As a global communications director working for the biggest names in sport, Kat burnt out.   Her heart guided her to Antigua in the Caribbean where walking barefoot on the sand, floating in turquoise waters and eating mangoes from the tree brought her back to life.   Then nature began feeding her with inspiration for a radical way of being in business - True Business. Instead of pursuing profit and growth at all costs your are invited lead with the wisdom and creativity of your heart and thrive in harmony with the earth.   Her new book, Creative Happy Work: Follow your Heart to a Thriving Business, Life and World by Kat Byles is available now at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble. R.R.P Paperback £14.99 and Digital £4.99.   https://www.katbyles.com/ 

Karen Krizanovich is known in the film industry for her work on major studio feature films as a researcher. As a journalist, she has been published in Wired, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and Financial Times among others. Broadcasts include BBC1 Breakfast, BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Woman’s Hour and BBC World Service. For ten years the writer of Dear Karen, the quite popular comedy column in EMAP’s Sky Magazine, Karen’s career encompasses voiceover work (she was once the voice of a green M&M), TV presenting and books. Karen has appeared on over 75 different TV shows, including CNN and Newsnight. Secretary of the London Film Critics’ Circle and a member of BAFTA, BIFA craft jury, BFDG and  FIPRESCI for whom she was a Cannes jury member in 2023. Karen also conceived, researched and presented Whistledown Production/BBC Radio 4‘s groundbreaking original radio documentary entitled Svelte Sylvia and the Hollywood Trimsters, Tinsel Town’s first and arguably greatest fitness and beauty expert who was wiped from history before this documentary. 

Penny Mallory was a homeless runaway teenager, against all the odds, she turned her life around and made the impossible possible to become a Champion Rally Driver. Her own life experience means she is well equipped to work inside and alongside many world class teams (including F1) to develop the qualities a high performing team needs to succeed.   Although her interest began with automotive performance, her passion quickly shifted to human performance and Mental Toughness.   She became a TEDX speaker, delivering keynotes and workshops for organisations - including Google, Sky, Costa, Microsoft and Coca Cola as well as head teacher conferences - to help people to develop their confidence, commitment, focus and determination.    Using her expertise she can advise on subjects such as stress, motivation, burnout, Imposter Syndrome, as well as how Mental Toughness can be used as a tool to help us all overcome life's challenges both in an education, business and personal setting.    Penny’s book, 365 Ways to Develop Mental Toughness: A Day-By-Day Guide to Living A Happier And More Successful Life was published on 10th November 2022.

Natasha Devon MBE is a writer, presenter & activist. She tours schools, universities and events throughout the world, delivering talks as well as conducting research on mental health, body image, gender and equality. She campaigns both on and offline to make the world a fairer place.   Natasha is the founder of the Mental Health Media Charter, which scrutinises the way the media report on mental health. She works with a number of charities, is a Patron for No Panic,  as well as an Ambassador for Glitch and the Reading Agency.   A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z was published by Bluebird in 2018, and Yes You Can: Ace School Without Losing Your Mind was published by Macmillan Children's Books in April 2020.     Her debut YA novel, Toxic, was published by Uclan in July 2022.   Clicks: How To Be Your Best Self Online was published by Macmillan Children's Books in May 2023. Babushka, a prequel to Toxic, will be published in August 2023.

Based in London, Samantha Lourie is the face behind Instagram page   @butterfliesandpebbles, with 100k followers. She has been running journaling workshops and online self-love/self-healing courses since 2016, developing an approach that aims to make the difficult areas of life more approachable and facilitate emotional integration and self-healing Samantha Lourie has an English degree from King’s London and a teaching and film industry background. She describes herself as a 'free-spirit poet/writer mama'. She has been running journaling workshops and online self-love/self-healing courses since 2016, developing an approach that seeks to make the difficult areas of life more approachable. She is not a professional therapist, but she is an advocate who is curious about the human condition and she uses her work to facilitate emotional integration and self- healing. She lives in London with her husband and three daughters. A therapeutic way of approaching the difficulties in our lives, working through (the messy) aspects to discover a new sense of self and freedom, THE POWER OF MESS interrogates mess itself - why we are taught to hate it, whether it's an untidy bedroom, a chaotic divorce, or a change in career, but how important and unavoidable it really is - and offers a way of working through the messy aspects of life without it becoming a negative aspect of life. Lourie encourages us to own our mess, and see life as a journey in which we pick up the pieces along the way and make something from them. Although loss, hurt and mess are still there, our perception of them has changed.  #thepowerofmess #powerofmess #butterfliesandpebbes 

