. She says: "How honest should I be about my current workload? Like many freelancers I have busier and quieter spells (quieter around the summer holiday period for instance because I don't have many childcare options and I want to spend that time with my daughter). For some reason whenever a client, family member or other school parent asks what I've got on at the moment I feel really awkward telling them that I'm winding down for the school holidays or that my workload is quiet. I know this works best for my family (and my own stress levels) and I'm trying to pursue my own creative project on the side during these quieter periods, but I feel like I should be projecting this image of being busy and that this somehow seems more professional not to be. I sort of imagine I should be like Alan Johnson in Peep Show, but I come across by Doing It For The Kids

18 min listen

Breaking up with a difficult client: "I know this has been discussed in the group and on the podcast so others are doing this too... Over the last 12 months I have made the decision to stop working with certain clients who either don't pay me, take the piss with their expectations of my time or just aren't a right fit for whatever reason. It's my business, I can choose who to work with, right? For the second time in a few months, the response to my email to end the client relationship has been one of questioning my decision and disappointment that I have let them down. I am telling myself that this is their issue and not mine but as it's happened twice now (almost identical wording) I'm beginning to question whether I'm being too unreasonable in choosing who to work with? I would love to hear other experiences of moving on from clients who aren't a good fit. My T&Cs state a 15 day notice period on both sides and I always give at least a month so it isn't that. What can I / should I by Doing It For The Kids

19 min listen

Don't panic! Going from one kid to two: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Detective Rene Dukes aka Anonymous. 'S/he' says: “Hello Frankie & Steve, You've had an episode for freelancers starting a family, now here's a question about throwing another child into the mix (not literally throwing of course). I remember speaking to a friend of mine a while ago just after their second baby was born. I naively asked them "so I guess the second one must be easier right?" and they replied "yes, sort of, but the problem is now there's two of them". My partner and I are thinking about having another child. Our daughter is three years old, and goes to nursery three days a week. Aside from that, my other half and I juggle childcare between us and our respective work (my other half is employed, I am self-employed). We do want to (are going to) have another child, and NOTHING you could say could convince us otherwise (although, please don't te by Doing It For The Kids

21 min listen

How to move back into an employed role: “How do I navigate going from freelance into an employed role? Particularly when I’m going to be keeping my small business going on the side. What can I do to make the transition easier and more manageable? How can I take the awesome parts of freelance life into an employed job? And how can I embrace the parts of an employed job that I’m not so fond of?" by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

When it's time to put your rates up: This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from Detective Joe Wolf (i.e. anonymous). 'She' says: “As we hurtle towards the start of a new year, I'd really like to know how best to word a 'I'm raising my prices' email. Having done some competitor research, I'm definitely undercharging some of my customers. I know I did it initially because of imposter syndrome but now we have a good, ongoing relationship I think it’s about time I started to feel like I'm being paid for my years of experience. Do you need to say why you’re raising your prices? Do you need to offer a reduced rate for current customers? How do you do it without being apologetic?" by Doing It For The Kids

20 min listen

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Finding balance between paid work and unpaid business building

Finding balance between paid work and unpaid business building

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