What types of people make great – and joyful – freelancers? With freelance video and podcast producer Steve Folland

05/02/22 • 33 min

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Steve Folland, founder of a thriving freelance community in the UK and the long-running Being Freelance podcast, discusses the nature of successful freelancers and where the joy in our work comes from.

Steve’s bio:
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.”
Notable quotes from the episode:

“I do think what helps a successful freelancer is if you do kind of fall in love, not just with the skill that you originally tried to sell, but with the art of selling itself, like with being a business.”

“As freelancers we get to explore what is success to us. You get to decide. And so then you also get to decide what makes you happy.”

“I quite like the not knowing. I think for some people, that would drive you nuts, not knowing what's around the corner. But I quite like that, that sort of element of surprise.”

“In the past, when I worked for companies, I might absolutely bust my gut and might not even get a thank you, let alone more financial reward. Whereas now there is a correlation between the amount of work I do and the amount of money I make.”

“One of my favorite quotes [from my podcast] is ‘don't freak out.’... And another guest said, ‘Just keep meeting people.’”

“I think it's really useful to listen to others and pick up on little productivity tactics and things. Also, though, I think it's important to crack on and do things.”

Links:

Being Freelance website
Steve’s professional website
Doing It For the Kids Podcast
Being Freelance Community
Steve’s course: How to get started being freelance
Being Freelance on Twitter or Instagram

Steve’s bio:
Steve is a freelance video/podcast producer, running his business whilst also looking after his two kids.

“As freelancers we get to explore what is success to us. You get to decide. And so then you also get to decide what makes you happy.”

“I quite like the not knowing. I think for some people, that would drive you nuts, not knowing what's around the corner. But I quite like that, that sort of element of surprise.”

“One of my favorite quotes [from my podcast] is ‘don't freak out.’... And another guest said, ‘Just keep meeting people.’”

“I think it's really useful to listen to others and pick up on little productivity tactics and things. Also, though, I think it's important to crack on and do things.”

Links:

Being Freelance website
Steve’s professional website
Doing It For the Kids Podcast
Being Freelance Community
Steve’s course: How to get started being freelance
Being Freelance on Twitter or Instagram

Previous Episode

Autonomy: The power of being your own boss with freelance writer Melanie Padgett Powers

Freelance Melanie Padgett Powers talks about what exactly it takes to be your own boss, why it's worth striving for, how to get in an empowering mindset, and why she loves going to conferences so much.

Choice quotes

“I really believe that we should adopt the mindset that we are all business owners. We're not ‘just’ a freelancer.”

“You should not charge hourly because hourly penalizes you for being faster, and it also doesn’t acknowledge the value that you bring to the client and the talent you have. My clients are paying for 20+ years of experience; they’re not paying for an hour of my time."

“Steer yourself into trying new things and realizing that failure is fine. Failure is lessons.”

Melanie’s bio

Melanie Padgett Powers is the owner of MelEdits. She is a freelance writer and managing editor for health care membership associations in the Washington, D.C., area. She regularly writes about public health, COVID-19, hemophilia, optometry, radiology and interventional radiology, and issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion. She has a journalism degree and was previously a newspaper reporter in her home state of Indiana. Melanie is also the creator and host of the Deliberate Freelancer podcast, which focuses on the business side of freelancing.

Find Melanie at www.MelEdits.com and connect with her on Twitter @MelEdits.

Next Episode

Parenting with abundance mindset while freelancing, with freelance writer, editor, and blogger L’Oreal Thompson Payton

Writer, motivational speaker, and author L’Oreal Thompson Payton discusses the challenges of parenting while freelancing, what it’s like to write a book while raising a baby, how to think about impostor syndrome, and what it means to have an abundance mindset, among other things.
L’Oreal’s bio: L’Oreal Thompson Payton is a lifestyle and wellness writer, motivational speaker and author of the forthcoming self-help book, Trust Your Dopeness. Her byline has appeared in publications such as Bitch, Bustle, SELF, Shondaland, Well + Good and ZORA, just to name a few. When she’s not busy writing, she can usually be found reading, riding her Peloton or relaxing on her yoga mat. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Jeff, daughter, Violet and an ever-growing book collection.

Get L’Oreal’s weekly motivational newsletter: Subscribe at LTintheCity.com

Find L’Oreal online at her website, www.LTinthecity.com, or on Twitter and Instagram

Website: https://www.LTinthecity.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LTintheCity
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ltinthecity/

Notable quotes from L'Oreal during our conversation:

“They say it takes a village to raise a kid, and I'm a firm believer in it takes a village to raise a mom as well. Because we cannot do this alone.”
“If I waited for the perfect circumstances — with my oat milk latte and the window seat at the cafe and the perfect soundtrack — it would never happen. The book would never happen. Writing would never happen.”
“Just trust that there is more out there. There is bigger, there's better. Don’t settle.”
Books/things we talked about: