Professional Practice: July 2021

• I emailed a request for conversation/case study with Sebastian Merk through his Website and Instagram but had no response to either. I follow him on his instagram and wanted to unpick his professional practice regarding how he uses social media, his portfolio and website to attract clients and customers.

Opportunities:

• Leeds University's The Gryphon "In the Middle" Supplement Front and Back Covers

• Interview with Leeds University's The Gryphon

• Balance Magazine: Brief, Interview and Article

• Arts Council Case Study with Natural Beings Collective

• Blind New World (Perkins School For the Blind) Blog Post

• Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) Yorkshire Graduate Award 2021 and Application PDF

• Funded Studio Spaces

Wednesday, 28 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Final Reflection

Summary of 602 (338 words):

Looking back at my rationale, I have managed to fulfil my goals and more for this module and reflected regularly on everything I did. I am very proud of the work I have undertaken for 602 despite all of my challenges this year. I have built a strong and easily identifiable visual identity that can be implemented across a range of digital and printed assets, a strong portfolio of work across multiple platforms and mediums, a mock website that I will make live at the relevant time, research into two relevant Masters courses (Ms Fine Art and MA Art Therapy) and the various institutions that support them - identifying pros and cons for each, have talked to and networked with relevant professionals and practitioners, and attended many useful webinars that will continue over the summer.

I have learned more about instagram, where I largely situate myself at this time, how to work with the algorithm, the various features and functionality with accessibility, and unpicked my analytics to help my content perform better. I have identified where improvements can be made - to start implementing video content -to reach a wider audience and, in turn, more clients and customers. The Freelancers Summer School has provided me with a wealth of knowledge to all facets of freelancing for the future.

What could I have done better? I feel like I could have talked with more professionals including art directors, curators and gallery workers as well as involved myself with competitions. I didn't set aside enough time to identify relevant people in this area and network with them as much as I could have and this will be something I do after I graduate, and into my Masters studies, as I would like to exhibit one day. I have identified the VAA (Visual Artists Association) as a potential place I can sign up to, through membership, where a lot of resources exist for artists and painters. They provide online spaces such as an art cafe which could unlock a lot of relevant people.

Monday, 26 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Professional Practice Presentation and Script

Presentation Slides:

Professional Practice Presentation Script (Timed at 18 minutes 31 seconds)

Slide 1: Welcome to my final Professional Practice presentation.

Slide 2: "Metamorphosis is the most profound of all acts," says Catherynne M. Valente, and I believe this summarises my whole university experience: developing my practice over the past 5 years. I have emerged from my cocoon and transformed into something largely different than I originally intended and could ever have imagined. Some of this is, in part, due to facing many challenges and having to adapt to difficult circumstances.

Slide 3: Here is an overview of my presentation and some of the facets to my journey so far that make up this unbreakable diamond, created from huge amounts of pressure from all angles of life. I feel that in order to reflect on Level 6 and the work I have undertaken to develop my professionalism, it is important to contextualise my journey by looking back on where I started, the destination I have arrived at, and where I'd like to go to next after I graduate.

Slide 4: My first year of university, at Level 4, can be described by the words 'perfectionism,' 'proving,' and 'pressure.' I put a huge amount of pressure on myself right at the beginning to be a professional illustrator with perfect outcomes and achieving high grades. There was no time for play or experimentation, I felt I had done that already on the Access to HE course and wanted to start illustrating without experimenting. It was difficult to sustain and I wasn't enjoying what I was creating. Ultimately, I worked incredibly hard, and created a strong foundation of illustration work, but burned out very quickly.

I was constantly looking to my peers, who I felt had a better understanding of image-making than I did, and to professional illustrators to guide me on what to do and how my work should look. I felt lost and my output wasn't authentic even though it looked professional. Though I deeply enjoy the visuals and the escapism that children's books and their visual language provide, and I wanted to be a part of that world and contribute in some way, it constantly felt like something I could never quite tap into.

The final project of Level 4 introduced me to a different way of working and thinking, inspired by Zaha Hadid and her organic structures and architecture, and it allowed me to step away from character-creating and composition-building, to create the beginnings of something more genuine and immediately impactful through a variety of experimental outcomes.

Slide 5: The first year of university also offered me the opportunity to visit Uganda for a month, with the charity East African Playgrounds. I have always been a charitable person, working with sight loss charities such as the RNIB and Henshaws before joining the Access to HE course, finding that giving your time is the most valuable thing you can do to help another person. I wanted to imbue that ethos with my love of childhood, play, and painting.

I helped to construct a playground, with other students across the UK, for an underprivileged school in Kasambira, Jinjer. As well as digging holes, mixing cement and bolting tires, I became the resident painter of some of the bigger structures, turning them into fun characters, and our own planet, to engage the children's imaginations. The trip fulfilled me in ways I can never fully explain and I found it incredibly difficult to come back home and adjust to Level 5.

Slide 6: Progressing onto level 5 provided me with many struggles and challenges in my personal life. Upon returning from Uganda, and being back in a studio where I was largely ignored by the illustration cohort, I developed a severe eating disorder where I lost a huge amount of weight in a very small timeframe. I wanted to hide myself away and found it difficult to come to campus and engage with the course. I could no longer concentrate on my studies and decided to take the year out for my mental health.

The year that was meant for healing turned into the worst year of my life, as I witnessed my mum have a severe stroke and she became extremely disabled as a result. Immediately I was her carer and was alone with such responsibilities as my other family members didn't want to help. I felt abandoned. My eating disorder was reinforced and continued as my only sense of control.

I took the necessary steps to come back to level 5 that September - but my retina detached just before term started and I was blinded. After two emergency surgeries and a full recovery, my other retina detached in December and I needed further emergency surgeries in both eyes to remove a membrane that had grown over the lenses and kept me from seeing properly. When I was finally fully healed, the academic year was over, and I was struggling with a huge amount of sight loss.

My third attempt at Level 5 was finally successful though I held feelings of shame and failure, and really struggled with the visual elements of the course. I still do, but try as best as I can now that I'm working alone. In hindsight, I had rushed far too quickly to come back onto the course to avoid being a full-time carer.

Slide 7: As a result of my significant sight loss, my creative process and my visual language started to change. I had begun to challenge this at the end of level 4, years before, but it was now happening organically in response to severe sight loss and was apparent when approaching the same brief twice. The character-driven outcomes of Agatha Christie were created in September and October of 2017 and the more textural, multidisciplinary approaches of repeat pattern and shape, with handprinted type, were created a year later. There is value in both responses but the publication I eventually made, printed on acetate to cover and uncover objects, felt more ambiguous and playful. It was something I really enjoyed making. Experimentation, while dealing with the trauma of my sight loss, kept me returning to university. Every day held a new discovery and it showed me that my life wasn't over. This brief was impactful to me in more ways than one.

