Why Professional Development for Employees Should Be a Top Priority
Image Source A competent, empowered, and highly motivated workforce is crucial for your business. It can help secure your place in today’s competitive market. At…
Category: Articles and guides
Free to be my best: the benefits of working for a flexible company
I’m days away from moving my family halfway across the globe, but I won’t miss a beat at work because I work for a truly…
Life and work with a hidden disability
Juggling life and work can be tough. Throw in a chronic illness and it amplifies that struggle quite a bit more. Make that illness invisible…
How to manage client expectations successfully
More often than not, poorly managed expectations are to blame for why you’re feeling stressed out, aren’t getting as much repeat business and referrals as…
How to build an inclusive community through conscious storytelling
How do you create a thriving and inclusive community? I’ve spent a lot of time trying to tease apart the elements of what makes a…
It may be a new world, but old school manners still matter
We’ve re-entered society at a totally unrealistic pace, hardly remembering the balance we all promised ourselves whilst locked down. Now, as we make up for…
Managing your post-lockdown re-entry responsibly
In my mental health practice, feelings around the easing of lockdown restrictions have been a persistent theme with clients. For many creating personal meaning from…
Time to shake up your freelance creative practice
If you've been spending time re-evaluate what’s important and how you want to work, it might be time to shake up you freelance creative practice. Th…
What is authenticity anyway?
Struggling with what it is to be authentic in your practice? Wondering about what it's really like to sell your company? Hear one person's experience …
Pitching like a pro 3: Nailing it on the day
Pitch Day can be terrifying, so below are a few tips and tricks that can help you stay on top of your game, push those nerves aside and land that deal…
Pitching like a pro 2: Preparing your pitch
Preparing thoroughly for a pitch means you can be confident and quick-thinking, which will help in landing your business deal. Read the steps I take t…
Pitching like a pro 1: Tactics for securing your first meeting
Learn the tricks and techniques that will help you secure your first pitch meeting with an investor or buyer.
Why nailing your bio matters
Few people find it easy to capture their essence and write succinctly and intelligently about themselves, but it’s a skill worth developing because …
To Hell with resolutions
I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions and I’m far from dry this January. Who needs more pressure to perform? More things to fail at or feel g…
Be more pirate
Good mutiny isn’t about breaking things for the sake of it. It’s about rewriting the rules, remaking the path forward and making things fairer for…
When it’s all too much
Everyone occasionally experiences the ‘it’s all too much’ feeling of overwhelm and exhaustion. It’s a natural human condition and you are neit…
Working with the weather
As the seasons change it can be hard to keep motivated and stay focused so it's important to listen to your body and make adjustments in order to stay…
Brave your Day podcast series
Charley and Colin Gavigan, host a thought-provoking interview show aimed at helping you lead a braver life in uncertain times. Building on their successful life…
The power of ‘What Else?’
Accredited LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator, Lindsay Dunbar unlocks the positive power of 'what else?' in times of change.
Useful tools and techniques for prioritisation and effective working
Expert doer and self-starter Kathryn Welch offers her top tips, tools and techniques for prioritisation and effective working.
The cost of money for your business
If you're thinking about taking on external funding then it's time to consider which kind of funding is right for your business or project and what th…
Taking stock & planning for the future
Big and very overdue change is afoot and it’s now integral to our survival that we pay attention and start thinking differently to be prepared for w…
Self-appraisals for freelancers
Learn why appraisals are an important tool for freelancers to recognise success, review how things are going, and identify goals for the future.
5 things to do if you’re a creative who is feeling overwhelmed right now
Feeling overwhelmed? That’s fair enough. In this short video, Sandy offers helpful panic management strategies and exercises to help creatives and entrepreneurs step away and…
Five things to do if you’re an artist who is pivoting into facilitation
Making the move from artist to a facilitator to keep the money coming in? Get Sandy's top tips to make it work fast and well.
