Fawnbrake SLOW: "Freelance, now what? Systems & Structures" Event write up
On 14th October, The Fawnbrake Collective hosted an online panel entitled “Freelance, Now what? Systems & Structures” designed to help explore the habits, routines and systems that independent workers should be building around them in order to help them thrive commercially and emotionally.
Chaired by Amelia Torode, the panel consisted of:
Alison Grade
Author, “The Freelance Bible”
Onika Simons
Strategist, founder OsimonSays
Ian Sanders
Consultant, author “Leap! Ditch your job, start your own business and set yourself free”
Pauline Hughes
Accredited executive coach
Sera Holland
Co founder, The Fawnbrake Collective
Alison Grade began the session by explaining that she wrote The Freelance Bible because of her experience working with a university and realising that although students were being offered career advice, no-one was talking to them about the possibilities that freelance independent working offered. Given that estimates predict that around 50% of the creative industries will be freelancers this worried Alison. Inspired to research further into this subject, she quickly saw that very few practical career guides existed specially for freelancers so she decided to write her own one. It’s now an Amazon best-seller and has led Alison to being in demand around the world for her inspiring expertise and practical guidance.
Alison’s main advice was that freelancers needed to be hugely clear about what they are offering in the marketplace. Know your value, know what you are adding, own the process, own the project plan and always be on top of scope/project creep. Interestingly she also feels very strongly that freelancers need to stop over delivering on projects as that underplays your value and drives expectations of overwork and over delivery for all following projects. This is hard for some freelancers as obviously every project is (hopefully) the start of a longer term relationship.
Onika Simons is a freelance strategist originally from the UK but now based in Berlin. She talked about the fact that she questioned the very title of the panel as she admitted that she had spent her entire career feeling that she was fighting against systems and structures, but that the more that she had reflected on the title, the more that she realised that she had actually created her own very personal set of systems and structures around her and her professional and her personal life. “Design your own system that align with your principles and your life,” she advised, “be super clear with yourself: What’s your personal brand and what’s your professional function?”
Your professional brand is how you want to be remembered and what your tone of delivery is. Your professional function is what value you are adding.
Pauline Hughes is an accredited executive coach who sees her role as helping her clients deal with challenging and uncertain times and becoming happier and more successful. Pauline had 3 key pieces of advice to share:
>>Create the right routines
>>Stay optimistic - challenge negativity
>>Build structures and scaffolding around you
The right routines are always personal but simple self-care - eg good nutrition, hydration, exercise and taking breaks are all critical. As is losing the guilt around taking breaks to enable fresh thinking and avoid burnout (”recharge yourself like you do your mobile phone”) Pauline stressed the importance of finding your “high energy moments” in the day and ensuring that the day’s toughest work challenges happened at those times. Her advice around how you start and end the day was very clear- build a transition process into the working day now that we have no commute, consider journalling at the end of the day and create a set bedtime routine (“we give our children bedtime routines, but we really ought to be doing the same for ourselves!”) Pauline’s final tip was around agency - what can you control and what is out of your control. Draw two circles, she advised, one which is “out of your control” and the other which is “in your control.” Her experience has shown that we have more control than we believe we do and by using this technique we can really focus on the areas where we can make a difference.
Ian Sanders, like Onika, struggled at first with the idea that he had systems and structures in his life but again he realised that he did have a unique set of personal principles and professional approaches. Ian used the analogy of his North Star: “this is my life, not a business plan.” He also shared how his working life integrates into personal life https://www.iansanders.com/blog/2020/9/20/forget-balance-i-prefer-integration-my-blended-work-life creating a more healthy blend. “Find the work that fuels you,” he advised, so that you can remain fresh, imaginative and creative - something needed more than ever in lockdown. One “system” Ian shared was his Good Times journaling, ensuring that at the end of each day, you think back over the day and pick out key good times and write them down. This helps when you look back to remind yourself of moments of happiness. https://www.iansanders.com/blog/2020/5/13/now-more-than-ever-writing-down-what-really-matters
Sera Holland, a Fawnbrake founder, was the final panelist to speak. Sera is a serial entrepreneur, her role was co-founding an agency in Glasgow, Material Group. Sera talked about taking the best things that she has learnt from from being the CEO of a company to being the CEO of herself: She started with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and talked about the importance of setting these for yourself. In a company people have help to set OKRs (or similar type objectives) but as a freelancer you are responsible for yourself, so schedule time to do these and use them as guidance for the work that you do and the path that you choose to take. Another tip was to focus regularly and ensure that you write down your answers: :
>>What have I learnt?
>>Where can I apply this?
>>What can I share?
>>Who have I helped?
>>Who has helped me?
Sera also highlighted the importance of quarterly/annual reviews for yourself when freelance. This allows you to chart your progress, plan the next steps, evaluate performance and then give yourself permission to think with more clarity around your pay eg what should you be charging clients?
FAWNBRAKE: 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS
>> Know Yourself - take the time to reflect with honesty on your strengths. Be clear and proud about the value you add (aka your “secret sauce” or your “personal brand + your professional function.”)
>> Eyes On The Prize - Focus with clarity on what it is that you are aiming for? It could be money? It could be balance. It could be adventure. Whatever it is chart your path accordingly. (aka your North Star)
>> Track Back + Build Forward - Create regular moments (daily /weekly /monthly/quarterly/annually) to put down on paper achievement and goals. Anchor yourself in facts to allow yourself to move forward.