...For Creative People: Starting out as a founder or freelancer
Edition 42: New beginnings
Hi pals,
This month we feature the inspiring start-up story of Rachel Foster. Rachel also features at the beginning of my book, talking about how she got her first few clients.
You can learn more about Rachel’s thriving business in her interview below.
It’s no coincidence I’m thinking about the theme of starting up at the moment, because I’m fully aware of the redundancies and cutbacks that have been happening and are still happening in the creative and comms worlds we inhabit. Redundancy can often be a catalyst for freelancing or even founding a new business. It was for me: I began working for myself after redundancy in the 2008 crash and while it felt pretty scary at the time, I can’t now imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t set up independently. It now feels important to my identity as well as my career.
I think it can be easy to forget that a lot of us start up through necessity rather than choice. If you’re currently starting up for the first time, it might feel very comforting to read Rachel’s story.
In my book Founders, Freelancers & Rebels I talk to a number of successful individuals about what they’ve found tough on their journeys so far. They’re so honest about it, and I always find it reassuring to go back and re-read their insights and advice.
Wherever you are in your own freelancer or founder journey, I’m here for you.
Big love,
Helen
helen@coachingbyhelen.com
Coaching By Helen
- Coaching For Creative People -
I’m off to Bournemouth Writing Festival this weekend!
I’ll be travelling along the coast to this festival on Sunday (28th April). I’d really love to grab a cup of tea with you if you’re going along. A short story I’ve written will be appearing in their Lines In The Sand anthology and I’m looking forward to collecting one while I’m there. I’d been fascinated by the idea of a weather house for a long time, contemplating the metaphor of a character who only appeared when it was about to rain, or raining. And thinking about their companion who only appeared for sunny days. I’ve been writing on that theme as a metaphor for a long time but couldn’t quite get the story shaping up how I wanted it to. So I took a fresh approach for this competition, interpreting my theme more literally, and creating a short story from the point of view of a little wooden statuette living in a weather house. Weaving it in with the ‘Lines In The Sand’ prompt felt apt as I had a location in mind then and a coastal storm became the backdrop. I started contemplating what it would be like to be stuck there, in that little wooden house, at the mercy of the forecast and unable to even hang out with your counterpart – who would only emerge when the weather changed, at which point you’d be relegated. It turned into, I think, a charming tale.
Cover by Briony Hartley from Goldust Design.
Published by Dithering Chaps.
Join me by the sea, this week, for a 1-day retreat on Thurs 25th April. I’d love to see you here in Worthing.
Email me on: helen@coachingbyhelen.com to be part of something special. The day is designed for creative business owners and freelancers like you.
‘Queen From No Scene’
by Billie Charity & Dean Goodwin-Evans
I recently spoke with talented photographer Billie Charity about this stunning new hardback book, which is available to buy now. She says:
“Watching Dean become Boo is such a privilege. The transformation is incredible, knowing that all his outfits are hand-made by him, his beauty jarring against the agricultural backdrop. His eyes are different colours: green for Dean, blue for Boo. His hair is immaculate in every incarnation, his professional hairdressing skills on clear display.
“Boo La Croux started to emerge while Dean was watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Dean spent a year perfecting his look, unknown even to [his partner] Paul, discovering what worked and what didn't, before he was ready to introduce the world to Boo La Croux. Fairly soon, he was crowned Miss Drag UK.
“As Boo La Croux, Dean calls himself the Queen from No Scene. But who knows how many more farmers are experimenting with their identities in potato barns around the county? How many people are hiding their true selves, for whatever political, religious or family reasons? Maybe there really is a scene in Herefordshire, it's just that it's mostly invisible at the moment. I look at Dean, and at the new generation, and it gives me a lot of hope that it will soon become normal for people to express themselves however they like.
In the meantime, in all her glory, here is Boo La Croux.”
Queen From No Scene is available to pre-order now.
You can also hear Billie and Boo La Croux speaking at Hay Festival this May, in conversation with Ben Andrews.
Funding for coaching & support for people with ADHD
I recently became aware of this funding and wanted to share in case it’s of use to you. There’s more information on the ADHD UK website HERE. It’s possible to access my coaching through this route in the future if you are eligible.
Check eligibility HERE
What I’m listening to:
I wrote the outline of this newsletter on a Sunday morning, listening to Cerys Matthews on 6 music. I love the combination of music, interviews, poetry, nature and more. She was interviewing an author about curlews. There’s always a beautiful rhythm and gentleness about the show and a sense of spaciousness, it feels like all of the interviewees, songs and listener contributions are given a lot of space to breathe and the show is very beautiful as a result. I used to work in PR, for many years, and I always felt that sense of urgency and limited time when I was involved in any sort of broadcast show. But this feels like the opposite: a national broadcast show with time to talk about the shape and colour of eggs and listen to different bird calls and songs.
Later on that day I saw a swan’s nest for the first time while walking near the South Downs. And then, two days later, spotted another one from the window of a train. Magical.