Six things to do if you rely on bigger organisations for work
Sandy Thomson shares things every freelancer or self-employed person should know if they tend to rely on bigger organisations for contracts or commis…
Five things to do for creatives who are stalled or stuck during quarantine
Sandy offers 5 tips to help you process your feelings and get unstuck during the quarantine.
The lazy entrepreneur & the low hanging fruit
Gail Love-Schock's latest piece on the benefits of laziness and how to exert the least amount of energy while running your business.
Adapting your creative output
Few of us like change, especially when it’s not of our making. But we all have to adjust in order to survive and thrive.
Creative collaboration for the soul
In this moment of enforced isolation collaboration is the key to staying grounded, unconsciously social, positivity productive and to get those creative juices flowing for…
Navigating the new landscape for artists with Eamonn Maxwell
Hear from fine art curator and mentor Eamonn Maxwell for an insightful and rather sweary conversation exploring how artists can continue work in this …
Radical contact with life with Rev. Gail Love-Schock
Radical Contact with Life is an invitation to get clear on where you are and where you really want to go, dissolving all the BS getting in your way of…
Connecting to your emotional scale with Rev. Gail Love-Schock
Learn about the importance of connecting to your emotional scale and how it's crucial for better overall health and mindset.
What to do if you’re a freelancer with no savings who lost contracts due to Covid-19
Get accurate, clear information about what to do and how to access resources and support if you're a freelancer with no savings who lost contracts bec…
Calling back your power meditation with Rev. Gail Love-Schock
Calling Back Your Power Meditation is perfect to do after a day of playing umpteen roles in your household, at work and for your family. Expect to fee…
A better sleep meditation with Rev Gail Love-Schock
Better Sleep is a dreamy slow down to your day, ensuring deep restful sleep no matter the number of hours your head is on the pillow.
5 skills you already possess for your business to thrive in the new normal
Spare cash aside, entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses have some real advantages that big businesses just can’t touch.
The truth about working from home with my family during COVID-19
CEC Co-founder Medeia Cohan shares her reality of working from home with her family and her tips for keeping sane.
A step by step guide to Universal Credit
Interested in finding out more about Universal Credit and seeing if it could be right for you? Read up on all the ins and outs…
A list of hardship funds for creatives
There are loads of wonderful creative organisation that have responded positivly to the financial issues facing the creative sector in light of the Corvid-19 pandemic…
Information for those who are in the UK on a work visa during Covid-19
Here is some current info for those who are in the UK on a work visa: Info is from a FB thread from an immigration…
Business plan basics
Our in-house expert Sandy Thomson helps you get to grips with the basics of writing a business plan in just 15 minutes. In this short video, she outli…
The Institute for Chartered Accountants’ practical business advice: COVID-19
The Institute for Chartered Accountants has some really useful tips and clearly explained guidance for employers, employee, business owners and freelancers. Get helpful information about…
Coronavirus business FAQs – your key questions answered
With the huge range of coronavirus information coming at you daily and the support packages being updated constantly, it’s hard to know what you can…
Understanding the support available for the self employed during Covid-19
Govt statement on measures to help the Self Employed HMRC will provide payments equalling 80% of profits to the self-employed. HMRC will email those who…
Furlough letter & work authorisation letter templates
Here are two very useful template letters developed by Make UK for employers to use. The first is a Furlough letter for employers to use…
5 tips to maximise your market stall business
A market stall is a great way to of exploring if you have a sellable product or if you want to grow your maker business…
Tip for following up: networking etiquette to increase response rates
So you’ve attended a great event and made a few contacts. What’s the best way to follow up to ensure that you keep the conversation…
How to build a relevant network quickly
Networking doesn’t have to be all cheap wine, name badges and awkward sidling up. When done well, it can be both painless and hugely advantageous. W…
Don’t book your Christmas lunch until you read this!
Those emails and flyers telling you to book now for your Christmas do are already arriving in our inboxes (can you believe it!?), but don’t book any…