A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries.
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).
Todayās 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 about
if Phill can plank for longer than 30 seconds
a trip to psychology corner
plus a special end of year announcementā¦
For those choosing to watch the video, I sincerely apologise about my sweaty pits.
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
43: No Scrubs - how to make working from home work
Friday, October 16, 2026 ā¢ Duration 57:08
Well, looky here. Phillās been given the keys to the Substack! HA! Look hereās Melās diary. Today weāre covering the meaty topic of working from home, where doctors literally get to wear no scrubs.
Tune in to hear us discuss:
farting-from-home
are co-working spaces worth it?
body-doubling, what it is and if it makes us more productive
productivity apps that we actually use
another book recommendation
And find out whether Mel can spell floccinaucinihilipilification correctly.
Mel didnāt 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 upās here.
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your podsā¦šļø Spotify / Apple podcasts / / and
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
42: Island in the sun - taking time off when youāre your own boss
Thursday, October 1, 2026 ā¢ Duration 54:46
Weāre doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if youāre thinking āMel, you JUST emailed meā, itās 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.
Itās become apparent that our episode themes will be loosely observed, because we have a tendency to take detours and get distracted. Hereās some of what we coveredā¦
the time(s) Phill lied to everyone
when Phill made friends with Matt Hancock
my obsession with work jollies - Iām on one as I type, actually
the benefits of holicise
work life balance (lolz)
And thereās some useful stuff in there about how to manage your workload too.
Oh, and Phill wants to know if you like him. Heās a middle child, like me. So expect us to be needy, squared.
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
41: Back to the start - origin stories
Thursday, October 1, 2026 ā¢ Duration 01:01:18
Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?
This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - weāre 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 āNah. Employmentās not for me.ā
We coverā¦
how Phill started out in marketing (heās a PROPER marketer)
why Iām unemployable at this point
a trauma dump-slash-rant about crummy leadership
how Phill built up his podcast Nudge to be the UKās #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 heās going to get from you. Please prove me wrong and tell us what you like (or donāt) about the new ibc duo. And whether Phill should pass his probationary period.
You can email show@indiebusinessclub.com or even better do a LinkedIn post about it so we get some sweet, sweet reach š
And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your podsā¦šļø Spotify / Apple podcasts / / and
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
Crossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 ā¢ Duration 01:42:55
Make sure weāre friends on LinkedIn - Iām 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 āpersonal brandā. 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 š„° Weāve been talking about a crossover episode ever since and we finally did it.
At Candourās 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.
Itās a long and winding conversation, partly because we enjoyed nerding out so much, partly because we recorded on a Friday afternoon, and partly because thatās 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 Oakleyās new podcast btw).Listen wherever you cast your pods. Or watch us on YouTube š
Find my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey (except not this time) .
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
40 Lucky Man: lessons in luck with John Lyons
Monday, September 14, 2026 ā¢ Duration 52:37
We get quite personal in this episode, so skip through from about 11minutes to about 13minutes in if youād prefer not to hear the part where we talk about mental health, marital breakdown and suicidal ideation.
This episode of the podcast is all about one of my favourite topics - LUCK. Specifically, in careers. I chose John Lyons as my guest because a) heās a legend and b) I knew he had a great squiggly story about how he got into marketing.
We talked aboutā¦
how a chance situation made John want to be an architect
the chance situations that meant he dodged being one
when āfailsā lead to something better
traits and behaviours of lucky people
how Hat and Bins became Johnās distinctive brand assets (orā¦ diSTINKtive chortle chortle)
the, at times, lifesaving beauty of internet friends
ā¦and we lament the loss of #MarketingTwitter (I miss you, pals).
I need your help
Someoneās given the podcast ONE MEASLY STAR on apple and spotify and it must be personal š because the jingle is worth two stars alone. If youāve ever enjoyed a smidge of an episode please give the pod a 5-star review to drown out my solitary hater š
Here, have Johnās bio from his website because Iām lazy - John Lyons is a London & Essex based Fractional CMO with over 20 years of experience in B2B technology and professional services marketing. He has worked with brands including LEGO, Deutsche Bank and Manchester United, and specialises in revenue-focused marketing strategy for scale-ups and funded startups.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
39 Video Games: using video to market your business, with Jonny Rose
Friday, August 28, 2026 ā¢ Duration 47:00
LinkedIn has reintroduced its video feed tab. Unfortunately, it all seems to be Stephen Bartlett, āshark tankā, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Bleugh. And more recently, lots of film clips with slowed-down atmospheric music over the top š
So, itās up to us to populate the feed with better videos. A moral duty, reallyā¦
This episode of the podcast is all about using video to promote your business, so I asked my pal Jonny Rose along for a chat.