Anniki Sommerville is podcaster and freelancer writer. Her podcast'How To Be A Boss At Ageing' was released in June 2020. In eachepisode she tackles a different aspect of growing older, withinterviewees such as Cariad Lloyd and Sali Hughes. She has her own monthly radio show on Soho Radio and regularly speaks on panels on topics such as motherhood, the changing nature ofwork, relationships and ageing. She has written for the Telegraphand the I and used to edit the successful parenting blog SelfishMother. Her instagram stories are a brilliant take on parenting and midlife, and in this episode Anniki shares the highs and lows of her career, talks about why freelancing isn't for everyone and advocates for a good cry in the work loos. There's a little bit of swearing at the end! Find Anniki at https://www.annikisommerville.com/ And follow  her on Instagram @annikisommerville   #thebigquit #freelancing #selfemployed #annikisommerville 

A freelance adventurer?! Yes, you heard that right! You may recognise Levison Wood from his documentaries about walking such as Walking the Nile. He's supporting charity Walking with the Wounded and spoke to Freelance Feels about his own freelance work, the mental health benefits of walking and the parallels between freelancing and exploring.   Walking With The Wounded Walking With The Wounded ‘WWTW’ deliver employment, mental health, care coordination and volunteering programmes in collaboration with the NHS to get those who served, and their families, whether mentally, socially or physically wounded, back on their feet and making a positive contribution once more. Why? Because those who served, deserve. Walking Home For Christmas This winter, thousands of people will be Walking Home For Christmas in support of armed forces veterans across the country. The campaign, which runs from 9 to 20 December, is Walking With The Wounded’s annual nationwide fundraising walking challenge to support its work across mental health, employment, volunteering and care coordination.   An estimated 5 million veterans live in the UK. While most of the 15,000+ personnel who leave the forces each year have a successful transition to civilian life, a small but significant minority do not. Walking With The Wounded supports those who served, and their families, to thrive. There are three key aspects to this year’s Walking Home For Christmas campaign: #WalkWithAndy Andy, a former military police officer, will be walking 350 kilometres from the Cenotaph in London to Manchester Cenotaph. He aims to complete this extraordinary challenge in just five days, leaving London on 5 December and arriving in Manchester on 9 December. Organised regional walks New for 2022, Walking With The Wounded has organised regional walks in London, Manchester, and Newcastle on the 9 December. Participants can raise vital funds – and their heart rate – at one of these fun large-scale events. Everyone is welcome. Walk your own way Participants can complete their own fundraising walk  - of any distance and at a location of their choosing - between 9 and 20 December. Some participants opt to walk their children home from school, others walk between offices with colleagues, and there are those who undertake a walk in memory of someone special or between locations that mean something to them.  www.walkinghomeforchristmas.com    Research Research from the charity finds that fewer than 1 in 3 (29%) of the UK adult population walk every day in winter – and astonishingly 10% never go for a walk. But when it comes to improving health and wellbeing, 68% would consider trying to go on a regular walk - compared to 1 in 10 (11%) interested in group fitness classes and 1 in 5 (22%) who would think about joining a gym. #walkingwiththewounded #walkingformentalhealth #freelancing #selfemployed #levisonwood #levwood #walkingthenile #walkinghomeforchristmas 

Gardening and freelancing is an analogy I've loved for a long time, and we (ahem) dig deep into it in this episiode! Ellen Mary is a gardener, author, broadcaster, co-host of the plant based podcast and radio show host, promoting the wellbeing benefits of gardening, plants and the natural world. She writes a regular column in Grow Your Own Magazine and her first book The Joy of Gardening; the every day zen of mowing the lawn, was released in May 2021. Her second book How to Grow a Garden was release in July 2022. She also has  horticulture training, many years of gardening experience, social and therapeutic horticulture, cognitive behavior therapy and wellness coaching. Find her at ellenmarygardening.co.uk #gardening #wellbeing #wellbeingcoach #gardeningexpert #freelancing #freelancelife #mentalhealth #freelancewellbeing #gardenlife #gardenersworld #gardenfreelancers #freelancegardener #freelancegardening 