Slide 8: "Creativity takes courage," a powerful quote by Matisse, and something that resonated with me a lot this past year.

Slide 9: Level 6 was not without its struggles and after progressing, despite the pandemic, my Guide Dog could no longer work for me because of benign tumours which prevented her harness from closing. I made the difficult decision to agree to surgery but it was a very lengthy process of recovery and coming back home to retrain because of the second and third lockdowns in November and January. Somewhere amongst the severe depression, I turned to abstract expressionist painting to intuitively illustrate my feelings and work through all of the traumatic events I'd been through. Isolation was the hardest thing I'd faced so far.

Slide 10: I eventually built up a genuine portfolio of experiments, canvases, and poetry, spanning a range of mediums. Each piece is created with intention, using my body as the vessel to my fractured heart and mind. I have never been more vulnerable and honest with my work and it holds significant personal value.

Slide 11: "Life is sometimes hard. Things go wrong, in life and in love and in business and in friendship and in health, and in all other ways that life can go wrong. And when things get tough, this is what you should do. Make good art." Neil Gaiman.

A favourite musician of mine, Chris Catalyst, built a song around this quote and concept, aptly named "Make Good Art." The song reinforces my personal beliefs of grafting in spite of, and alongside, trauma, and helped me through Tami's absence.

Slide 12: As part of this year's Professional Practice work, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge and insight into what it means to be a professional. I built a visual identity that was crucial to my online presence. A consistent use of a logo across my current platforms, using the visual themes of abstract, painterly elements, describes the work that I do in a minimalist, immediate yet easily identifiable way. The logo sits well within the context of Instagram and other online spaces. Keeping it simple is very powerful. It's easily transferrable across a range of digital and printed assets and represents me at this point in my emerging practice.

Slide 13: Giving strong consideration to online platforms, and where I exist, has also helped to contextualise my practice. I already have an instagram in operation, so I worked on a mock website. I do not wish to make it live at this time as it is not needed at this point in my practice. From the website research I undertook, I found it's best to keep things simple with a white background, and a few relevant links in the navigation bar. Too much imagery and information becomes visually confusing. I also researched into some of the available website hosts. Squarespace seemed to be most fitting in terms of ease of use with templates, features available, value for money, and accessibility.

I designed two pages. A portfolio and an "about me" section to explain my ethos and values through a mission statement. I kept the colour scheme simple to reflect the visual branding I worked on.

Slide 14: In terms of a portfolio, instagram serves me well at this stage in my emerging practice as an open space to showcase my canvases, magazine publications, poetry in the captions, and audio poetry in videos. It has all of the functionality in one place to combine image, video and audio, with accessibility options through alt text for each post.

Google Slides was the most appropriate and accessible way to combine multimedia - giving consideration to image and texture.

All of these formats incorporate the visual identity I created.

Slide 15: I took a lot of time to understand the Instagram platform better, as that it where I largely situate myself and share my work. I attended an "Instagram for Professionals" webinar to understand the algorithm and hashtags, how to create engaging high-quality content, as well as all of the features and functionality available for free. After the session, I had feedback on my Instagram page to see where I could improve, which is to start creating video content to achieve a bigger audience reach. The algorithm favours video.

I took the time to learn about my analytics through Insights, which allows me to better understand my audience, who they are, where they exist, and their age, how big my reach is and how many people are viewing my work within my own audience and beyond. I can immediately see which posts performed better and start to unpick why. All of this will better aid me to make decisions about my content, and when to post, to reach maximum visibility.

Slide 16: The various webinars I have attended this year, from various professionals and networks, have been vital to gaining skills, knowledge and understanding of social media, building a framework and schedule to engage an audience and reach more people, how to set up my own business on a small budget, implementing Search Engine Optimisation for maximum visibility through Google, self-advocacy and representation as an artist, and unpicking the various e-commerce stores available to me. It has also allowed the opportunity to begin networking online and sharing my social media links with others in a start-up position.

Speaking with graduates at the student symposium has helped to contextualise professional life after graduation, and Toni Thornton, in particular, imparted some very valuable knowledge of being a contemporary professional painter running her own team of employees and even protecting and trademarking her canvases.

Speaking with Ashley Bowersox gave me a better understanding of paining at a professional level and the range of brands and mediums available. Molly Fairhurst shared tips on professional life and how she implements visual assets to adhere to different audiences. Dr. Diana Basquez-Simpson, a professional Art Therapist, gave me a preview into her job, the qualifications needed, and shared an impactful case study to help me decide whether art therapy is an avenue I'd like to pursue.

Slide 17: The Freelancers Summer School, set across four evenings, was instrumental to opening my eyes to what freelancing life is really like and all of the elements to consider. Everything from building your own brand based on your values and skills, pitching an idea and winning clients, pricing your skills and services, VAT calculations and taxes, the invoicing process, practicalities and technicalities, and how many days to work per year to stay afloat, were all covered - plus much more. A lot of information was condensed into 8 hours. I had a very naive view before of freelancing but now have a better idea of what to do in the future, after my Masters degree is completed.

Slide 18: I researched thoroughly into two different Masters courses, available at institutions across the UK, and took time to consider what is best for me and my professional career - MA Fine Art or MA Art Therapy? I engaged with 'art as therapy' in my practice this year, understanding its benefits, and analysed the Art Therapy profession and the psychology behind it as part of my dissertation. It has become an area of great interest and it is always my desire to help other people.

I communicated with a professional Art Therapist, Dr. Diana Basquez-Simpson, in Denver, Colorado, to understand the work that she does and the qualifications she gained in order to do it. After looking into the courses available from the British Art Therapy Association PDF, there is no available funding for an Art Therapy Masters - though bursaries may be available. My experience as a carer for my mother would not count towards the amount of experience needed either. These challenges helped me make the decision towards an MA in Fine Art instead.

Pursuing a masters in Fine Art would help me to continue developing my practice. I've arrived at a different place than where I began on the course and I feel there is still much to learn. I only began to make my own canvases this summer and would like to experiment more with what a painting can be and how it can be achieved. Talking to David Steans, the course leader of the Masters course at Leeds Arts University, helped me understand the course better: giving me a module overview, detailing the requirements, and encouraging me that the course is mostly remote. I would develop specialist knowledge and skills in my area, in a more flexible capacity.

Slide 19: Sharing my story in various places across different contexts and lenses this year has given me the opportunity to educate, inspire and network as well as open up further opportunities. I hope it will be something I continue to do long after graduation. One thing I learned from the webinars I attended this year, is that people are attracted to people and their stories - the artist behind the art. This will be something I continue to be mindful of when using social media and developing my website further.

