Q1 2025 In Review
Back in 2022, I shared a regular series of quarterly reviews here on the blog. Three years later, I love revisiting these posts and reflecting on how much has changed {and stayed the same} in my business. It wasn’t without its challenges, but overall, 2022 was a great...
How I Run My Copywriting Business with a Chronic Illness
At a recent networking event, I bumped into a fellow small business owner I hadn’t seen in a while. During our conversation, they mentioned they’d received a chronic illness diagnosis since the last time we spoke. After listening to them describe some of the...
Should I Start a Substack for My Small Business?
Should I start a Substack for my small business? I asked myself this question repeatedly over the last few years. Charlie and I recorded multiple episodes of Friends with Business Benefits addressing the same dilemma. You can listen to them here and here. {You’ll...
Hello 2025
I’ve been writing a version of this post since 2010 and in that time it’s become one of my favourite new year rituals. With a long list of client work to get through in January, it’s tempting to neglect my own content and throw myself into creating for others. But...
Reflecting on 2024 – Another Year in my Copywriting Business
'Tis the season for reflecting on the previous 12 months in my copywriting business! For the last few years, I've used a set of prompts originally created by Sasha of A Life of Words. Up until now, I've always shared these thoughts privately with my mailing list. If...
Lessons From the Edge of Burnout
At the beginning of the summer, right before I took some planned time off, I found myself starting to feel burned out. Despite what I know about the importance of rest and everything I’ve learned from living with a chronic illness, I’d been doing a crummy job of...
What’s Next? – Career Development When You’re Self-Employed
I've been a freelance copywriter for more than a decade. I love what I do, and I love the freedom that comes with being self-employed. But there is one thing I really miss about traditional employment. Career Development Plans. Let me explain... Have I Ever Told You...
My summer has mainly been spent…
Wrapping up some big projects while Jesse spent a couple of weeks with Carl's parents in Derby. Teetering dangerously close to burnout before taking some much needed time off. Packing Jesse off to Cornwall with a friend. They stayed with my aunt and uncle near...
How to Make a Travel Scrapbook
Day trips, mini breaks and holidays are my favourite things to document. Capturing travel memories is how I was first introduced to scrapbooking as a child and it remains a huge passion of mine. When the children were little, I used to help them create travel...
Going {a Little Bit} Viral
Something very unexpected happened in March. An Instagram reel I shared went {a little bit} viral. Here are the stats almost four weeks after it was originally posted.. At the time of writing, the number of views has jumped up again, surpassing 250K. I'm well aware...
What I’m Learning About Prioritising Creative Play
Oof. I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see the back of winter. I always find it difficult to navigate, but this year the season knocked me for six. The weather may not have got the memo yet, but I'm very ready for spring. One thing that's kept me going since the...
Rediscovering Childhood Hobbies and Passions
What did you enjoy doing as a child? This was one of the questions I asked myself a few years ago when I decided I needed a new hobby. I’ve been thinking about it again as I focus on prioritising creative play in 2024. Playing with Paper When it comes to my childhood...
My Reading Rhythm
I respond well to rhythms and routines, so I lean on them a lot in daily life. As well as developing rhythms to help me stay on top of work and household chores, I use them to create space for things I love and want to do more of – things like reading. The Usual...
Hello 2024
I’ve been writing a version of this post since 2010. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, I’ve always been able to reflect and find something positive to share despite the chaos. This January, it should be an easy task. 2023 was a great year for us as a family. Of...
Navigating the Ebbs and Flows
At the beginning of the September, I hadn’t booked any new work since April. I’d finished my last big project in early August, and I had nothing in my diary {excluding my retainer clients} for the rest of the year. Fast forward to the end of the month. I’d booked...
Notes From a Summer Sabbatical {Part 3}
I remember exactly how I felt when I wrote Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. In those first few weeks after my return from Australia, I used words like ‘ease’ and ‘spaciousness’ to describe my experience of taking six weeks off. What I called my ‘summer of radical...
The Summer I Turned 40
I always planned to write about turning 40. I even scribbled down some notes at the beginning of the year, thinking I’d eventually turn them into some kind of long-read. I had visions of it going live on my birthday, capturing exactly how I was feeling as I reached...
When am I Going to Write a Book?
When are you going to write a book, Franky?’ my father-in-law asked, raising his voice above the noise of the theatre bar. I took a sip of my gin and tonic. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Paul, soon,’ I replied, playfully batting the idea away with my free hand. ‘I’m serious. You...
Our Summer Bucket List 2023
As I write, it’s day two of the summer holidays. Izzy is in Cornwall with a friend, staying at my aunt and uncle’s house near Falmouth. So far, they’ve been paddle boarding and survived an exhausting surf lesson. Jesse is at a holiday club hosted by a cookery school....
I’ve Been Thinking About Quitting…
I've been thinking about quitting. Mainly because Lisa Congdon has too. This post stopped me mid-scroll and stayed with me for days. 'I’ve been on a systematic mission to examine and quit everything in my life/work that feels finished or draining or one-sided or...