We talked aboutā¦
how to get over yourself and get serious about using video
why youāve got everything you need in the palm of your hand
how getting organised is half the battle
the place for scrappy vids versus polished edits
how weāre no longer in the knowledge era, weāre in the experience era
ā¦and of course, Jonnyās top tips for planning and recording your videos.
Weāve also got Willās Book Shelf, where Will Slater gives us some sage wisdom.
Jonny Rose runs Storyclub where he gets b2b founders confident on camera and turns that into consistent content that actually builds their businesses. Jonny gets people as comfortable as possible before they start recording. But we know lots of people are doing this solo and itās all too easy to be overly perfectionist and talk yourself out of it. So heās here as your personal coach/nagger.
The benefit/payoff from posting videos can be a slow burn - often it takes time to gain traction so you need to post consistently for a while. Donāt just give up after a couple of vids. Youāll only get better and better at it.
I have no problem filming myself, or capturing footage from a day out. My stumbling block is I canāt be arsed to edit it. Jonny suggests getting an editor from Upwork or Fiverr to remove that friction point, to avoid ending up with a huge content graveyard of outdated footage (sob). Maybe Iāll try it some time. But I do find it hard to pay people for stuff I do an okay job of myself. Itās a character flaw, truly.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
Monday, May 18, 2026 ā¢ Duration 01:01:03
This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at You Are The Mediaās Creator Day 2026. Huge thanks to FOUNDRY for hosting us - check out their coworking spaces in London and across the South coast (Eastbourne, Poole, Walthamstow, Hove, Wandsworth and Bromley) right here.
Iām joined by a coupla LinkedIn legend Dave Harland and Lea Turner. Accidentally done two Lea episodes in a row because Iām a little behind in releasing recordings, but sheās worth it š This is (somehow?!) the first episode with Dave despite him being mentioned in approx 87% of eps.
We talked about all sorts includingā¦
how LinkedIn has changed since Lea and Dave first started out
what seems to work now
where the line is between sharing your personality without getting too personal
whether LinkedIn premium is worth it
how to navigate the feed
tips for young people at the start of their career (spoiler: donāt use AI for your posts)
the effectiveness (or lack ofā¦) of company pages
the best people weāve connected with on LinkedIn
how writing helps you find your voice
the benefits of trying to be interested instead of interesting
About my co-hosts
Lea Turner is founder of The HoLT, the community where freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners connect, share ideas, and grow together.
Before starting The HoLT Lea spent four years training people how to use LinkedIn to grow their business, and she should know having amassed (at the time of recording) over 177,000 LinkedIn followers. Find Lea and find out more about how to become a HoLTie .
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
37 Fame Monster: being famous with Lea Turner
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 ā¢ Duration 57:16
This episode is about the pros and cons of being (in my case, very mildly) famous in your industry
Iām joined by LinkedIn legend, founder of The HoLT, and all-round wonderful human Lea Turner.
Lea knows a thing or two about being famous - sheās built a following of over 208k followers across LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.
In the episode we talk aboutā¦
- how Lea built her huge following
- whatās changed since she started posting on LinkedIn
- why fame is a luck multiplier
- how to get āmore famousā in your industry
- why being famous isnāt all sunshine and lollipops
I invited Lea onto the podcast because sometimes I walk into a room and a couple of people know who I am, but I donāt know who they are. For Lea, itās like that times a hundred. This balance of āpowerā is sometimes a bit strange to navigate, so I wanted to know how Lea copes with her microfame and what tips she has for people looking to grow their āpersonal brandā.
I hope you enjoy listening in on our candid conversation.
About my co-host - Lea Turner
Lea Turner is founder of The Holt, the community where freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners connect, share ideas, and grow together.