Slide 20: To finish and reflect, I am extremely proud of everything I've achieved this year at Level 6 - in Professional Practice and beyond. I have worked independently, every day, from April onwards since Tami came back home to salvage my degree and create a body of work that I'm very proud of. It has proved to me my resilience, my drive, and my determination to work and to achieve despite all of the difficult circumstances I have been through.

Working alone and in my own time greatly benefits me, my productivity, and my mental well-being which reinforces that freelancing is an entirely viable option in the near future - setting my own schedule and goals. I am able to plan my time accordingly, with accessible to-do lists, working in conjunction with healthy eating and meditation to create a sustainable and enjoyable life beyond sight.

I wanted to drop out so many times these past few years and I'm glad I kept pushing forward. No matter what happens and what grade I get, I did it all on my own and should feel a huge sense of pride.

What's next? I have a commission from the student accommodation I'm staying at to paint a canvas for the games room, which I will complete after my August 9th submission. I have a list of online events and webinars that I'm interested in attending over the next few weeks which will develop my skills in CVs and cover letters, networking, LinkedIn learning and pathways, and searching for jobs.

Over the next year I will continue caring for my mum, and using any free time to complete the building of my website, expanding my portfolio of paintings, and networking online and offline as the world goes back to normal.

I remember being asked in my interview for the illustration course how I would measure success and I was unsure how to answer at the time. Success is defined by our own definition and I think the goal posts have changed since the pandemic. Each day holds its own little successes and waking up in the morning, creating work and sharing with others is a success in itself. Overcoming trauma to complete a degree is also a huge success and something I will always be proud of for years to come.

Slide 21: "Art is longing. You never arrive, but you keep going in the hope that you will." Anselm Keifer.

[LAUIL602] Master List of Useful Links and Final Events

Here is a master list of resources and links I've amassed over the academic year:

• Inkwell Arts: inkwellarts.org.uk (space for creating work about mental health)

• Open Source Arts: https://opensourcearts.co.uk (practical action projects and creative dialogue to help people and projects move towards sustainable futures)

• Headingley Enterprise and Art Centre (HEART Center): https://www.heartcentre.org.uk (workshops, art centre and social space)

• Pick Me Up: https://zu-uk.com/project/pick-me-up-hold-me-tight/ (interactive encounters across Leeds with exhibitions, creative spaces and opportunities)

• COMpass Live Art Festival: https://compassliveart.org.uk (interactive encounters across Leeds)

• Crafts Council Events: https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/listings/all/ (national charity of craft with exhibitions, events, case studies, and a business skills and learning hub)

• VAA - Visual Artists Association: https://visual-artists.org (Offers memberships, events, online art cafe and opportunity for networking and exhibiting work through nationwide art fairs)

• Google My Business: https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/business/ (online hub and portal to track website and social media analytics, post updates abut business, connect with other business owners)

• Enterprise Nation: https://www.enterprisenation.com (expert advice and events with professionals. I have attended a number of their workshops this year)

• SuperCreativity Podcast: https://www.jamestaylor.me/the-new-supercreativity-podcast-show-291/ (I found this podcast show during my dissertation module while researching for podcasts on art therapy. It has lots of useful information for business start-up, creative strategies, inspiring stories, and insights from professionals)

• Yorkshire Social Enterprise: https://seyh.org.uk (representing, promoting, and connecting social enterprise across Yorkshire and the Humber)

• Arts Council England: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk (invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver high quality cultural experiences)

• JerwoodArts: https://jerwoodarts.org/opportunities/jerwood-photoworks-awards/ (opportunities, awards and bursaries)

• Funding - The Prince's Trust: https://www.princes-trust.org.uk (youth charity helping with getting work, going back into education, and starting up a business, with a variety of opportunities, support and events)

• Funding - Growth Hub: https://www.businessgrowthhub.com (supporting businesses at all stages of development offering one-to-one and peer-to-peer business support, events, specialist programmes, and funding)

• Funding - Greater Manchester Creative Scale-up programmes: https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/creative-scale-up-programme ("Creative Scale-Up is an exciting initiative designed to empower creative businesses in the Greater Manchester region to realise their full growth potential and gain investment to take their business to the next level")

• Recycled Materials - SCRAP (Scrap Creative Reuse Arts Project Ltd) SUNNY BANK MILLS, The Spinning Mill, Paradise St, Farsley, Leeds LS28 5UJ. 0113 345 2627.

• Recycled Materials - Seagulls on Kirkstall Road: https://seagullsreuse.org.uk (new and recycled paint even offering a delivery service. Also offer courses at their location throughout August in mosaic, glass cutting, ceiling and wall decorating, silversmithing, coppersmithing, furniture up cycling)

• Quality Paints - Golden Paints: https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_mattemed

• Canvas Materials - Jackson Art Supplies: https://www.jacksonsart.com (currently have canvas sale!)

• Canvas Materials - Atlantis Art Materials: https://www.atlantisart.co.uk/canvas-stretchers/

• Creative Industries Federation: https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com

• Funded Studio Spaces - Duke Studios: https://duke-studios.com

• Funded Studio Spaces - Patrick Studios / East Street Arts: https://www.eaststreetarts.org.uk/2021/01/27/patrick-studios/

Potential Networking Opportunities and Exhibition Opportunities:

• Fika North: https://www.fikanorth.co.uk (exhibit paintings in their cafe and I enjoy their values of being a small local company, bringing Swedish relaxation to the North of Headlingley)

• Colours May Vary: https://coloursmayvary.com (currently relocating their shop but exhibit and sell artist and illustrator's prints)

• Sunny Bank Mills: https://www.sunnybankmills.co.uk (art gallery and business space in Leeds)

• Yorkshire Sculpture Park: https://ysp.org.uk (events, opportunities, learning and support)

• Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen: https://www.belgravemusichall.com (sometimes do an Artist Residency)

• Brenda Magazine: https://www.brenda-mag.com (have recently reached out to me on Instagram to feature my work in their female-led art magazine)

Upcoming Events I'll be Attending:

• business.connected - Create Quality Videos to Promote Your Business: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/businessconnected-create-quality-videos-to-promote-your-business-tickets-154509575299?_cldee=a2IyNjEyMTVAc3R1ZGVudHMubGVlZHMtYXJ0LmFjLnVr&recipientid=lead-1e8acbf3bebdeb11bacc000d3ad6a6e5-fc8fa90f0a374d32a7caf85fb210f1b4&esid=a72596dd-2eea-eb11-bacb-00224841ebad Wednesday, 28th July 2021. 10:00 - 11:00

• Lunch and Learn with Enterprise Nation. Starting Up - The Legal Basics: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lunch-and-learn-starting-up-the-legal-basics-tickets-161610787215?_cldee=a2IyNjEyMTVAc3R1ZGVudHMubGVlZHMtYXJ0LmFjLnVr&recipientid=lead-1e8acbf3bebdeb11bacc000d3ad6a6e5-fc8fa90f0a374d32a7caf85fb210f1b4&esid=a72596dd-2eea-eb11-bacb-00224841ebad Thursday, 29th July 2021. 12:00 - 12:30 BST.

