Freelance Freedom

Overview

Episodes

Recent Episodes

AUG 30, 2019

11. {Interview} Freelancing and Finances with Shannon Simmons

Shannon is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), media personality, personal finance expert, financial literacy advocate and founder of the New School of Finance. Shannon is a best-selling author of the two books:

-- Worry Free Money

-- Living Debt Free

0:18 -- Intro with Shannon Simmons

2:15 -- What is your money history story? We explore how money is talked about within the household, and how families can reflect shame and secrecy around finances. It's time to get open about your finances!

5:40 -- Do you talk about how your business is doing, whether it's good or bad? We talk about all the feelings that people have when talking about and handling money.

8:35 -- Are you passionate about what you do, but scared to see if it's actually profitable? We dig into the emotional layer of taking a hard look at whether your business is actually profitable.

9:55 -- Why Shannon chose to work Freelancers and how she made a niche for herself.

11:48 -- TAXES! This is what you've been waiting for. How to organize your taxes and what you need to do when you're just starting off. How to wrap your head around income tax.

15:50 -- EXPENSES! What are they? What's a write-off, and how to organize the money that is going OUT of your business. How do you know if something is a an expense? Find out here.

23:25 -- What are some things that are not allowed to be expensed, and what in Shannon's experience has been the most bizarre expense attempts.

26:00 -- How do media personalities and influencers determine expenses? We discuss how the landscape has changed since the emergence of all these new careers.

27:20 -- We talk CRA and how they are a great resource for entrepreneurs. It's not a big bad agency who's out to get your money. We talk all about the role of Revenue Canada.

31:30 -- What is the difference between income tax and sales tax? Let's clear up some muddy waters about GST/HST, sales tax and income tax.

37:25 -- Where can you find Shannon, and what resources she has to offer.

Resources

Here's where you can find Shannon

Financial Services:

http://www.newschooloffinance.com/

http://www.shannonleesimmons.com/

Books:

https://worryfreemoneybook.com/

Social:

https://www.instagram.com/shanleesimmons/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

39 MIN

AUG 9, 2019

10. {Interview} Photoshoots and Visual branding with Irina Leoni

I'm super stoked to have my good friend Irina Leoni join me, she's a super talented photographer, brand strategist, and visual branding icon.

Let's dive in to all things visual branding!

1:00 -- Irina intro and how she started with photography and why she got into it

3:30 -- How as a photographer does Irina make her subject feel comfortable, and how to make the most of the awkwardness of a photoshoot

6:05 -- How Irina prepares her subjects for ALL the places photos will be used. Making sure you have pics not only for your website, but Instagram, Facebook, Twitter ADS and other people's website.

10:30 -- The questions you need to ask photographers before you hire them t take your branding photos. Make sure they are specific to BRANDING!

12:55 -- Is there value in mixing a combination of professional photos with candid shots? Yes! But, there is a time and a place.

15:00 -- Smartphone photography, and how to make the most of the camera in your pocket

16:20 -- When to upgrade to a professional camera, and how to not get overwhelmed by technology. Is a smartphone enough to start with?

23:45 -- Start small with the equipment you have, and scale up when you outgrow your equipment. Not the other way around.

Find Irina Here:

https://www.instagram.com/iamirinaleoni/

https://www.irinaleoni.com/

https://www.power-portraits.com/

https://www.visualbrandmastery.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 MIN

AUG 2, 2019

9. {Interview} SaaS, Scaling and Working with Your Life Partner with Marie Poulin and Ben Borowski

I am so happy to introduce two good friends of mine. Marie Poulin, and Ben Borowski.

Marie and Ben are co-founders of Oki Doki, as well as life partners.

About Ben:

Ben is a product designer and software developer with a fine arts background. After many years in agency-land, he started his own shop in 2010, and, after immigrating to Canada in 2014, founded Oki Doki with Marie. In his spare time he collects vinyl, pets shibas, and is a volunteer firefighter.

About Marie:

Marie helps small business owners bring their digital product & service ideas to life. She is a product and service strategist, and a master digital strategist. As if that isn’t enough, she’s an amazing designer and developer, as well and a permaculture enthusiast in her spare time.

