indie business club

This is one of those incredibly serious episodes where we tackle the big issues facing society and the world at large. Which is why Mel brings up what she’ll eat now that her local kebab shop has closed. Alongside that meaty (of dubious sources) topic, we chat about: - the podcast guest Phill almost cancelled- how Mel was challenged to a LinkedIn joust - Phill’s controversial plan to grow this show- the infamous saw manand public shaming (what more could you want!) Sadly, Mel has informed me that listener numbers have dropped since I started co-hosting, so please, please, please listen, or she’ll boot me off for an AI clone. Oh, and how many triangles can you see in the indie business club logo? And how many corners? 🤔Cheers,Phill (& Mel)And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and AudibleP.S. 🖕 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

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).Today’s 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 aboutif Phill can plank for longer than 30 secondsa trip to psychology cornerplus a special end of year announcement…For those choosing to watch the video, I sincerely apologise about my sweaty pits.Mel’s hereI’m hereAnt’s hereCheers,PhillAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible 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

Well, looky here. Phill’s been given the keys to the Substack! HA! Look here’s Mel’s diary. Today we’re covering the meaty topic of working from home, where doctors literally get to wear no scrubs. Tune in to hear us discuss:farting-from-homeare co-working spaces worth it?body-doubling, what it is and if it makes us more productiveproductivity apps that we actually useanother book recommendationAnd find out whether Mel can spell floccinaucinihilipilification correctly. Mel didn’t 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 up’s here. Mel’s hereI’m hereAnt’s hereCheers,PhillAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible 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

We’re doing a double-header today to celebrate the Agnew Era of indie business club, with an episode on taking time off. So if you’re thinking “Mel, you JUST emailed me”, it’s 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. It’s become apparent that our episode themes will be loosely observed, because we have a tendency to take detours and get distracted. Here’s some of what we covered…the time(s) Phill lied to everyonewhen Phill made friends with Matt Hancockmy obsession with work jollies - I’m on one as I type, actuallythe benefits of holicisework life balance (lolz)And there’s some useful stuff in there about how to manage your workload too. Oh, and Phill wants to know if you like him. He’s a middle child, like me. So expect us to be needy, squared.I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s hereDo you like Phill? Do you?ByeeeeeeeeeMel 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

Listener, what do you reckon? Should I let Phill stay?This episode is named after the Razorlight song Back To The Start - we’re 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 “Nah. Employment’s not for me.”We cover…how Phill started out in marketing (he’s a PROPER marketer)why I’m unemployable at this pointa trauma dump-slash-rant about crummy leadershiphow Phill built up his podcast Nudge to be the UK’s #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 he’s going to get from you. Please prove me wrong and tell us what you like (or don’t) about the new ibc duo. And whether Phill should pass his probationary period.You can email [email protected] or even better do a LinkedIn post about it so we get some sweet, sweet reach 👌I’m herePhill’s hereAnt’s hereByeeeeeeeeeMelAnd listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible 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

Make sure we’re friends on LinkedIn - I’m 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 “personal brand”. 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 🥰 We’ve been talking about a crossover episode ever since and we finally did it. At Candour’s 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.It’s a long and winding conversation, partly because we enjoyed nerding out so much, partly because we recorded on a Friday afternoon, and partly because that’s 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 Oakley’s new podcast btw).Listen wherever you cast your pods. Or watch us on YouTube 👇Byeeeeeee,MelFind my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey (except not this time) Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.Listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and AudibleCatch up on other recent episodes 👇 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

We get quite personal in this episode, so skip through from about 11minutes to about 13minutes in if you’d 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) he’s a legend and b) I knew he had a great squiggly story about how he got into marketing. We talked about…how a chance situation made John want to be an architectthe chance situations that meant he dodged being onewhen “fails” lead to something bettertraits and behaviours of lucky peoplehow Hat and Bins became John’s distinctive brand assets (or… diSTINKtive chortle chortle)the, at times, lifesaving beauty of internet friends…and we lament the loss of #MarketingTwitter (I miss you, pals).I need your helpSomeone’s given the podcast ONE MEASLY STAR on apple and spotify and it must be personal 💅 because the jingle is worth two stars alone. If you’ve ever enjoyed a smidge of an episode please give the pod a 5-star review to drown out my solitary hater 🙏Here it is on SpotifyHere it is on Apple PodcastsAbout my co-hostHere, have John’s bio from his website because I’m 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.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 It’s Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients. You can find him on LinkedIn too. He’s got some freebie publications on his website including the B2B Growth Companion mentioned in the episode. TracklistThis 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.I’m stood here naked, smiling, I feel no disgraceWith who I amByeeeeeee, Mel Find my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey Ant Henderson on LinkedIn. And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods…🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music / TrueFans and Audible 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