• InLeeds - Graduate Careers in Leeds: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inleeds-graduate-careers-in-leeds-tickets-163654381661 5 Sessions throughout Tuesday, 3rd August 2021. 11:00-18:00.

• Graduate Summer School - CVs and Cover Letters: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/svc/events.html#/user/event/3423 Wednesday, 11th August 2021. 14:00 - 15:00.

• Graduate Summer School - Networking Made Easy: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/svc/events.html#/user/event/3479 Tuesday, 17th August 2021. 12:00 - 13:00.

• Graduate Summer School - Be a STAR in Your Job Search: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/svc/events.html#/user/event/3467 Tuesday, 17th August, 2021. 17:00 - 19:00.

• Graduate Summer School - Creative Job Search: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/svc/events.html#/user/event/3425 Wednesday, 18th August, 2021. 14:00 - 15:00.

• Graduate Summer School - LinkedIn For Creatives: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/svc/events.html#/user/event/3477 Thursday, 19th August, 2021. 12:00 - 13:00.

• Summer School Pathways - Find and Land that Job: https://careers.leeds-art.ac.uk/student/pathways/preview-pathway.html?pathway=7 (ongoing and at anytime)

• 1-to-1 mentoring with Google through Enterprise Nation: https://www.enterprisenation.com/googlementoring/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=solus&utm_campaign=campaign_promotion&utm_content=leads2307&_cldee=a2IyNjEyMTVAc3R1ZGVudHMubGVlZHMtYXJ0LmFjLnVr&recipientid=lead-1e8acbf3bebdeb11bacc000d3ad6a6e5-015593f11a364357baa73a4966ebd6f3&esid=23c536c4-beeb-eb11-bacb-00224841e552 (ongoing and at any time)

Sunday, 25 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Observing My Instagram Analytics and Reflection

Insights into Shared Content (Stories and Posts):

Insights allow me to better understand how big my reach is and how many people are viewing my work within my audience and beyond. I can immediately see which posts did the best and start to unpick why.

My top 3 posts, that had the most reach, were paid promotions so that makes sense. On the back of that, people want to learn who the artist is so my selfies have done relatively well. I have learned that people want to learn about people. Who is the artist? Why are they making work the way they do? What informs them and their ideas?

Insights Overview:

With easy numbers against each other I am able to view my audience (1,143 followers with a +4.4% increase over the past month), the number of accounts I've reached and the interactions I've had this past month from 25th June to 25th July.

Audience Breakdown:

• Why is this any of this useful or relevant? I am active primarily on my Instagram account (@gleamedart) to share my work and create an audience. Analytics helps me to better understand my audience, who they are, where they exist, and their age. This will better aid me to make decisions about my content, when to post each time to reach maximum visibility based on the majority of my audience (6pm is the best time and when most of my engagement happens), who my products (when prints are available) are aimed at and where in the world they may end up. From my personal analytics I can see that women make up more of my audience than men do, with 41.4% being the age range between 25 and 34. They are most active at 6pm GMT and most of my audience is from the United Kingdom, Leeds specifically.

• What next? I will need to make a more bespoke instagram schedule of uploading work, at 6pm for maximum engagement. Some kind of shopping system, either through instagram, Etsy or a personal website, will allow me to sell my original work and prints after Graduation. Reels, live and IGTV will increase my visibility and can be something to consider, with sighted help, in the near future.

Saturday, 17 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Study Task 6: Portfolio

Mock Website (Not Live):

• Portfolio of 6 paintings created on my mock-website that isn't live, sitting within a professional context

Instagram:

• On my existing instagram (@gleamedart) I am able to present my finished / completed canvases and have the capacity to describe dimensions, title, materials, and thoughts and intentions. There is also an Alt Text feature that gives me the ability to describe extra details of the painting for screenreader users using Instagram such as myself. Accessibility is very important to me.

• I am also able to present magazine articles within this space, poetry and audio poetry in the caption and video functionality, and a myriad of works that aren't necessarily at a completion stage - more testable and experimental pieces - including less refined mono prints and oil pastel pieces, building up ideas.

• There's a versatility to instagram that allows me to collect everything I make, no matter the format, and document my artistic journey which I like as a portfolio space.

I talked with Amy about what is required for this task and what a/my portfolio could include.

My takeaways from this conversation are that:

• A physical portfolio is not required because of COVID-19 reasons (and isn't be required for the MA Fine Art course application where I wish to progress next. A reference from a creative practitioner and a written statement from myself are the components that are needed upon application).

• Students don't feel ready to host a fully functioning website at this time as they may feel it is not required at this stage in their practice. I am in the same thought process, still developing where I want to be so have constructed a mock-website and portfolio age for now highlighting how it could look for potential clients and customers.

Digital Portfolio on Google Slides:

• Google Slides seemed like the most accessible and appropriate way of housing my work together that I created this past year both inside and outside of university.

• Implementing visual identity.

• Combining elements of fully completed canvases showcasing texture, portraying my work in a publication context (In the Middle magazine), poetry, audio poetry collaboration, and more open-mode experiments of texture and pattern.

Overall Reflection:

In terms of a working portfolio, instagram serves me well at this stage in my emerging practice to an open space studio to showcase completed canvases, magazine publications, poetry in the captions, and audio poetry in videos. It has all of the functionality in one place to combine image, video and audio with accessibility through alt text for each post. I created a mock-website, that isn't live right now as it isn't relevant to my practice at this time, to show how my canvases could look in the context of a professional website. Google Slides was the most appropriate and accessible way to combine multidisciplinary and multimedia selected works from this past year - giving consideration to image and texture, professional photographs, poetry and video.

Reflecting on Molly Fairhurst's practice, she utilises her website for clients to present professional services, and uses Tumblr and instagram for more work-in-progress and behind the scenes photographs. I think there is a versatility in this approach that allows for potential space to grow while still considering and connecting with (existing) clients, customers and the audience to look through two different lenses. The professional lens of the website and the more casual lens of instagram.

Thursday, 15 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Summer School with Careers and Employability: Practicalities of Freelancing with Alison Grade

• "The world's most powerful graphics chip - imagination" Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang Theory. You can't bottle imagination. It has power to it.

• Alison Grade of the Freelance Bible. It's available in the library andI will definitely check it out as an eBook for accessibility purposes. It will help me greatly after Graduation.

