Success Behind The Scenes

🎙 Guest: Jean Atkinson - Marketing Expert 📍Website 📸 Instagram 🔗 LinkedIn 📹 Youtube "I didn't have a plan B. I just had to make it work." 28 Years in Marketing, Jean is proving just how well it can work.  She quit her job in 2011, ran a free Twitter seminar, and landed her first client from it three months later.  No safety net. No backup plan. Just self-belief and cracking on wi...

🎙 Guest: Anthony Croft – Sound Designer 📍 Website 📸 Instagram 🔗 LinkedIn “You move to another country, and you’ve got nothing.” From starting his own DJ business at 13 to winning a SAFTA, Anthony has spent 20+ years using sound to tell stories that move people.  Originally from South Africa and well established in his industry, he moved to the UK and rebuilt everything from scratch. Ant shares...

🎙  Guest: Charlotte Ashley - Graphic Designer 📸 Instagram 📍 Website 🔗 LinkedIn Picture this… you're chatting to a friend in a coffee shop about wanting a career in design and the person at the next table, being nosey, ends up becoming one of your first freelance clients! That’s exactly how Charlotte Ashley’s freelance journey began. Charlotte is a graphic designer specialising in creating s...

🎙  Guest: Naomi Bowden - Brand & Web Designer 📸 Instagram 📍 Website Meet Naomi, founder of Howdy Naomi, a bold branding and web design studio helping female founders build personality-packed brands and websites that are unapologetically them. It took Naomi eight years of part-time freelancing to build the confidence, skills, and savings to take the leap into full-time self-employment. In thi...

🎙  Guest: Angela Lyons - Graphic Designer 📸 Instagram 🔗 LinkedIn 📍 Website 🎧 Podcast With over 20 years in design and 13 running her business, Lyons Creative, Angela Lyons has built a freelance career driven by kindness, community, and creativity. What looked like a dream job quickly turned into stress, illness, and burnout. Freelancing gave Angela freedom, joy, and time with her children and...

🎙  Guest: Rachel Shenton - Video Editor 📸 Instagram 📍 Website From getting by on working tax credits to buying her house and becoming financially independent through her editing business. Rachel’s journey has had huge highs and very low lows, and in 2020, she genuinely thought it was all over. But instead of disappearing, she fought the urge to hide, stayed visible, learned how to market her bus...

🎙  Guest: Nic Shephard - Personal Trainer  📸 Instagram After 13 years in the corporate world, Nic knew it wasn’t the life he wanted. So he swapped banking for balance, helping people find both mental and physical well-being through fitness. At 33, he moved back in with his parents, rebuilt from the ground up, and created a new path as a personal trainer.  Now with 7+ years in the industry, Nic op...

🎙  Guest: Ed Lister - Award-Winning Lighting Camera Operator  📸 Instagram 🔗 LinkedIn 📍 Website With 15+ years of freelance experience, Ed talks about moving to Dubai, starting again from scratch, and adapting to new ways of working.  From filming in 55-degree desert heat to staying in demand in the industry, this episode covers the risks and rewards of freelancing. We cover:  🌍 Relocating your...

🎙  Guest: Robert Lee - Digital Marketer & Founder of Slingshot Digital 📸 Instagram: @slingshot.digital 🔵 Facebook: slingshotdigitaluk 🔗 LinkedIn 📍 Website: slingshotdigital.co.uk With over a decade of digital marketing experience, supporting the BBC, NHS, ITV and more, Rob shares an honest take on starting and growing your own business. We talk about the reality of being your own boss, how...

🎙  Guest: James Homer - Filmmaker 📸 Instagram: @hue21video 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/james-homer 📍 Website: www.hue21.com “I’m just a lad with a camera, tyrna make some progress” James, founder of Hue21, uses film to raise awareness of social issues like addiction and domestic violence. In this episode, James shares how determination, saying yes to opportunities, and staying true to your valu...

🎙  Guest: Leyla Alexander - Graphic Designer 📸 Instagram: @leylaalexanderdesign | @youaretheseauk 📍 Website: www.leylaalexander.com | www.youarethesea.co.uk From redundancy during maternity leave to building a creative design business on her own terms. Leyla shares how she found freedom in freelancing and the confidence to be her true self. ✨ Success isn’t about perfection, it’s about creating...

🎙 Guest: Rob Searle - Visual Media Specialist  📸 Instagram: @searle.visual Turning something you love into a career isn’t easy. It’s about showing up, sticking it out, and pushing through the tough times. Rob turned his love for music and culture into a career, facing setbacks and doubts along the way. But quitting? Not an option. When you love what you do, you keep going. No shortcuts. In this e...