1:15: -- Current life situation and how Marie and Ben became life partners and business partners

3:45 -- Finding out who has dominant skills in each area, and how to decide who takes the lead on what projects

4:25 -- What were Ben and Marie doing before they joined forces.

7:45 -- Check out Ben's journey on his immigration to Canada, taxes and all that's involved when moving a business across borders

11:10 -- What it's like diving into the build not only of a digital product (SaaS), but structuring a full business with your partner at the same time.

14:00 -- Why they choose to sell software as a subscription model, and how they came to solve the issue of the complexity of online courses.

15:45 -- Here we dive in to the value that they provide as a boutique operation, supplying a premium customer experience, and scaling the unscalable.

31:00 -- How a low cost of entry can lead into lifetime clients spending tens of thousands of dollars for further custom strategy and web experiences.

40:00 -- Creating more impactful work, scaling your happiness, flexibility, freedom and building a business on your terms

44:00 -- How communication is when you work and live together. What routines and rituals do Marie and Ben abide by to keep on track, and how to handle disputes both inside and outside of the relationship

47:00 -- Carrying over organizational techniques from the business into personal life, and vice versa. Work/life integration

48:45 -- Routines, entrepreneurship, and setting up your daily routines.

51:10 -- Startup and shutdown rituals

54:55 -- Thinking about starting a business or project with a partner? Here's Marie's and Ben's tips for a successful relationship both inside and outside of the company.

Where you can find them online:

Marie:

https://mariepoulin.com/

https://twitter.com/mariepoulin

https://www.instagram.com/mariepoulin/

Ben:

https://www.typeoneerror.com/

https://twitter.com/typeoneerror

Resources Mentioned:

https://www.notion.so/

http://tanyageisler.com/ (Imposter Complex Coach)

https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

http://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

63 MIN

JUL 26, 2019

8. {Interview} Entrepreneurship and Mental Health with Dr. Sherry Walling

Today we dive deep into mental health, especially when it comes to entrepreneurs.

** Trigger Warning **

This episode contains talk about death, depression, mental health, and suicide. If this isn't a good time in your life to listen, skip it for now, we'll be here when you need us.

Today we dive DEEP with Dr Sherry Walling of Zen Founder.

https://www.sherrywalling.com/

https://zenfounder.com/

About Dr. Sherry

Dr. Sherry Walling helps smart people do hard things. She works with leaders and entrepreneurs to tackle the common and uncommon challenges that go along with the pursuit of an extraordinary life. As a clinical psychologist, speaker, yoga teacher, podcaster, entrepreneur, and best-selling author, she draws from her professional expertise as well as her personal experience. Her best-selling book, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Shit Together, combines the insight and warmth of a therapist with the truth-telling mirth of someone who has been there.

When she’s not in the consulting room or hopping stages around the world; Sherry can be found on her paddleboard, swinging from the rafters pretending to be a circus performer, or ushering her three kiddos through an art museum in some fabulous city.

Let's jump in...

4:30 -- Current rates and stats of mental health concerns within the entrepreneurs, with Dr. Michael Freeman and where those rates originate from. Is it correlation, or causation?

10:30 -- The "all or nothing" stress, hustle culture, burnout and the toll extreme highs and lows take on your mental and physical health.

12:45 -- Maintaining boundaries of downtime, shifting from work to downtime, and the Mr. Rogers Phenomenon.

16:40 -- Introversion, Extroversion and Isolation. The power of tribe, and community and how it's beneficial to mental health.

20:35 -- Suicide. Coping with feelings, and supporting a normalized conversation to help people open up about it. How to support friends, and yourself. Also, will telling a professional about your feelings get you into trouble? Have you committed? Find out here. (Spoiler: the answer is no. You should definitely talk to someone).

29:54 -- Loss, grief and life. How to prepare for your death, how to prepare your family, and dealing with grief as an entrepreneur.

35:00 -- Combatting the "what if..." monsters. Taking control over the things you have control over, and letting the uncontrollables go. We also talk about the benefits of journalling and what do do with the text you've journaled.

39:15 -- Does work/life balance exist? The answer is it all comes down to how you feel. Don't let someone else dictate what works for you. Listen to your emotions, listen to your body. Get good at asking yourself "How am I doing?...", "How does this feel to me?"