• Mechanics of Freelancing: compliance piece. Insurance, legal and taxes. UK specific download. Download of mechanics: https://alisongrade.com/downloads in partnership with Coconut and IPSE. How the government gateway works.

• We are responsible for how whether have the right insurances. Public Liability. [Am I allowed on the premises and my freelance work? Is everyone insured?] Level of cover. Annual policy. Lot of cover for being in someone else's building. Main one to have if delivering services.

• Professional Indemnity. If Doctor, Accountant etc. insuring yourself in the millions and paying thousands a year. Worth looking at text side of things, text and files. IT can cover some policies, can cover corrupted files and those kind of problems.

• Equipment / Office Contents. If working from home, someday be covered under home policy. Is it covered to be out of the house? Laptop? if I'm doing editing / graphic design what happens if the computer gets stolen? How quickly will it get replaced? If you are a freelancer and that's your workforce you need a professional cover for a 24 hour replacement.

• Employers Liability. Cover us as an employer

• Personal insurance: Rainy day cover. Income protection covers. Reassurance that if you get sick you will still get paid.

• Motor Insurance: ensuring that the policy that you have is fit for you, driving to and from client meetings. If you are driving distances that you are not used to for meetings are you covered? Should you stay over at a hotel?

• Legal: Terms and conditions. End of the invoices I send, proposals I send as well. What happens when it all goes wrong. Not the same as the scope of work I do. Payment, late payment, boiler-plate T&C's. IPSE, Federation of small businesses etc. Legal documents as part of membership to support freelance community. When there is a problem, where to go.

• Careers and Employability of Leeds Arts University offered in the chat that they "do not offer legal advice but are able to signpost students, graduates, and alumni to the relevant people and organisations to talk to." They do, "however, offer general freelance advice."

• Intellectual Property: At what point do we want to invest in protecting our work, how to exploit it. Valuing work it through different revenue streams.

• NDA: Stops people talking about something in the public domain. Confidential information. Hard to test in court. Doesn't always offer a huge amount of protection. Understanding where the opportunites/implications are when signing one if a client is pitching and asks you to sign one.

• Health and Safety - understanding protocols when on-site to not put you or others in danger. Consider long hours, risks.

• Difference ways of being freelance within UK guidelines. Self-employed, invoicing for your services, freelancing space where you are paid through a company's pay roll. (TV workers whose job is through the pay roll determined through HMRC about which roll is payroll and which is self-employed). Operating as a limited company. Seeing yourself as freelance but it is has different rules around it.

• Unique Tax Payer Reference. 10 digit code on invoice. Register on the government gateway as self-employed. You don't have to register until you have earned £1,000. Once over that you DO need to register. They will expect you to do self-assessment. Doing your tax return. Financial year runs from April to April. Every year a new financial year starts.

• Accountants can help you understand how to navigate it and what you can off-set against, what can be off-set against business expenses, accountants can help with as many costs as possible.

• Tax and NI. Fintech Solution we have talked about before.

• Importance of record keeping. Up to 7 years

• Chargeable Expense

• We invoice for our services, if we have valid expenses along the way we can take those off along the way.

• Office supplies, office repairs, travel, clothing (uniforms for example), staff, things you buy to sell on - what you buy them. Financial. Business cards, advertising, website, training courses. Can all come off as chargeable expenses.

• How the Tax and National Insurance is calculated.

• Total turnover

• Only when we have our gross profit can we calculate our taxes. Reduce the tax liability. Advantage and incentive to us. Understand what we charge and keep record of it.

• Class 4 NI when we are self-employed.

• Net profit is the ready reckoner. Individual living expenses

• Like being an employee there are tax rates.

• The first £12, 570 0% tax

• NI: Class 2

• Accountant and tax returns will help with this but it's important to understand how it's calculated for own own peace of mind.

• You can be employed and self-employed at the same time.

• If self-employed and employed at the same time, only one lot of personal allowance per year so has to be claimed on one job.

• P60: what did you earn, tax, tax code and will calculate all of that. Personal allowance through the pay roll is usually more beneficial.

• Tax and National Insurance Rates 2021/22.

• How and when does it get paid? Paying your taxes. At July 15 2021 a freelancer is in a position to do their tax return at HMRC until 31st January 2022 deadline. At that point they will owe them a whole stack of cash: all the tax and NI of the very first year but they take payments on accounts, freelancers use money for all kinds of things so they want paying in accounts. They will ask for 50% assuming they have that money, 50% in January, and then 50% on year two following July. Based on estimates. Two payment on account every year.

• If you had a bad year, you need to ring them and let them know so they aren't 50% of payment that isn't there.

• Student Loans: the amount repayable will depend on your plan. Does your turnover go over the threshold?

• VAT. 2 way street. take proper financial advice.

• Expenses are chargeable.

• We may need to never do these numbers ourselves. Online tax return is relatively straightforward and helpful. HMRC are helpful. Accountant can help with this. Take ownership and understand it. Not there to catch you out but help you through.

• Always know your numbers.

• You have yo make 2 payments on account every year unless your last self assessment tax bill was less than £1,000 and/or you've already paid more than 80% of all the tax you owe.

• Each payment if half your previous year's tax bill. Payments are due by midnight on 31st January and 31st July.

• If you still have tax to pay after you've made your payments on account, you must make a 'balancing payment' by midnight on 31st January next year.

• 'Payments on account' are advance payments (50% of your estimated tax bill) towards the current year's tax bill.

• Payments on account do not include anything you owe for capital gains or student loans - you'll have to pay those in your 'balancing payment'.

• Student Loans: The amount repayable depends on your plan. For 'annual salary' read total income for the year. Does total income go over annual salary threshold? E.g. Plan 2 loans start paying back when total income > £26,575 at 9%

Calculated as (Annual income - threshold) x 9% = Total payable

For example:

(£30,000 - 326,575) x 9% = £308.25 for the year

• VAT: Current VAT rate 20%. Threshold £85,000 turnover. Can register voluntarily. Flat rate scheme for small businesses (<£150k)

• Getting started with Clients

• Overwhelm. Control the controllable

• Take time to plan. Break down big tasks. To-do lists, project planning, breaking down in parts. Achievable goals to deal with client work in the right order.

• Write lists - look ahead.

• Prioritise.

• Set yourself achievable goals

• Finding some touch points where you can put something down. Productisation.

• How much is going to cost? What to send? Productisation helps.

• Bronze, silver and gold offering. A gold offering - the luxury of time, staff members, social media links, in the package.

• Can be hard to read the client. Gets us into the project to develop a bespoke proposal. How many straw men you can put into the meeting.

• Your Proposal. Agrees a framework between you and your client.