🎙 Guest: Victoria Louise - Luxury Wedding Filmmaker 📍 Website: vlvideos.co.uk 📸 Instagram: @victorialouiseweddings Victoria Louise, Luxury Wedding Filmmaker, shares her journey into the industry.  From feeling like she couldn’t be herself to building a career where she shows up unapologetically every single day.  She went from her lowest career moments to capturing life’s happiest. Her story is...

🎙 Guest: Jordan Lee - Director of Photography Website: www.jordanleevideo.com/ Instagram: @jordanleevideo This episode we get into the realities of doing your own thing with DoP Jordan Lee, now in his 5th year of freelancing.  Jordan turned redundancy into an opportunity, proving the power of: ✅ Taking action ✅ Tapping into your network ✅ Trusting your skills & believing in yourself What We...

🎙 Guest: Dave Hackney - Filmmaker & Founder of The Digital Cortex Website: thedigitalcortex.com Instagram: @davehackney | @thedigitalcortex LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidhackneythedigitalcortex From mechanical engineering to IT, and now 10 years in film, Dave Hackney shows how the left brain’s logic and the right brain’s creativity can work in perfect harmony when you lean into your superpowe...

🎙 Guest: Jo Higgs – Graphic Designer Instagram: @johiggscreative Facebook: facebook.com/Johiggscreative LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joanne-higgs-6591b94a “The only reason I’ve been able to do it is because it’s all I want to do”  In this episode, Jo Higgs shares her journey from feeling “left on the scrap heap” after taking time out to raise her children, to building a business doing what she loves...

🎙 Guest: Josh Couchman – Founder & Creative Director of AnotherWay® Digital 📸Instagram: @itscouch & @anotherway.digital 🌐 Website: anotherwaydigital.co.uk 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/itscouch After over a decade in the Leeds agency scene, Josh started his own business following a life-changing diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. That wake-up call led him to ask:  “What do I really want to do?...

🎙 Guest: Victoria Steele – Marketing Consultant & Bearhat Founder 🌐 Website: bearhatmarketing.com 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/victoria-anna-steele Employee to Freelancer to Business Owner in 6 Months. After 12+ years in marketing, Victoria left full-time work to start her own business—all while navigating life as a new mum. In this episode, Victoria shares her journey to creating Bearhat Mar...

🎙Guest: Alistair Macdonald - Filmmaker & Electronic Musician Website: www.curlewfilms.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aimacdonald 10 years into a high-pressure law career, Alistair realised he was stuck in a job that left him stressed and miserable.  Driven by a desire to create, he reinvented himself, diving into filmmaking and music. Now, 12 years later, he's an award-winning filmmaker, el...

🎙Guest: Natalie Potts - Business Strategist & Messaging Mentor Website: www.nataliepotts.co.uk LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nataliepotts/ Insta: @nataliepottsstrategist YouTube: @nataliepotts Facebook: www.facebook.com/natalie.potts After nearly 20 years in the corporate world, Natalie got her dream promotion and felt nothing.  That’s when she knew something had to change. Hitting rock bottom spa...

🎙Guest: Deryn Carr - Creative Director & Founder of Grit Pictures Ltd. Website: https://grit.pictures/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deryncarr/ Insta: @grit.pictures.ltd Meet Deryn, who shares his journey from employee to freelancer to founding Grit Pictures Ltd., one of Yorkshire's lesser-known yet more formidable production companies.  Grit is built on four pillars: Built Reet, Heart & S...

🎙Guest: Tom Williams - Founder of Fourandthree Website: www.fourandthree.co.uk LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/fourandthree/ In this episode, we meet Tom, founder of Fourandthree, a freelance 3D product creative, 11 months into his solo journey.  Tom’s mission is simple: make cool stuff for cool people, no matter what it takes. We explore the risks and rewards of going solo, how to shape your own ve...

🎙Guest: Jose Marcilese - Motion Designer Website: www.josemarcilese.co.uk Instagram: www.instagram.com/marcilese_motion_graphics/ With a passion for travel and a deep love for freedom, meet Jose Marcilese, a Motion Designer from Argentina, now based in the UK, carving his path in the creative world.  In this episode, Jose shares powerful insights on the importance of self-belief and how building a...

🎙Guest: Dan Waters - Video Producer Website: ⁠www.adarak.co.uk⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/dan-waters-adarak⁠ In this episode, I chat with Dan Waters, the happy, smiley videographer. After 10 years in construction project management, Dan realised it wasn't his calling and made a big change. He’s been running his videography company, Adarak, ever since. Dan shares his inspiring story of vis...

🎙Guest: Chris Wright - Freelance Retoucher  Website: www.chrisjwright.co.uk Instagram: www.instagram.com/chrisjwright_ Threads: www.threads.net/@chrisjwright_ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@chrisjwright_ Discord Invite: discord.gg/S7QdcMK3fJ In this episode, I chat with Chris Wright, Retoucher, YouTuber & Freelance Community Host.  Chris talks about overcoming self-doubt, building an online communi...