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Friends With Business Benefits
Charlie Swift & Franky Shanahan: Creative business owners
Hello, we are Charlie and Franky, two self-employed business owners living in Bristol in the south-west of England. Friends With Business Benefits is a podcast for creatives who crave connection, understanding and support. Franky runs a copywriting business called Love Audrey, helping brands and creative businesses find their voice and tell their story online. As a business mentor, Charlie helps clients find clarity and confidence in their creative work. We are friends with benefits…business benefits. For the last 18 months, we’ve been meeting for regular co-mentoring sessions. Working for yourself can be lonely at times, but through our monthly meetups we’ve found the support and accountability we were craving in our working lives. Through our podcast, we hope to continue these conversations, share what we’re learning and also learn from you, our listeners.
- 35 minutes 15 seconds122. The Power of Play
This week, we’re chatting about the power of play and what happens when you choose to prioritise and embrace it.
Franky describes the transformative journey she’s been on this year after choosing ‘play’ as her guiding word. We discuss the impact it’s had on her mindset, her business and her life outside work. Charlie also shares what play has looked like for her over the last 12 months, and we both share tips to help you embrace all things playful in 2025.
Links and Further Reading
@artgurl on Instagram making “bad art”
Join the conversation on Substack to tell us how you feel about play and doing things ‘just for fun’ alongside running a creative business. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Connect With Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe12 December 2024, 12:00 am - 48 minutes 10 seconds120. Is AI Coming For Our Jobs?
This week we’re tackling a huge topic - the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the small business world as a whole and on us as individuals.
Charlie talks about using AI as a collaborative tool, highlighting some of the benefits, while Franky is very honest about how she thinks ChatGPT is already affecting her bottom line. We dive into some of the ethical issues surrounding AI and contemplate a future where more and more of the content we consume is created by robots.
Links and Further Reading
Yuval Noah Harari on How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
Join the conversation on Substack where you can share your thoughts on AI and tell us about your own experiences using (or avoiding) ChatGPT. We’d love to hear from you!
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Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe28 November 2024, 9:49 am - 48 minutes 38 seconds119. Email Marketing Deep Dive
This week, we’re chatting all things email marketing.
To kick things off, Franky shares a personal dilemma about whether or not she should move her mailing list away from Mailchimp and/or start a Substack. As well as covering the pros and cons of various email marketing platforms, we also discuss strategy, consistency, outsourcing and AI, what we write about and how we come up with ideas.
Links and Further Reading:
What Makes a Good Email Lead Magnet?
Are You Going to Start a Substack?
How Are We Showing Up On Substack This Year
Flodesk (affiliate link)
Join the conversation on Substack where you can share your thoughts on this episode and tell us about your own email marketing in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!
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Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe8 November 2024, 9:29 am - 18 minutes 57 seconds118. The Cosy Episode
As we head into the darker, colder months of the year, we’re how we embrace and survive the autumn/winter season. Whether you love this time of year or not, there’s something in this mini-episode for everyone.
Charlie describes some of her favourite seasonal rituals and Franky raves about her beloved thermal leggings. From making our homes feel cosy to working from home when it’s cold, we share tips and advice to help you get the most out of this time of year.
Links and Further Reading:
The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater
Wintering by Katherine May
Join us on Substack where you can share any reflections on the episode in the comment section. Come and tell us your own intentions for Q4…we’d love to cheer you on!
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Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe23 October 2024, 11:00 pm - 27 minutes 35 seconds117. Q3 Reflections, Q4 Intentions
We’re back from our summer break and ready for a big catch up! In this episode, we’re reflecting on Quarter 3 and looking ahead to Quarter 4. Find out what felt good, what didn’t and what we’ve learned in the process.
We also talk about our words of the year and how they’ve been showing up for us since we last spoke. As well as sharing a few sources of creative inspiration, we dig into our plans for the final three months of 2024 and discuss what we’re both hoping to achieve before the end of the year.
Links and Further Reading
Are You Going to Start a Substack?
How Are We Showing Up On Substack This Year
EFT/’Tapping’: Becoming a Channel for Creativity (Releasing Creative Blocks)
Join us on Substack where you can share any reflections on the episode in the comment section. Come and tell us your own intentions for Q4…we’d love to cheer you on!
Connect With Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe9 October 2024, 11:00 pm - 27 minutes 22 seconds116. SUMMER SERIES - What to Do if Selling Gives You the Ick
Welcome to the Summer Series! After 5 years and 100 episodes, we’re re-releasing some of our favourite conversations while we take some time off from recording. Perhaps you missed them the first time round, but even if you’ve heard them before, we think they’re worth another listen. Friends With Business Benefits will be back with fresh, new episodes in September. In the meantime, we hope you have a great summer.
What to Do if Selling Gives You the Ick
Originally published June 2022
Does promoting your products and services make you feel a bit… uncomfortable? Do you struggle to show up and sell your stuff? Well, you’re not alone. As well as experiencing this ourselves, it’s something we hear all the time from clients.
In this episode, we’re chatting about why selling can be hard and sharing our advice to make the whole process easier. We cover a lot of ground, including what is and isn’t ‘hard selling’, the mindset shift you might need to make more sales and our new mantra - ‘you are allowed to sell your stuff and make money’.