• Details project and lines of communication.

• Pricing should reflect ALL costs of project for example admin time, specialist equipment.

that has a value and proc/ Reflecting that in pricing.

• Offer discounting as a strategy. Not much of a real discount. Is there a price point where we still make a fair amount but it's a good way in the win the client. Special introductory offer. We still make the money we want to make. They buy into us. We are not losing money at the beginning.

• Can refer back if project creep appears. "What we actually agreed to was..." Blueprint to come back to and everyone has signed up to it.

• Clients don't like nasty surprises. Extra work. Extra pricing. Don't allow for that kind of shock

• SMART targets: Targets in proposals

• Specifics: what work is being undertaken.

• Measurable Days, measurable outcomes

• Key targets and touch-points, review progress. Monthly check in call, daily, or more than that. Understanding that workload.

• Realistic about what you can achieve. You are a freelancer not a superhero. Time. in everything you do, add a little bit extra as you don't know what will crop up.

• Timebound: Timeframes. Outline schedule what will happen when.

• Your proposal outlines: What you plan to do for your client, your deliverables, your credibility to deliver the work, Could be shown to other people in the company. Why it's important, why you are the right person to do it. Your fees for the work, the time period to complete the work. Has a validity period for quote / proposal. "This quote is valid for 30 days" "That was the price 6 months ago, the price now is this..."

• Check everything! Check the numbers. Does it add up? Look at it in its entirety.

• Starting the work: How will the client confirm the work?

• Payment schedule. Within your rights to do so.

• Who and where to invoice.

• Payment terms. When it is appropriate to chase.

• Kick off setting with client. Signed off proposal, meeting up to confirm how you want to work together.

• At what point do you start working? No hard and fast rule with it but ask if the client has the authority to be asking for this work. Read this situation, being aware that if you don't have all the paperwork set up. things can go wrong.

• Beware project creep.

• The scope of what you are doing in the proposal is what you do. be mindful If they're using it for anything else, that want part of the agreement. It's fine but charge for it. more days. Bit extra.

• Just be mindful

• Delivering piece of work for client - on a promise. Commit. Expertises to do that product. Buying our services for a need and we fulfil that ned. Build on that and enable long term relationships.

• Clear communications: check in with the client at the start

• How do they like the comms to take place? How often? How formal? You can align your operations to deliver for them.

• Reassures the client that you are putting them first. Gives you valuable intelligence.

• Dealing with challenges: don't flap and panic, consider options, refer them up at the appropriate time, consider the best mode of communication.

• Problems come up all the time. that are unforeseen. How do I solve and what is the best way to refer to my client? Extra camera not in the budget. Is email or text or WhatsApp appropriate? What kind of relationship do we have? "Something has come up, can we have a chat? Someone has dropped a camera and we need a new one." Telling client what the issue is and making them aware. Have that communication. Phone call usually. Inquest how do we deal with this and prevent it from happening again.

• Managing Expectations: set realistic time frames, use SMART targets, trust, and know the boundaries and what you can and will do. Healthy respect for deadlines.

• Doing the Work: measure your time. We are losing days where we could be winning business or doing their work.

• During a project keep track of the hours put in.

• Project reflection exercise: make sure not to repeat same mistakes with next client. Next time I can scope project based on experience.

• Finish the job which includes handing in the paperwork. Many freelancers forget to hand in the paperwork. They could be wonderful freelancers but this makes them hard to work with. The paperwork is just as important!

• Temptation of overdelivering. You've won the client, done/doing the work, and now thinking "lets do loads and they'll love me!" Sending 30 pages of research instead of the proposed 3: Can go two ways - you've added extra workload and time to your clients schedule to read these extra pages of research and they are NOT happy. This was not part of the agreement. On the other hand: they could have loved the 30 pages and want it again for the same price - the price of 3 pages of work.

• When writing proposals, think of selling while delivering. "There's 3 pages here but potentially 27 cracking ones behind it." We could be overcomplicating someone's life whilst undervaluing ourself.

• Concluding the work: Have you done everything required and outlined in the proposal? Invoice promptly. Ask for feedback. Ask for a testimonial.

• What direction do I want to go in? Being the finance director, the CEO of your career.

• See how it all fits together with the stool

• Really focusing on 'why me'? Finding clients who will value that and based on the skills I have.

• Spinning the plates of your freelancing career - Take note of all the different projects you're working on, which projects are potentially in the pipeline, which projects take priority.

The floor was opened up for concluding conversation among all attendees to share our thoughts, feelings and share resources.

Possible resorurces for help with developing freelancers and businesses:

- The Prince's Trust

- Arts Council

- Local Support and activities

- Greater Manchester - Creative scale up programmes

- Growth Hub for local funding and support

- In leeds there is a local LET, Yorkshire combined authority, depends on your criteria if there is a pot available

- Contacting local places for off-cuts of materials

• STEM

• Sustainability

• Funded Studio Spaces specifically for alumni. Depends on what you are doing. (Duke Studios and Patrick Studios)

• Yorkshire Social Enterprise

• As alumni we are supported up to 5 years and can drop in on events like this at any time. We can always get in touch for one to one sessions and support. https://www.leeds-art.ac.uk/study/after-graduation/funded-studio-spaces/

• SCRAP in Leeds. People take their canvas, paints and ribbon, apparently for free, to recycle and upcycle? Recycled paint.

• Seagulls on Kirkstall Road students and artists tend to go for free or low-cost paint.

Reflection:

This session has been one of the most valuable yet! I got to really unpick the mechanics of freelancing, delivering for clients, what the problem with overdelivering is and how we can be taken advantage of, managing the process of client work and why feedback is important - to drive future projects. I feel much more structured about what want to do and how to get there. What stage do I want to achieve my goals? Reaching out to people in network for opportunities, taking time for my value. Initial reactions with freelancing, coffees and conversations and start to grow my network. What are my priorities? Why are clients buying from me?

Reflecting on the summer School "How be a Great Freelancer" Sessions as a whole:

• Initially, I had an idea of what freelancing was like but after looking at the nitty-gritty of it, it isn't really like that at all. There are a lot of aspects to think about and you are really managing every single aspect of your career from the amount you are paid, to the way you are paid, to your pension.

• I have a much clearer understanding of the mathematics-side of it (the taxes, the vat, etc.)

• Lots of detail, lots to unpick which will take some time to do. it has given me a direction to head in after direction where I will refer back to these webinars.

• Many aspects I would never have considered. Lots of instances of case studies and sharing of experiences to better understand the context.

• I will need to have lived experience to implements some of these things.

• Collecting my assets: which assets do I need to have? What will boost MY visibility?

