The KitchenTable Community Podcast

Want to start your own agency but are intimidated by the thought of going it alone? Then you won’t want to miss this episode of The KitchenTable Community Podcast. Sarah Townsend is author of Survival Skills for Freelancers, which is vital reading for anyone considering flying solo, whether as a freelancer or an agency owner.Sarah shares her own experiences and provides a practical roadmap for the journey of self-employment. Among the topics we discuss are: the discomfort many of us face around pricing – and how to get over ithow outsourcing tasks can make your working days much more pleasant (without jeopardising your cashflow)the importance of walking away when a project or client isn’t right for youhow to manage your own expectations of self-employed lifehandling the inevitable bad days Essential listening for anyone who wants to work for themselves. Stop press. Sarah has just released her new book The Little Book of Confusables, which is is designed to help smart people avoid stupid mistakes with commonly confused words. It’s available on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle, here: https://amzn.to/3AjqtB4

Smaller agencies often believe that they can’t compete with the marketing leviathans in their swanky Shoreditch and Soho offices. Our latest guest on the Kitchen Table Community Podcast, Richard Coope, argues that they can – and, more importantly, they should. I’m delighted to have Richard on the podcast to share his insights into the inherent advantages that smaller agencies have over their larger competitors, especially in the post-pandemic era. Why should clients pay big money to larger agencies when they can get the same standard of work elsewhere for a lower price? In an era where agencies can no longer take clients out to fancy lunches, the bigger agencies are losing their upper hand.Richard is the owner of his own agency, Brightful, and is also co-founder of the social enterprise Winchester Creatives, which is helping talented young creatives in to the job market. In this episode, he shares insights from years of working in the creative industries, and explains how a Rebel Alliance of smaller agencies can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the titans of marketing. 

The business landscape is changing. Even before Covid-19, the age-old assumptions about workflows, personnel and physical premises were open to challenge. Our latest guest on the Kitchen Table Community Podcast, Matthew Mottola, has been reading the tea leaves for some time. And he is happy to share his insights into the changing face of business, and how networked freelancers and kitchen table agencies might well be the solution to big business’ problems. Matthew is the author of The Human Cloud: How Today’s Changemakers Use Artificial Intelligence and the Human Cloud to Transform Work, published in early 2021. He's also co-founder and CEO of software company Venture L, which has produced a super-smart platform that designed to enable freelance collaboration.Whether you’re a freelancer, a kitchen table agency owner, or just interested in where we're all heading, this is one you shouldn't miss. 

Let's face it, we creative types tend to be a bit squeamish about professional services and about lawyers in particular. But if we're to run a successful agency then we have to engage with them and we have to meet certain legal obligations.If the thought of that brings you out in a cold sweat, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because in this episode of Kitchen Table Community Podcast, we’re  joined by John Haggis, a lawyer who specialises in the digital and creative sectors. He shares his insights on: how to set up your business the right wayensuring that scalability is baked in to your corporate structure and contracts,how to choose insurance that’s fit for purposehow to choose professional service providers who understand your industry. He also gives us a hint of his next business venture – a legal resource that will be invaluable for agency owners. If you want to keep your business compliant while also saving time and money, you won’t want to miss this episode.

There are many agency owners (myself included) who have a difficult relationship with lead prospecting.  No matter how much we believe in our services, we find engaging cold leads inherently uncomfortable. Indeed, the business of lead prospecting is fraught with potential challenges and pitfalls. When you’re struggling to get your call to action heard, it’s enough to make you want to give up in frustration or don the black hat to get results quickly— whatever the cost.Luckily, in this latest episode of the Kitchen Table Community Podcast, we’re joined by a master of the art of lead prospecting Ryan Welmans, co-founder of the multi award-winning email prospecting agency SoPro. Among the topics we discuss are the little things that can make a big difference to your outbound marketing, the importance of persistence, and the danger of unintentionally having your emails dismissed as spam.  If you’ve long grappled with the intricacies of generating and converting new leads, you won’t want to miss this episode!

The agency world is changing rapidly in the COVID era. But for Helen Trevorrow, founder of Green Row Communications, it’s business as usual.Why? Because this 20+ year PR veteran relocated her successful London agency to her kitchen table years ago. A move that not only improved her health, wellbeing and even the efficacy of her business… it also placed her squarely ahead of the curve.In our latest KitchenTable Community podcast, Helen shares a wealth of insights that will be invaluable to anyone who runs their own agency and wants a healthy work/life balance. Helen tells us what motivated her move from Notting Hill to the kitchen table, why inter-agency collaboration is key for agencies trying to establish themselves, the benefits of working with freelancers with niche skill sets, and the best person in the country for writing stories about wonky carrots! 

If you’re just starting out on your agency journey, few things will be more useful to you than tapping in to the wisdom of those who’ve been there and done it.Karl Heasman is just such a chap. After an early career in advertising he took the plunge and started his own kitchen table agency from scratch. He was hugely successful and a few years later he sold the company for a small fortune. Now he helps the owners of small creative businesses to achieve similar success.Be sure to tune in to hear Karl's insights on:honing your propositionchargingwining clients and much more 

What's my motivation? It's a question that all agency owners need to address. But when we do, the answers tend to go only skin deep. Typically they might be: 'Because I want to do great work' or 'Because I want to make money'.It's only when we delve a little further that things get really interesting. Tom Nixon has dived deeper than most. Having set up a hugely successful social media marketing agency, he became fixated with questions of motivation and fulfilment. The results were remarkable.In this episode Tom describes his journey from freelance techie to agency owner to business mentor, and how along the way he uncovered what was really driving him.Whether you're considering starting an agency or already have one, you should tap in to Tom's wisdom. You'll be all the better for it. 

Having your own agency is great – most of the time. But being self-employed isn’t always easy. So, how do you look after yourself? And what should you be doing to protect the wellbeing of your freelance employees? Matthew Knight founded an self-help community called Leapers, which is dedicated to and he runs an organisation called Leapers, which is dedicated to supporting the mental health of freelancers and the self-employed.In this episode he shares practical advice on navigating the challenges of self employment.

Is it possible build a best-in-class agency from your kitchen table? It sure is – and sisters Fi Edwards and Katie Langdon are living proof.  When they started their healthcare comms agency Skin and Blister in 2016, all they had was a great name and a grand vision, yet within a year they were pitching against – and beating – some of the best known agencies in their field. They now have a roster of major pharma clients and NHS organisations, yet the pair remain the only permanent staff. Central to their success is their 'deadline driven working' model, which allows their remote-working freelance employees, the maximum possible flexibility.Find out how they put this method into practice and how it became a major selling point.  

It's a fact: companies that have a purpose beyond profit tend to do better than those that don't. Yet, for many agency founders purpose is an afterthought. So, how do you find your purpose and, more importantly, how do you put it in to practice?  Si Conroy is a business mentor who works with numerous agency owners helping them to grow successful purpose-led companies.In this episode he shares some of his secrets and provides practical tips and guidance that will help you to build a business that you love, rather than one that just pays the bills.  

It's amazing how many kitchen table agencies have never asked the question: What's my brand? Yet having a strong, credible brand is essential to the success of most businesses, especially creative ones. In this first episode of The KitchenTable Community Podcast branding guru Bill Wallsgrove shares his wisdom on the subject. Bill spent years in some of London's most successful creative agencies, where he helped to launched numerous household name brands. We later went it alone with his own kitchen table agency and now mentors agency owners who want to develop their own brands.