Freelancer Watercooler

As Carly says, we're "learning how to people" on this episode with Shea Quraishi, who's recently launched her new consultancy business, Raising Empathy. Shea shares how she treads lightly in the delicate business of being a parenting coach, as well as how she's navigating social justice controversy in the Florida school system as an education consultant. Grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and listen in!

Brittany Abdool has spent a decade in social marketing, and just this year she has finally followed her heart and taken the leap to starting her own values-led company, Ona Media! She shares with us her three tips for starting a social marketing strategy and her thoughts on Facebook, and she recommends an old social platform that's got new life.

Get ready to take notes! Elliott Noble-Holt shares some of the amazing advice from his book, Bald Bearded Boss, on how he grew his business from one person with a copy machine, to one of Inc 5000's Fastest Growing Companies. Not sure how to delegate? Want to promote a diverse and positive workplace culture? Interested in the power of vision boarding? Elliott's guidance is sure to inspire you (even if you aren't inspired to wake up at 4:30am like he does), so listen in!

We're kicking off 2022 with entrepreneur Aeshia DeVore Branch, founder of Pretty Girls Sweat - a fitness community that's turning tropes upside down and supporting amazing charitable endeavors to boot! Aeshia shares her passion for making systemic change in the wellness community, as well as details on how she runs a successful eCommerce shop and membership website.

Happy Holidays from the Freelancer Watercooler! We're winding down our year and wrapping up with a rundown of the professional swings we took this year. We'll celebrate the ones that panned out, and at least acknowledge the ones that didn't so much. For our job listing, we recognize the hardships of being Santa. We're gearing up for 2022, when we'll bring you more great guests - see you in the new year!

Wonder what it's like to be a content creator? Listen in for our behind-the-Instagram-scenes with Kathryn Kellogg of GoingZeroWaste.com. We cover getting and organizing photography, monetizing your website and social presence, and just how much work goes into a short TikTok video. Plus, Kathryn shares her expertise in living sustainably, recycling responsibly, and donating to worthy causes to fight climate change.

You aren't your job, and you deserve to be treated like a human at your work, even if you're your own boss! Sarah Cottrell of Former Lawyer drops by to remind us of these important truths about late-stage capitalism. She also shares lessons she's learned from her long-running podcast, and Carly's got a super nifty dual screen tool for not-tool-time. Listen in and then do some self-care.

We admit it: not everything about freelancing is great. Let's talk about what sucks with friend-of-the-pod Doug Foote, a political communications consultant. Doug shares with us the challenges of his current journey to leave freelancing as well as his expertise on email communication (for politics and generally). We also talk about Facebook's recent troubles, even more personality tests, and the value of working with a team.

Think no one could have more concurrent careers than Carly? Well, meet SEO expert, non-profit consultant, and yoga studio owner Amanda Gorman! We talk about the human-centric side of SEO, Amanda's favorite tools of the trade (they're free!), and tips for designing landing pages that convert. As a yoga studio owner, Amanda also shares with us some of the struggles of a brick-and-mortar business and why she keeps yoga as a part-time career.

Learn from our mistakes as we hear about podcasting tips and traps with Broadway sound designer, Will Pickens! Will also shares some of his unique perspective on freelancing, Carly and I start a new segment where we share our favorite tools, and our final job listing is, in Carly's words, "our best one yet."

Do you struggle with creating content? Josh Gryniewicz shares his storytelling and human-centric approach to content creation, including some strategies for getting in touch with and conveying your own story to reach your specific goals. We also discuss important questions like "what is an intrapreneur?" and "what are rocks best at?" and "can horses be mental health professionals?" (hint: we think yes)

Do you have a website? This episode on website security is a MUST. Jenn Diesi of Geek Girl Tech drops in to share information on website security risks and what you can do now to secure your site! We also discuss what it's like being a woman in IT and supporting female-owned businesses, too!

(Extra apologies for most obtrusive ambulance siren on any episode so far.)

Carly asks me the tough questions this time! We chat about Wordpress custom vs pre-made themes, what to put on your homepage, and my favorite fonts (right now). There's a very tasteful amount of Dungeons and Dragons talk. We also dive into my new web design program for anyone with a smaller budget or tighter timeline: Seedling. Join us!

Let's get to know our beautiful ball of human light, Carly! In this episode we do a deeper dive into Carly's love of all things book-related, learn some important do's and don'ts for keeping your business's books, and discover just how passionate Carly really is about taxes. We talk personality tests and our Hogwarts Houses, make a pact to actually charge rush fees, then finally get our very first listener question and discover that we, uh, don't have the best strategies for work-life balance. We're working on it. 

Say "HELL YES" to this episode! Soulful Career Coach Nina Sasson joins us to share some of her transformative career (and life) advice. It's like she stares into your soul, y'all. Carly and I talk about the moments we realized we wanted to go freelance, and share a truly wild question at the end!

Branding is a lot more than a logo and a color scheme: it's a tone, a mood, and a story. Blair Badenhop, a brand mentor, is here to tell us all about her strategies for finding authenticity in your branding so that everything from the copy on the page to the colors on your Instagram stories serve you and your target audience. (And she tells us how to find that target audience too!) We also learn about Blair's much needed new content platform for new moms - launching in May!

Ever wonder what it's like to be a professional artist? Well then come meet Patrick Lord! He shares his thoughts on staying creative when you're in a slump (hint: it has to do with the episode title), what it's been like for theatre artists in the pandemic, and what he's been up to while all the stages are dark. We also nerd out about Dungeons and Dragons, and Carly and I discuss our napping skills (or lack thereof). Please support your local artists!

Need to add some go-get-em attitude to your week? Get your butt kicked in a positive and supportive way by the one and only Nikki Veit: entrepreneur and personal trainer. She shares business and fitness secrets (organized in lists of three, naturally) and will absolutely make you want to Accomplish Things. Carly and Ansley chat about pandemic coping mechanisms and working from home with your significant other, and we finish everything off with the cutest (still funny) job ad.

As freelancers, entrepreneurs, parents, and co-workers how can we help promote anti-bias values? Kate Beal, an anti-bias educator and trainer, shares how she approaches talking about racism with children and adults, as well as how she's juggled a career change while pregnant. Carly and Ansley talk about career trajectories, and Carly makes the *beautiful* mistake of asking Kate for children's book recommendations.

Non-payers. Scope creepers. Chargebackers. Content stealers. We've been there and dealt with that BS, too. In this episode, we don't just commiserate, we help! Our guest Sam Vander Wielen harnesses her expertise as an attorney and entrepreneur to tell you how to protect yourself from these nightmare scenarios.

Don't know where to start with SEO? Start with this ep! Carly and Ansley hang out with Julia Lovallo and receive some amazing marketing advice from one of the best in the biz. We admit to being lurkers on TikTok, and talk about cultivating authoritative tones of voice ("B**** Voice") to counter our (obvious) adorableness. Join us!

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Carly and Ansley chat with Paige Schmidt about how she connects health and budgeting for her business, the benefits of fear when trying something new, and some riveting facts about the tax code. We also cover some zoom etiquette and talk about rainbow butt mugs (it's exactly what it sounds like).

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