• Registering on different databases for different projects is absolutely fine

• Clear parameters to use it. Structured. Can be hard to achieve. It has been useful structures to have in place depending on business.

• It has certainly guided my thinking and the beginnings of my journey

• I had lots of questions initially and these workshops answered those

Wednesday, 14 July 2021

[LAUIL602] Summer School with Careers & Employability: Winning New Clients

• Session 3: How to be a Successful Freelancer - Winning New Clients

• We looked at the 'skills leg' on the stool on one day 1, the 'finances leg' of the stool yesterday and today we will be looking at the 'marketing leg' on the stool.

• Freelancing is much more on the map than it ever was. For example, a commercial made by Fiverr (a company where you can find the perfect freelance services for your business) was played during the Super Bowl this year. It is a huge deal and a big event who has secured an advertising spot and a big part of the audience look forward to the ad breaks as they are specially tailored to the event with celebrity cameos, appropriate current affairs, feel-good moments, and a lot of humour. Fiverr took a spot, and if a company like that is doing a huge commercial then freelancing is certainly on the map. Fiverr is low cost, commodity, with a whole spectrum of freelancing. Just like on the high street we have a range of stores. Fiverr is on one end, high end specialist skills on the other. It's a big game changer for freelancers. Good production values into it, humour, making fun of the misdirection of Trump booking to do a conference at the Four Seasons hotel but ending up at a gardening centre instead.

• Customer Focused Thinking

• Why do companies hire freelancers? Why is this client hiring me? Specialist skills or am I adding capacity? I will tell a different stories depending on which angle it is.

• Specialist skills: take them on quite journey to tell them what I do. They probably don't have someone in-house doing what I do. Sell them the high-end work I do. They won't understand that. Take that client on the journey to help them understand.

• Alison shares an experience of where she made video content 14-15 years ago before the social media explosion of video. Companies were trying to know how video could impact their business. "A day in the life of your company is very boring. People-stories and the narrative are more impactful. Filming techniques." Specialist skills but meeting at the point of knowledge for the client.

• If we are coming in to add capacity for a client they are going to want to know if we can deliver, technicalities of our job, they will know about our area and will be testing our knowledge on it.

• Consider what journey do I need to take the client on when talking to a client and pitching?

• Why me? Think of those different ways we can add value. Are we fulfilling a need, increasing sales, developing new opportunities for the client, saving money on the bottom line. Questions we are asking ourselves.

• Articulating "brand me". Where are the places where we can put our messages? What are my marketing assets? Where will we get the message out?

• What things can I create? Email is some kind of marketing, (you could have mail chimp, ERM, etc). Email is gentle bits of marketing. "I saw you did this piece of work, this project is great, congratulations on getting this job!" Don't underestimate the power of an email and reconnecting.

• CV. Not all sectors require this. Biography, a bit abut yourself - can be on your website. • Portfolio: think about what the 2 or 3 pieces the client I'm pitching to will resonate with most. Instead of a chronological view of work/progress, show powerful pieces to showcase skills with a few backup options. Same with showreels. Proposals. Presentations. Website. With the website particularly, at what point will people visit your site and on google how will they find out bout you through another route? What is the messaging your website is going to have? It's is unlikely to be found through that first google search.

• It will be networking and sector databases that people find your site. A database is a group of people who work in the same industry, crew databases fo example, national database and local database (you can be on one or both). If someone is filming in a certain location and they need someone, you will come up on that list. Local database and communities; local businesses and services, councils. Where can I put my details?

• To put on the database: All my contact details, my services, company, and that I'm freelancing. That database can be the first point that someone comes across you. As much as they are really boring, you don't want someone to scroll past. Engaging information that puts you in a good light allowing someone to then go to your website.

• So far we've discussed the website, instagram, portfolio, showreel, bio, start up, reviews and testimonials, business cards.

• What will help me get work and new client? With sector databases, try to keep track of which ones you have registered on and update them regularly.

• Social media great way of building awareness. So many different social media sites.

• Going to events, online or in real life. Selling yourself. Talking to people. Being active in chat. Being on camera. You are your best marketing asset. You are selling YOU.

• LinkedIn is great CV platform.

• Wordpress is great for websites.

• What do your potential customers look like? Can you visualise the sort of people you want to be working with? Who are the customers? Where are they? What value do you offer them? When do they want our services? An events company will want media lining up with an event for example. Where in the client cycle do our services come in? Is it a seasonal thing? When is a good time to pitch to clients? Crucially want to if they are the decision maker? We won't sell that day if they don't make the sale. That person can influence the sale so tell them a different story. To influence the decision maker to buy our services. How our services can make the influencer look great in the company etc. Where we add value will be important for that influencer.

• Who are these customers. What kind of company? Local, international, sectors?

• What does a good customer look like to us? Can be someone who pays a good price, gives interesting work, allows flexibility. Are they nice to work with? Organised? Pay on time? Are there any red lines? Can start to rate our customers. If demand becomes high, we want to put our prices up, decide who we start shedding.

• Example: Animator wants to work for Pixar. They have identified what the client looks like. The next steps: He needed to update his portfolio, polish the style, the content, the quality. Needed to network on social media to the right people in the right circles.

• I have a few musicians engaging with my paintings. Always a sense of engaging publicly or in a DM, "have you ever thought of having someone develop an abstract record cover for you?" Plant those seeds. Be brave, ask. Socialise.

• Competition. Direct competition and indirect competition.

• Example of Allison's experience setting up and working at a female training school for riding motorbikes. A man on the same road, doing a similar business, tried to scare her off his patch. Alison was selling the dream of the open road, akin to Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. She was building competition with her clients' disposable income. Uptake in opportunity in a male dominated field. The female clients, 9/10 have never rode a motorbike before and need patience. Pacing of each school was different. Focus on indirect competition paid off much more than the perceived competition of the man and his school and his students and his audience were far different. Tapping into a different audience. Alison held her ground with this man and was not deterred, because she knew her audience was not the same. Men were not going to come to her school where the pace was slower and her clients were not going to go to his where the pace was quicker.

• Can our competitors be our collaborators? Are they our competitors? Winning bigger clients together. Reassurance and resilience.

• Where is are our competition? It has hanged this past year. Globalisation of opportunity. Covid has shown us things can exist entirely online. No longer a need for face-to-face meetings. "Me and my secret sauce" and what I can add to clients. Anyone can be anywhere. But anyone anywhere can squat on my turf equally. Work with people all over the place. Who are the ideal customers? Don't all have to be local necessarily. How much has to be face to face, if at all?

• Strategies for finding clients: Push: pushing our message out there but getting customers to come to us. How we can add value? Pull them towards us.