LinkedIn has reintroduced its video feed tab. Unfortunately, it all seems to be Stephen Bartlett, “shark tank”, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Bleugh. And more recently, lots of film clips with slowed-down atmospheric music over the top 🙄So, it’s up to us to populate the feed with better videos. A moral duty, really…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 about…how to get over yourself and get serious about using videowhy you’ve got everything you need in the palm of your handhow getting organised is half the battlethe place for scrappy vids versus polished editshow we’re no longer in the knowledge era, we’re in the experience era…and of course, Jonny’s top tips for planning and recording your videos.We’ve also got Will’s 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 it’s all too easy to be overly perfectionist and talk yourself out of it. So he’s 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. Don’t just give up after a couple of vids. You’ll 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 can’t 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 I’ll try it some time. But I do find it hard to pay people for stuff I could do an okay job of myself. It’s a character flaw, truly.Jonny’s 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 you’ve 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 don’t always over-script yourself.About my co-hostJonny 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 you’re thinking “hmm this all sounds familiar” this is Jonny’s second time on the podcast, kind of. Because he provided a very helpful voicenote in episode 31, Moving Pictures.TracklistThis 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 - I’m at the East Anglian Marketing Awards in Norwich. I judged the freelancer category and I can’t wait to celebrate with all the finalists.17th September - I’m 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, who’s on the panel).15th October - I’m speaking at Cowork Crew Northampton about how to be lucky. It’s £30 for a day of coworking and cake with some of the loveliest humans you’ll ever meet.5th-6th November - I’m 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. We’re running a mini workshop on how to write uncrappy captions.13th November - I’m 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 there’s tonnes of other tickets start at £85 for digital, £135 in-person.Future plansYou might have noticed (or worse, not noticed) I haven’t posted a new episode in a while. It’s 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 we’re going to see how it goes. Guess who it is?And ICYMI Bill Gates has a lot to say about AI. Would’ve been nice if he’d had his epiphany before forcing Copilot on everyone.Byeeeeeee,MelFind my producer, theme composer and scissormonkey Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible 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

This episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience at You Are The Media’s 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. I’m joined by a coupla LinkedIn legend Dave Harland and Lea Turner. Accidentally done two Lea episodes in a row because I’m a little behind in releasing recordings, but she’s worth it 😏 This is (somehow?!) the first episode with Dave despite him being mentioned in approx 87% of eps. We talked about all sorts including…how LinkedIn has changed since Lea and Dave first started outwhat seems to work nowwhere the line is between sharing your personality without getting too personalwhether LinkedIn premium is worth ithow to navigate the feedtips for young people at the start of their career (spoiler: don’t use AI for your posts)the effectiveness (or lack of…) of company pagesthe best people we’ve connected with on LinkedInhow writing helps you find your voicethe benefits of trying to be interested instead of interestingAbout 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 on LinkedIn and find out more about how to become a HoLTie right here. Dave Harland aka The Wordman is a copywriter, event speaker and all-round good egg. He’s my biz partner at Copy Or Die - to can get us in fill in our briefing form 😉 and get Dave’s emails here. He’s also working on his course on how to Write The Funny - get on the waitlist.TracklistThis episode is named after the first track on The Kooks’ Inside In / Inside Out album which came out (brace yourself) 20 years ago. “D’ya want to go to the seasiiide” next year? Creator Day returns on Thursday 6th May 2027. Get yourself on the guestlist. GuestingAfter 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 Rachel’s 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. Byeeeeeee, Mel Find my producer, theme composer and MUSE fan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn. And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible 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

This episode is about the pros and cons of being (in my case, very mildly) famous in your industryI’m joined by LinkedIn legend, founder of The HoLT, and all-round wonderful human Lea Turner.Lea knows a thing or two about being famous - she’s built a following of over 208k followers across LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.In the episode we talk about…- how Lea built her huge following- what’s changed since she started posting on LinkedIn- why fame is a luck multiplier- how to get “more famous” in your industry- why being famous isn’t all sunshine and lollipopsI invited Lea onto the podcast because sometimes I walk into a room and a couple of people know who I am, but I don’t know who they are. For Lea, it’s like that times a hundred. This balance of “power” 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 “personal brand”.I hope you enjoy listening in on our candid conversation.About my co-host - Lea TurnerLea 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.TracklistThis episode is named after the Lady Gaga album Fame Monster, with notable tracks Paparrazi, Money Honey and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich 😎GuestingAfter 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 ol’ chat with Lucy getting all passionate about word stuff. Listen right here :) Excuses, excusesI 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 here’s my highlight reel from Dave Harland’s talk.When Ben left the podcast, I was determined to keep up putting episodes out every two to three weeks. But a heaptonne’s changed since then. Before, I was working with my three retainer clients (Copy Or Die, The Marketing Meetup, Bignose & Beardy).Now, I’m 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 I’m now full time as Dave’s Managing Partner and Brand Voice Lead. Which is a blimmin dream - he’s brilliant to work with and we have a lot of fun. Most importantly, our clients are happy bunnies. We’ve been nagged/advised by friend of the show (and next time’s guest) Jonny Rose on how to use video to better demo what we do. So expect some absolute cringe attempts as we “build in public” *gulp*.Byeeeeeee,Mel PS: This was a long episode, so Will’s Bookshelf gets a break this time.Find my producer, theme composer and man with a plan Ant Henderson on LinkedIn.And listen to indie business club wherever you cast your pods.🎙️ Spotify / Apple podcasts / Amazon Music and Audible 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