Louise Shanahan is a freelance health copywriter who specialises in white papers, web copy, and long-form content, to help medical and biotech organisations spread the word about their latest breakthroughs. She’s also the host of 15 Minute Freelancer, a podcast and newsletter for ambitious B2B and creative freelancers who want to build a business that works for them (and not the other way round!). We talk about how and why she set up her podcast, dream guests, the realities of podcasting (including scheduling, getting started and choosing your topic/niche), and advice for people who are freelance and not feeling the 'happy feels'. Find Louise at www.thecopyprescription.com The podcast is at www.15minutefreelancer.com    #fifteenminutefreelancer #15minutefreelancer #copywriting #freelancing #freelancecommunity #freelancepodcast #freelancelife #copywritingadvice #copywritingpodcast #selfmeployedpodcast #seflemployedadvice #podcastforfreelancers #freelancefeels 

Catherine Riley lives in London and is a writer and director of the literary festival Primadonna. Described as ‘books, with a little bit of rock ’n’ roll’, Primadonna showcases established and emerging voices that aren’t heard enough in the mainstream. They have previously published two works of non-fiction. IS THIS LOVE? is her first novel. Primadonna Festival runs from July 29th - get your tickets at www.primadonnafestival.com and follow them @primadonnafest  Find Catherine at www.catherineriley.co.uk  The Primadonnas are Sabeena Akhtar, Joanna Baker, Amie Corry, Jane Dyball, Catherine Mayer, Kit de Waal, Shona Abhyankar, Jude Kelly, Lisa Milton, Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, Sonia Purnell, Monisha Rajesh, Catherine Riley, Athena Stevens, Cathryn Summerhayes, Sandi Toksvig and Sioned Wiliam. These 17 women got together at the start of 2019 with the aim of establishing a weekend of writing and ideas that gave prominence to work by women and spotlighted authors from the margins.  The first Primadonna festival was held in the summer of 2019, and featured names including Bernardine Evaristo, Elif Shafak, Luke Jennings, Diana Evans, Katy Brand, Sinead Gleeson, Louise Doughty and Konnie Huq. The Primadonna Podcast (The World as it Should Be) is available on Spotify, Acast, Apple and all good streaming platforms.   #festivalseason #festivals #primadonnafestival #primadonna #feminism #festivallife #festivalorganisers #festivalinsight #writer #editor #fictionwriter #ukfestivals 

Get ready for some inspiring chat and a big dose of positive energy in this episode with Faye Dicker, AKA Freelance Mum. Faye is a Broadcaster, Voiceover and founder of the award-winning networkFreelance Mum. Faye set up Freelance Mum in 2013, when she struggled to find anetwork for fellow mums in business. If it didn’t exist then she’d justhave to create one! Freelance Mum was established and successfully run in Bristol for 7years, before pivoting during lockdown to launch hubs across thecountry. Faye has been named Top 100 Most Influential Women in TheWest for two consecutive years, awarded Freelance Ambassador of theYear Award and Covid-19 Success Story, for her work with FreelanceMum. When she’s not busy running her businesses (or on the school run!) Fayecan often be found swimming in her local lido and Clevedon Marine Lake.   Find Faye at freelancemum.co.uk  Follow on instagram: @freelancemum01   #freelancemum #freelancemumcommunity #networking #netwalks #freelancemumlife #freelancemom #freelancemoms #freelanceparents #freelancemummy #freelanceisolation #freelancefamily 

Andrea Wildt and Samantha Anderl are the co-founders of Harlow, an all-in-one freelance tool and community to help solopreneurs manage their business and reduce stress. As former marketing execs and freelancers themselves, they built Harlow because they value balance and autonomy and want to help others find it. Remote working became the norm during the pandemic - but founders of Harlow, Samantha and Andrea, take that to a whole new level as they explain how they began - and run - a business from two different US states! In this episode the business partners explain what led them to found Harlow, what it offers freelancers, their best working practices and how they fit self-care into their working days. Find, follow and join Harlow... Website: meetharlow.com Twitter: @MeetHarlow Instagram: @meetharlow   #harlow #meetharlow #newbusiness #freelance #freelancing 

Freelancing For Journalists was founded by Emma Wilkinson and Lily Canter, and is now an online community, with workshops, webinars and more, as well as an award-winning podcast! If you're starting out on your writing career, their advice is invaluable. We talk about the 'pitching feels' as well as how they navigate their own 'freelance' with running FFJ - and actual running. All the links to their platform are below!   freelancingforjournalists.com    Listen to the FFJ award-winning podcast here Subscribe to their free newsletter Order the book Freelancing for Journalists  Check out their Quick Guides Sign up to their online course or catch one of their webinars Join the Freelancing For Journalists Facebook community Twitter: @freelancingfor Follow on Instagram   #freelancingforjournalists #freelancejournalists #freelancejournalism #journalism     

TW: Trauma, addiction For episode two of season 7 we dive into trauma therapy with Lucinda Gordon-Lennox. Lucinda Gordon-Lennox, MSc, MBACP, is an accredited psychotherapist, writer and lecturer. She is a Consultant at The Recovery Centre, Belgravia and has a private practice. She also lectures on trauma at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, helping students to recognise when and why they are triggered, and how to step back into their adult selves so that they can thrive. She lives in London with her two children. www.lucindagordonlennox.co.uk www.nobodyisbroken.com    

Welcome back to the Freelance Feels podcast! Season 7 kicks off with Sian Meades-Williams, author of The Pyjama Myth and founder of the hugely popular Freelance Writing Jobs newsletter. We chat about mental health, why Sian doesn't like the phrase 'side-hustle' and freelance interiors (watch out for the cuckoo clock!) Sian Meades-Williams is an award-winning freelance writer and editor, with over 15 years' experience in writing emails and chasing invoices. She's creator of the media industry newsletter Freelance Writing Jobs, and co-editor of the lifestyle newsletter Tigers Are Better Looking. Her book, The Pyjama Myth: the Freelance Writer's Survival Guide, is out now.  

** Christmas spoilers! Don't listen with children! **   Time to talk letters to Santa... Louise is Head Elf at A Magical Letter and PA to Father Christmas. She helps the big man to write uniquely personalised, truly magical letters to children. Moonlighting as a VA for the rest of the year, she is also a Virtual Assistant at The Perfect Assistant.   Louise loves nothing more than making people happy, whether that's making children's eyes light up that the big man took the time to write to them and knows so much about them or helping small business owners get the jobs that they hate crossed off their never ending list.   Louise lives in Winchester with her husband, two children and cat Leela. She is addicted to cake, staring at her phone unsociably and listening to podcasts.   Last day for letter orders is Monday December 13th!   www.amagicalletter.com   Instagram - @amagicalletter Facebook - @amagicalletter

** Festive warning: Christmas-themed spoilers! Probably best not to listen in front of the children ** It's the first of this year's Christmas Specials! Being a parent and self-employed is hard enough, but when you add in the festive period, Christmas holidays and clients who can feel a bit like having an extra child (or two) then it can be stressful. So I called on Steve Folland and Frankie Tortora, who run the award-winning Doing it For the Kids podcast, to chat about all of the above as well as much more. Jam-packed with honest advice, giggles and info on the Being Freelance Christmas Quiz, it's the perfect way to start your December! About Steve and Frankie: Frankie is a freelance graphic designer, mum of two and founder of Doing It For The Kids — a community by and for freelance parents. Through the DIFTK Facebook community, blog, face-to-face meetups and podcast, Frankie is proving that all sorts of good stuff can occur when self-employed parents are given the opportunity to connect. Steve is a freelance video/podcast producer, running his business whilst also looking after his two kids. His other babies are the long running Being Freelance podcast where Steve chats to freelancers from around the world about their story. And co-hosting the award-winning Doing It For The Kids podcast - a fun Q&A for those parents freelancing 'with kids in the mix'. Steve spends a lot of time hanging out in his Being Freelance Community where he brings together self-employed creatives for support, fun and biscuits. He’s also brought together his own experience and that of 250+ guests to help new freelancers with the course “How to get started being freelance”. Links Doing it for the kids: doingitforthekids.net Being Freelance: beingfreelance.com Course: https://school.beingfreelance.com/p/how-to-get-started-being-freelance Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beingfreelance ** Photo of Steve and Frankie by Sian Parker @sianshoots    

