indie business club

Mel loves social media. Phill hates it. We pressed record and had a debate even the Oxford Union would be proud of. Plus, Mel challenged Phill to a plank-off (yes, you read that correctly).Today’s episode is all about social media (some find it bitter, some find it sweet, for some that makes a symphony) and how we freelancers can use it to grow our businesses without losing our minds. We chinwag about:why Mel and Phill quit Twitter (RIP, bird app)whether social media changes what we deeply care aboutif Phill can plank for longer than 30 secondsa trip to psychology cornerplus a special end of year announcement…For those choosing to watch the video, I sincerely apologise about my sweaty pits.Mel’s hereI’m hereAnt’s hereCheers,PhillAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com

Well, looky here. Phill’s been given the keys to the Substack! HA! Look here’s Mel’s diary. Today we’re covering the meaty topic of working from home, where doctors literally get to wear no scrubs. Tune in to hear us discuss:farting-from-homeare co-working spaces worth it?body-doubling, what it is and if it makes us more productiveproductivity apps that we actually useanother book recommendationAnd find out whether Mel can spell floccinaucinihilipilification correctly. Mel didn’t eat breakfast before recording this, so direct any complaints you have her way.On Tuesday at 2pm BST, tune in to hear (and indeed see) Mel and her business partner Dave Harland talk to The Marketing Meetup. Sign up’s here. Mel’s hereI’m hereAnt’s hereCheers,PhillAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com

We’re doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if you’re thinking “Mel, you JUST emailed me”, it’s on purpose. This episode is named after the absolute belter by Weezer because hopefully some of the time off you take as boss of your life involves an island in the sun. It’s become apparent that our episode themes will be loosely observed, because we have a tendency to take detours and get distracted. Here’s some of what we covered…the time(s) Phill lied to everyonewhen Phill made friends with Matt Hancockmy obsession with work jollies - I’m on one as I type, actuallythe benefits of holicisework life balance (lolz)And there’s some useful stuff in there about how to manage your workload too. Oh, and Phill wants to know if you like him. He’s a middle child, like me. So expect us to be needy, squared.I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s hereDo you like Phill? Do you?ByeeeeeeeeeMel This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com

Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - we’re talking origin stories.In this first episode of a new era, my new co-host Phill Agnew joins me for storytime about how we each go to the point in our careers where we decided “Nah. Employment’s not for me.”We cover…how Phill started out in marketing (he’s a PROPER marketer)why I’m unemployable at this pointa trauma dump-slash-rant about crummy leadershiphow Phill built up his podcast Nudge to be the UK’s #1 Marketing podcast (depending which day you look at the charts and whether his competitors are cheating with bot engagement)Phill has frankly unrealisticly high expectations on how much feedback he’s going to get from you. Please prove me wrong and tell us what you like (or don’t) about the new ibc duo. And whether Phill should pass his probationary period.You can email [email protected] or even better do a LinkedIn post about it so we get some sweet, sweet reach 👌I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s hereByeeeeeeeeeMelAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com

Make sure we’re friends on LinkedIn - I’m revealing my new co-host tomorrow This is a crossover episode of Search With Candour podcast (hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward) and indie business club podcast (hosted by me, Mel Barfield), discussing how you can use your hobbies to help build your “personal brand”. I first met Jack at BrightonSEO a few years back - he was the first listener in the wild that I ever met and I was FLOORED 🥰 We’ve been talking about a crossover episode ever since and we finally did it. At Candour’s studio in Norwich we talked about how Jack balances his personal brand with employed work, and how we both use our hobbies (ranging from board games and films to music and, of course, cheese) to connect with people on a human level. We also talk about how who you work with affects your brand reputation and why nerding out about the things you care about is so important.It’s a long and winding conversation, partly because we enjoyed nerding out so much, partly because we recorded on a Friday afternoon, and partly because that’s just what happens when you put two podcasters in a room together with microphones.Expect detailed descriptions of our favourite cheeses, best Batmans and I try and defend Superman III as the superbest Superman film (more on that in my episode on Phillip Oakley’s new podcast btw).Listen wherever you cast your pods. Or watch us on YouTube 👇Byeeeeeee,MelFind my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey (except not this time) Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.Listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and AudibleCatch up on other recent episodes 👇 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit indiebusinessclub.substack.com