Client case study:
Rachel Foster, The Agile Communications Agency
Rachel Foster is the founder of The Agile Communications Agency. Here’s the story of how she built her business:
I started out as an independent PR practitioner and Agile coach early 2016. I had just exited a marketing agency that I'd been running with my husband - after we split up it became clear I needed to go it alone.
I didn't have any of those things you are supposed to have when you start a new business, like a pipeline of work and 3-6 months of cash in the bank to tide you over. So I just had to give it a go. I have two daughters and needed to start out in a new home with them, and that kept me focussed. I had a contract to deliver training and qualifications in PR with a training centre in Manchester (quite a way from Cornwall where I live) but it was great to get a national perspective on the work I do, and the way I do it. So I built some consultancy and freelance journalism around that.
I love all things Agile: collaborating, iterating, playing around with post it notes, and I have a unique position in applying this way of working to PR and comms. I came up with the name Agile PR whilst stuck in traffic on the M5 outside Bristol. I set myself an initial target of billing out £1000 in my first month, and I billed £1200! I continued to reach out to my clients and network to build up more work, until I was ticking over nicely with some brilliant projects on a national scale. Then in 2020, I had more work than capacity to deliver (the dreaded lock-down home schooling!) so I started to share work out and build a network of freelance creatives.
I love working with brilliant, self-employed people and empowering them to earn what they deserve. Last year, I took the next adulting step in running a business... and I hired a human! A completely brilliant Agency Manager who has kept me sane and delivered in spades. She's really helped me get my confidence back as a leader. I created a second job in September and took on one of my freelance team as an employee in the role of Head of Digital Marketing, which has also been a brilliant learning curve. We have three very different brains working together in a supportive environment to deliver impact. We rebranded as The Agile Communications Agency last year to embrace all that we do. We're on a pathway to a £1 million revenue agency which is scary and exciting in equal measures. To quote my Glennon Doyle (author of Untamed) - SCITING!
Rachel explains why she does what she does:
Such a good question! At first, I was very happy being a freelance PR, assignment marker and post-it-note-arranger in my pyjamas, at home and not dealing with people. But that's because I was burnt out and previously had been running an unsustainable business with heavy overheads. It's enabled me to redesign what an agency could look like. We work mostly remote with an office space where the core team can meet once a week or fortnight. We operate a 4 day working week at The Agile Communications Agency - on a full time salary. I am very focussed on how to protect creative brains to be the best they can be - how to operate at 80% awesome and create space for rest and thinking time. We're on the B Corp journey so we've incorporated things like Green and Blue days where we can get out in nature and enjoy each other’s company. I am inspired and motivated by bringing together the very best people to deliver impact. I want to create high quality jobs in creative communications, working with awesome clients nationally and regionally. I'll be creating two new roles this year and it feels like we have so much potential. If anyone has done Myers Briggs, one of my oldest friends recently reminded me that I'm an ENTJ - a natural born leader. I haven't felt like that for a very long time but I'm starting to feel a lot more leader-ish. And that's good enough!
A big turning point for Rachel was…
Probably leaving my husband, business and family home to start again from scratch. Mic drop! It made me re-evaluate what was important. Interestingly, my ex husband is now MD of a national and international content agency whilst living in Cornwall and co-parenting our girls (now 13 and 11) so it worked out pretty well for him too.
Rachel reflects on how coaching has helped her:
I initially reached out to Helen for some support with creating a writing habit, because there is absolutely a book in me (still not scratched that itch, but working on it this year!). What followed is a much more holistic coaching approach to help me vision out my next steps. How I work with Helen now is in visioning and manifesting what my business and creativity looks like for the year ahead. I *might* have been her first retreat client two years ago, when I invited myself to Hay-on-Wye for two half day workshops - I know I get most inspired when I get out of my native Cornwall and on the road. We worked on vision boards, burnt some old beliefs that no longer serve me, ate good food and practiced self care. Last summer, I went to Worthing to re-set my vision board. I would quite like to factor in an annual Helen pilgrimage, or potentially bring her to my team in Cornwall! I am now in the Write The Book group and hopefully soon will actually extract the book from inside.
And what really motivates her at work:
Creating impact and defining what delivers value. Sometimes, that's absolutely about generating revenue and putting cash in the pockets of Cornish creatives. I'm not apologetic about it! Beautiful stationery. Designing your own life/way of working.
Rachel’s advice:
Mindset is everything. You have all the resources you need to get where you need to be.
Psst… writers: Join my free online workshop this July if you’d like to meet a literary agent. Visit my website and choose ‘workshops’ on the booking page to secure your free place. My co-host Pete and I will introduce you to Anna Pallai, from AMP Literary, as well as answering your questions about our Write The Book year-long programme. We’ll also be inviting a new cohort to start with us in September.
Hope you’re all doing well and feeling inspired and energised.
Big love!
Helen x
helen@coachingbyhelen.com
Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. If you’re a free subscriber and would like to upgrade to paid, you’ll also receive access to my 50 Ways to Win New Business series.