Helen Hill is a self-employed Digital Learning and Content Designer at Unlikely Genius Ltd. Having always been an eternal student, she fell into the eLearning industry by accident and found her place in the world – creating enjoyable learning for others. She works as a freelancer/contractor for clients in the UK and Europe, with a focus on physical and mental health, medicine, personal development, technology, and the environment. Helen keeps getting herself shortlisted for awards such as Digital Women ‘Freelancer of the Year’, ‘Digital Woman of the Year’, and IPSE ‘Outstanding Freelancer’. She also appears on the Digital Women ‘Top 40 Digital Women to Watch list’ and won the ‘2020 Article of the Year’ award for her series of contributions to the industry journal Communicator. During her squiggly career she ran her design business as a side hobby for 10 years, before launching herself into full-time self-employment in 2018. She has never looked back. Helen built a thriving business in less than two years, saving her sanity and health in the process. Her new book Falling Off The Ladder: Revamp your mindset and thrive in self-employment tells the story of that leap, how she (and 9 other contributors) did it and provides you with the tools to do it too.  Helen is also a co-founder of Be The Future - a project aimed at helping guardians to raise the eco-leaders of the future, through positivity, storytelling and humour. No doom and gloom here! Helen lives in semi-rural West Yorkshire with the long-suffering Graham, and two extremely fluffy, diva rabbits Tiffin and Strudel.    Social links: Unlikelygenius.com and fallingofftheladder.com LinkedIn  Twitter: @unlikelygenius Instagram  

To mark the week of the COP26 conference, I spoke to Tessa Clarke, founder of food sharing app OLIO. We talk about running a company with sustainability in mind, how much food we waste, sharing household items and the remote working world. There's so much to think about, from the food we chuck away to the things we buy such as fancy dress or seasonal 'tat'...  Tessa says: The ‘lightbulb’ moment came on 17th December 2014 – I remember it well. I was packing up our apartment in Switzerland, getting ready to move back to the UK. Despite our best efforts to eat everything we had, we were still left with 6 sweet potatoes, a whole white cabbage and some pots of yogurt. The removal men told me that all the food had to be thrown away, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do this. And so – much to their frustration as we still had a lot to pack up – I got my new-born baby and toddler dressed and set off armed with this food to find someone to give it to. Unfortunately, the lady who I had hoped to give it to wasn’t in her usual spot outside the supermarket and I got quite upset. I thought about knocking on my neighbours’ doors to see if they wanted it, but the problem was I didn’t know if they would be in; and even if they were in, I didn’t really know them and it might be a bit awkward if they didn’t want what I was offering. Feeling thoroughly defeated I thought to myself – “This is absolutely crazy…. this food is delicious. Why isn’t there an app where I can share it with someone nearby who wants it?” And so the idea for OLIO was born… I told some friends & family about my idea of a food sharing app, and they allthought I was crazy. But in February 2015 when I told Saasha, her eyes immediately lit up and we just knew that we had to work together to bring this app to life!   Find out more at olioex.com  Follow on Instagram @olio.app    

T/W: Therapy, abuse, sexual assault Boo Paterson joins me from her home in New York to talk about therapy, art, running away from the circus, battling poverty as a freelancer and joining Tik Tok... An award-winning artist, writer, and creative director, Boo Paterson is most commonly known for her strong conceptual and political artwork.   She was declared a winner in the American Illustration Awards 2021 and has been shortlisted in the World Illustration Awards twice. Boo's fine art has been exhibited at the prestigious Royal Scottish Academy and she has two self-illustrated books out worldwide - First Art Kit and Papercut This Book - as well as an e-book called The Greatest Speakeasies in New York City.  A journalist and editor for many years, she’s a regular cultural commentator on the BBC. The broadcaster has even produced a film about her fine art and a radio programme on her unconventional life and work. Extensive press coverage on Boo has appeared across the world, including The Guardian, The Week, The Sunday Times, and television and radio.  ​Paterson - who lives in New York - is also an experienced creative director, forging ambitious, spectacular concepts for festivals, circuses, theatres, and advertising. Her Art Nurse art/therapy subscription boxes are to be launched later this year. Find out more at www.boopaterson.com  Instagram: @officialboopaterson TikTok: BooPaterson Art Nurse