Links and Further Reading
How to Create a Seamless, On-Brand Customer Experience
Connect with Us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
Subscribe to our mailing lists
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe11 September 2024, 11:00 pm - 22 minutes 21 seconds115. SUMMER SERIES - Creating Everyday Rituals
Welcome to the Summer Series! After 5 years and 100 episodes, we’re re-releasing some of our favourite conversations while we take some time off from recording. Perhaps you missed them the first time round, but even if you’ve heard them before, we think they’re worth another listen. Friends With Business Benefits will be back with fresh, new episodes in September. In the meantime, we hope you have a great summer.
Creating Everyday Rituals
Originally published June 2022
In this mini episode, we're chatting about rituals and sharing the ways in which we both bring a little ritual to our everyday.
We talk about how rituals help cultivate moments of mindfulness, connection and calm and the benefit this can have for business owners.
We also get a little deep when discussing how rituals foster a reverence for life and help us to feel gratitude for the little things.
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe5 September 2024, 9:00 am - 37 minutes 19 seconds114. SUMMER SERIES - The Business Benefits of Hobbies and Interests
Welcome to the Summer Series! After 5 years and 100 episodes, we’re re-releasing some of our favourite conversations while we take some time off from recording. Perhaps you missed them the first time round, but even if you’ve heard them before, we think they’re worth another listen. Friends With Business Benefits will be back with fresh, new episodes in September. In the meantime, we hope you have a great summer.
The Business Benefits of Hobbies and Interests
Originally published February 2022
This week, we’re chatting about Franky’s mission to find a new hobby and what she’s learned since she started pursuing a different kind of creativity. As well as describing the perils of monetising your passions and interests, we discuss nurturing your inner child, exploring curiosity peaks in adulthood, and what it feels like to be a beginner for the first time in years. We also cover how to find time for hobbies, the many benefits, and the big difference between creative work and creative play.
Show Links
Why I’m Picking Up a New Hobby This Winter
Connect with us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
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Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe29 August 2024, 8:00 am - 29 minutes 11 seconds113. SUMMER SERIES - Finding your own co-mentor
Welcome to the Summer Series! After 5 years and 100 episodes, we’re re-releasing some of our favourite conversations while we take some time off from recording. Perhaps you missed them the first time round, but even if you’ve heard them before, we think they’re worth another listen. Friends With Business Benefits will be back with fresh, new episodes in September. In the meantime, we hope you have a great summer.
Finding your own co-mentor
Originally published March 2019
When we asked you what you wanted to know about co-mentoring, the overwhelming response was how to go about finding a co-mentor of your own.
In today’s episode, we talk about how we met and started co-mentoring. We also share the stories of three other co-mentoring duos, touching on how they found each other and how co-mentoring has benefitted their businesses so far.
Finally, we chat about the boundaries you might want to set with your own co-mentor and discuss the difference between co-mentoring and paying for a business coach or mentor.
Links and further reading:
Episode One of Friends With Business Benefits
Being Freelance
Our fellow co-mentors...
Jo @ocheandflax & Camilla @slowfarmingcompany
Steve @sfolland and Frankie @doingitforthekids_
Katie @katiemorwenna and Jen @sillyheartco
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe22 August 2024, 11:00 pm - 32 minutes 21 seconds112. SUMMER SERIES - What would your business look like if Instagram disappeared?
Welcome to the Summer Series! After 5 years and 100 episodes, we’re re-releasing some of our favourite conversations while we take some time off from recording. Perhaps you missed them the first time round, but even if you’ve heard them before, we think they’re worth another listen. Friends With Business Benefits will be back with fresh, new episodes in September. In the meantime, we hope you have a great summer.
What would your business look like if Instagram disappeared?
Originally published March 2021
We love Instagram, but are we guilty of putting all our eggs in one basket when it comes to marketing? This week, we explore what our businesses might look like if Instagram disappeared and ask whether we’re giving it more focus than it deserves.
This episode includes:
The dangers of becoming a slave to the algorithm and why trying to ‘beat’ it might mean we’re focussed on being good Instagramers rather than good business owners.
Other mediums for communicating with your audience and why some content might work harder away from Instagram.
Thoughts on marketing with intention.
What this means for business owners who started out on Instagram and ideas for getting out of the Insta bubble.
Show Links
Being Freelance Facebook Group
The Freelance Lifestylers Facebook Group
Connect with us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
Subscribe to our mailing lists
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe15 August 2024, 5:00 am - 18 minutes 49 seconds111. Introducing Our Summer Series
In today’s episode, we’re introducing our summer series. For the very first time, we’ll be taking a proper planned break from recording and rereleasing some of our best episodes while we’re away.
Before we switch off for the summer, we’re also chatting about how we’re going to approach the next six weeks in our businesses. We cover everything from travel plans and taking time off to juggling childcare and showing up online.
We hope you enjoy listening to some of our back catalogue over the next few weeks. We’ll be in your ears again with a brand new episode in September!
Connect with us
Friends With Business Benefits on Substack
Find Us On Instagram
Subscribe to our mailing lists
Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe31 July 2024, 11:00 pm - More Episodes? Get the App
About Friends With Business Benefits
Links
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