• Case Study: The Freelancing Bible front cover - Alison Grade's book needed a cover design and lettering. @Letterjack on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/letterjack/) Brazilian calligrapher, lettering artist and educator Jackson Alves. His social media is clear, concise, and consistent. Pengiun wanted a freelancer to match with the values of a book on freelancing. Penguin didn't know who they waned but searched through hashtags on instagram and found him. Jackson had never designed a book cover before but was keen to try. Through his clear and concise portfolio they could see he could deliver through lettering.

• ALTR model. The role that social media can play and the role we need to play. Awareness Liking Trial and Repeat. a customer can't buy from us until they know about us, like us, and return to us.

• Example customers on a graph. 50% awareness, 40% like, only 10% are trialing/buying but those same 10% are coming back and repeating purchases.

• Need to shift from 'liking' to 'trialing'. How do we get them in front of us? That's what will transform things. How can you build on that and go from there.

• Awareness to Liking: Building a Social Media presence. We know "why me", we know how we add value. Is it through the use of a blog and regular blog posts/ engagement, is it video, pictures? Ads? What is the right platform for you?

• Which platforms? We have touched on LinkedIn which is great for building up a picturee of your employment in a digital CV style and connecting with people. Profile up there really neatly. Groups can be spammy. Great place to connect and address book. Depending on your sector it can help you but increasingly having a presence can help. Connections builds credibility. More connections the better. Consider joining Dots which is like a creative's LinkedIn.

• Instagram: make good use of hashtags to increase credibility (I've done separate webinar on Instagram for professionals and had feedback on my profile!)

• Twitter. Key people in your sector and in your area. On the ground. Different sectors.

• Film and TV industry is on Facebook and Facebook groups. For my consideration: Is there an abstract painters' Facebook group? Galleries? Lots of connections in there perhaps to tell my story to, share my instagram/website with...

• Local groups can be invaluable. Shoutouts etc. Doesn't mean you need to post in all of them. Worth being in those groups for opportunities.

• TikTok, Discord, Artfol.

• Freelance platforms (lower-cost work) such as aforementioned Fiverr, Upwork, Freelance.com

• Freelance platforms with higher-end work: Freelancer Club, the Dots, Underpinned.

• Why freelancing is like dating. First impressions count. Need to believe you bring utility. You need to believe in yourself and own the room. Seeking long term relationship; in freelance it is valuable to start new projects and know how we work. Need to share values. Courtship is important. Get to know someone. Start low key and build, don't whisk away immediately as you will tend to fall out the other side.

• Be someone you want to spend time with. If you aren't good company, you are likely to get the work to start with but you need to be a nice person to keep clients returning to you for more work and referrals. Good conversation, pleasure going onto those zoom calls.

• There is something called Dunbar's number which is 150. We all have about 150 people in our personal network, if we met each other out of context, we can happily sit down in a cafe for a coffee and casually chat.

• "Finding clients to date." Who is in your network? Who are those 150 people? Identify them.

• What role can these people play in our network. Sponsors talking about me when I'm not in the room. Letting people know i'm a freelancer.

• Mentors, people ahead of us in their career, help with advice, opportunities, refer other work that isn't up their street.

• Introducers. Can't offer me work directly but have people in their own networks who I can talk to and might be interested in working with me. You'll get those first meetings through the introducers, That is how we grow and build our networks. Who are the people in our network, how do I reach out. How can I get those introductions?

• If you make a document of people's names and contact details o start building your network digitally, data protect it.

• A winning email should take 15 seconds to read and win 15 minutes of their time. Don't ask a lot of involved questions. No "War and Peace" or a Dissertation. Weeks will go by with no response, there will be so much in it to unlock that not everyone will have the time to reply. Short email for quick response.

• Opener: A polite hello

• Hook line: Outline the problem / need you perceive the customer to have

• Premise: I am the best at solving your problem / need because...

• Proof: Talk to this 3rd party they'll collaborate

• if you are being introduced in your network, so and so recommended that we talk, someone in common, how about we have a call on this date? Winning email to win first date. All about growing and building your network.

• You may think someone doesn't want your services but they will know people who do!

• Prepare for the call. Research the person: their projects, clients, people you have in common. How you can solve their problem. Ask yourself 'why me?' How can you talk their language?

• The first date with a client: Have your pitch ready. Listen. Like any date, we need to listen to the other person. What is missing? What do they think they need to solve their problem? If we are offering specialist services they may have a different idea of using our skills to solve their problem. You are building a relationship for the future. Be someone they want to work with. Juggling between pitching, listening, smiling, recognising buying signals. and knowing when to stop selling and moving to that buying phase.

• Conclude with meeting the actions. If we are going in to add capacity we need to conclude. You want to drive that forward;

• If we come up with a clear blueprint: a plan of action. pulling plan together, a point of reference of how we work together. a plan of working up to speed. Concluding he meeting, we won't get paid for this meeting but it can be used to drive the relationship forward.

• The second date: time to sell them a little thing. First qualify the client. They need your services, they have a budget for your services, they want your services now. So I'll do that for £xx. There will be three possible answers - yes, no or maybe. Decipher why "no" or "maybe". You thought you were going to get a yes from the successful all and first date so where is the hesitation coming from? Is it the budget? is it the timing?

• Developing further opportunities with existing clients: clear communications. managing expectations, measure your time, finish your job, invoice promptly, temptation of over delivering and managing that, selling whilst delivering through phases and asking for feedback. Structured way of feedback can strengthen relationships and opportunities. 3 stars and a wish - what could have gone better. Improving the wish and see opportunities within.

• The "Buzz Lightyear" mindset. Customer at the centre at what we do. Longterm relationship rather than just getting the job done in the timeframe.

• Knowing how you work, working well together, and keeping that good relationship. Can you do this, that, these opportunities? Coming back for more. Great freelancers starts with why me, value, unpick how do I find those clients that value me. Based on skills.

• 3 skillsets securing the 3 legs of the stool.

• Great freelancers understand - Why me? What do I do? How do I find clients who value me?

Reflection:

This has got me thinking in a more customer focused why and though that lens, and how I can start to think of my clients, what they look like, where they exist, and how I can use my existing network to get sponsors, mentors, and introducers for work. I would also like to network with and message Alison regarding my future website and social media content. Videos will be a part of that but I don’t have the level of sight to do that myself. I would like to know anyone that she may know as she comes from a professional filming background. I have a story to tell that would be more impactful through reels or IGTV or a video format on a website and this session has got me thinking more about the "assets."

I had never thought about securing clients in such a structured way before through multiple "dates" or meetings but it makes sense to keep ongoing communication and to section out the wants and needs. Building up a network to develop work and opportunities is going to be very important and looking at friends and family is a vital starting point. Who do they know and what opportunities can come from that? I never considered that before either but there is value in starting small and building from there.