Before starting The HoLT Lea spent four years training people how to use LinkedIn to grow their business, and she should know having amassed (at the time of recording) over 176,000 LinkedIn followers. Find Lea on LinkedIn right here.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the Lady Gaga album , with notable tracks Paparrazi, Money Honey and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich š
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
36 Delivery: newsletters with Molly Scanlan
Thursday, February 19, 2026 ā¢ Duration 57:03
How to use a newsletter to grow your businessš
This time, Iām joined by Molly Scanlan to discuss how to grow your business using the ancient (okay, at least decades-old) art of writing newsletters. Like this one. But do as I say, not as I do.
We talked aboutā¦
- why you should start (or resurrect) your newsletter in 2026
- how a newsletter isnāt the same thing as email marketing
- examples of newsletters we love and why
- how a newsletter can āworld buildā as well as show your authority
- why you should talk about your newsletter āto an uncomfortable degreeā
And your friend and mine Will Slater is back with #WillsBookClub
About my co-host - Molly Scanlan
Molly Scanlan is a web designer, event speaker, quizmaster puzzlenerd and karaoke diva. She builds sustainable websites for non-evil businesses. The websites she makes are ābetter for the planet ā but donāt look like theyāre woven from brown riceā.
Like me, Molly is a columnist for Freelancer Magazine. She also co-founded a social enterprise and co-hosts Cowork Crew London with your friend and mine Ange Lyons. She is busy.
Molly also has one of my favourite newsletters of all time (itās SO short!) called Molly Gets It Done, which is why Iāve asked her to join me on this episode. Sheās also one of my business besties. Find her on LinkedIn right here.
Tracklist
The name of this episode is , a song by Babyshambles from their 2007 album, Shotterās Nation. I was single for the first time in my adult life in 2007. I had a great time. Itās also when I was last single because itās the year I met Mr Barfield. 19 years ago?! Bloody hell.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
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And like my last guest, John is no stranger to indie business club. He was our voicenoter two whole years ago on the second ever episode 02 Itās Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients. You can find him on LinkedIn too. Heās got some freebie publications on his website including the B2B Growth Companion mentioned in the episode.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the song Lucky Man by The Verve. It includes these lyrics which are definitely, definitely about personal branding and sharing your personality more online. Probably. Maybe.Iām stood here naked, smiling, I feel no disgraceWith who I am
Jonnyās a fan of scripts for longer videos to remove a stumbling block, keep you on track, and stop you waffling. It also stops you getting frustrated at yourself and prevents you quitting before youāve got the job done.
But immediacy still has a place. Whipping out your phone to have a quick unscripted rant or deliver something with urgency is authentic and relatable so donāt always over-script yourself.
About my co-host
Jonny Rose is an expert in all things video. He runs The Story Club where he helps B2B founders get confident on camera and turn that into consistent content that actually builds their business.
You can find him on LinkedIn. If youāre thinking āhmm this all sounds familiarā this is Jonnyās second time on the podcast, kind of. Because he provided a very helpful voicenote in episode 31, Moving Pictures.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the Lana Del Rey song Video Games because it should be fun to create video content to market your business. It can be, I PROMISE.
Have a nose at my calendar (and come along)
11th September - Iām at the East Anglian Marketing Awards in Norwich. I judged the freelancer category and I canāt wait to celebrate with all the finalists.
17th September - Iām at Nudgestock to cheer on speaker (and friend of the show) Phill Agnew and try to edge my way closer to Rory Sutherland (who defo perceived me at Atomicon last year when I was sat in the front row - a start).
1st October - Off to Manchester for the inaugural You Are The Media lunch club. A right trek from my house in Northamptonshire but worth it to support Mark and our glam host Judith (and our slightly less glam Dave, whoās on the panel).
15th October - Iām speaking at Cowork Crew Northampton about how to be lucky. Itās Ā£30 for a day of coworking and cake with some of the loveliest humans youāll ever meet.
5th-6th November - Iām hosting CopyCon, a two-day online conference for professional writers. The ticket price goes up on Monday so get a wriggle on!
11th November - Dave and I are speaking at Social Day B2B Forum. Weāre running a mini workshop on how to write uncrappy captions.
13th November - Iām hosting a panel at the Alt Marketing School Business of Marketing event at Canva HQ in London. My panel is all about careers (I used to be a careers advisor dontcha know) and thereās tonnes of other tickets start at Ā£85 for digital, Ā£135 in-person.
Future plans
You might have noticed (or worse, not noticed) I havenāt posted a new episode in a while. Itās been difficult to keep up momentum, find time to record new episodes and generally be organised with the podcast, alongside running Copy Or Die with Dave. So I had a chat with a pal yesterday about them becoming a regular co-host and weāre going to see how it goes. Guess who it is?
Dave Harland aka The Wordman is a copywriter, event speaker and all-round good egg. Heās my biz partner at Copy Or Die - to can get us in fill in our briefing form š and get Daveās emails here. Heās also working on his course on how to Write The Funny - get on the waitlist.
Tracklist
This episode is named after the first track on The Kooksā Inside In / Inside Out album which came out (brace yourself) 20 years ago. āDāya want to go to the seasiiideā next year? Creator Day returns on Thursday 6th May 2027. Get yourself on the guestlist.
Guesting
After I put it out there that I wanted to guest on more pods*, I got invited as a guest on the Content Byte podcast, run by Rachel Smith (from Rachelās List) and journalist and content writer Lynne Testoni. Together they serve up weekly short bites of advice, tips and strategies. My episode is out now, all about how to get lucky in your career. Listen right here :)
*ICYMI this was the homework Charelle Griffith gave me in this b-side episode of indie business club all about how I'll grow this podcast.
After I put it out there that I wanted to guest on more pods*, the lovely Lucy Heavens invited me onto her CMO Therapy podcast. My episode is out today, all about tone of voice. I had a lovely big olā chat with Lucy getting all passionate about word stuff.
I hoped to get this episode out about two weeks ago. But I was too busy with work. Then last week I was too busy having fun with my pals at The Marketing Meetup conference. ICYMI hereās my highlight reel from Dave Harlandās talk.When Ben left the podcast, I was determined to keep up putting episodes out every two to three weeks. But a heaptonneās changed since then. Before, I was working with my three retainer clients (Copy Or Die, The Marketing Meetup, Bignose & Beardy).
Now, Iām still working with all three. But my role at Copy Or Die has, er, grown somewhat. Instead of working with COD founder Dave Harland one day a week Iām now full time as Daveās Managing Partner and Brand Voice Lead. Which is a blimmin dream - heās brilliant to work with and we have a lot of fun. Most importantly, our clients are happy bunnies. Weāve been nagged/advised by friend of the show (and next timeās guest) Jonny Rose on how to use video to better demo what we do. So expect some absolute cringe attempts as we ābuild in publicā *gulp*.
Byeeeeeee,
MelPS: This was a long episode, so Willās Bookshelf gets a break this time.
Itās classic 00ās Britpop-rock and I chose it because if you send out newsletters you might choose to monitor your delivery rates and open ratesā¦ geddit?
Resources
In the episode, we talk about newsletters we love. You should try āem some time. But first, Mollyās newsletter again - Molly Gets It Done - it is SO SHORT!
Lucy Wernerās Hype YourselfNB - in the episode, I called this newsletter āa substackā and spoke about how itās on that platform, but itās now hosted elsewhere. Partly due to the horrible situation we speak about in the episode. Signup is at the bottom of this page.
Dave Smythās Five LinksA short roundup of links to do with user experience, privacy, accessibility and sustainability.
Amy Nolanās The Doodle DabblerA short newsletter by our favourite doodler (and friend of the show) Amy Nolan, which includes a doodle prompt to get you scribbling.
The Welsh Kitchen by Ross ClarkeGet a recipe to a traditional Welsh dish along with links to Welsh songs and other Welshy things.
Dave Harlandās The Word Friend of the show Dave can explain what his newsletterās all about. Emails to āhelp you come up with the weird, witty and funny words and ideas that all of the bore-bag brands in your sector struggle with.ā
Sheās so lucky
As a freelancer, you've got to ask yourself one questionā¦ āDo I feel lucky?ā
Well, do ya, punk? If not, Freelancer Magazineās running a two-day masterclass series on 4th and 5th March. Iām running a workshop called āHow to be lucky and win the freelance lotteryā where I go into the (proven!) ways you can adjust your attitudes and behaviours to get more lucky. You get over a dozen other expert sessions, for keeps. Get your ticket here.
