Shows / indie business club
indie business club
A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries.
indiebusinessclub.substack.com
Episodes
indie business club44: Bitter Sweet Symphony - social media
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…
indie business club43: No Scrubs - how to make working from home work
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…
indie business club42: Island in the sun - taking time off when you’re your own boss
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…
indie business club41: Back to the start - origin stories
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…
indie business clubCrossover episode: search with candour x indie business club
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…
indie business club40 Lucky Man: lessons in luck with John Lyons
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…
indie business club39 Video Games: using video to market your business, with Jonny Rose
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…
indie business club38 Seaside: LIVE at Creator Day 2026 with Dave Harland and Lea Turner
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…
indie business club37 Fame Monster: being famous with Lea Turner
This episode is about the pros and cons of being (in my case, very mildly) famous in your industry I’m joined by LinkedIn legend, founder of The HoLT, and…
indie business club36 Delivery: newsletters with Molly Scanlan
How to use a newsletter to grow your business💌 This time, I’m joined by Molly Scanlan to discuss how to grow your business using the ancient (okay, at least…
indie business clubb-side: how I'm going to grow this podcast
I blagged a mini strategy session from the wonderful Charelle Griffith 👌 In episode 34, Charelle talked us through how to do our annual plan. I then asked her…
indie business club35 Hysteria: promoting yourself with Gus Bhandal
Make 2026 the year you promote the absolute heck out of yourself 👌 This time, I’m joined by Gus Bhandal to talk about ways you can build up some good old…
indie business club34 Running/Planning: plan your business year with Charelle Griffith
Create a plan to make 2026 your best year in business yet 👌 Producer Ant says this might be his favourite episode so far. But is he just hyping me up since…
indie business clubb-side: training and CPD
This is the last episode I recorded with Ben before he left the podcast. If you didn’t want to do your CPD homework you just had to say so, Ben 😏 This will be…
indie business clubb-side: awards, revisited
When we covered the topic before (in episode 14 Handbags and Gladrags), we set ourselves the goal of becoming an award-winning podcast. And if you want to be…
indie business club33 Freelancing - indie business club x TMM
Ben and I are on our way to Manchester today for CopyCon 🤩 I spoke at the event last year and the year before that, our Copy Or Die pal Dave Harland spoke…
indie business club32 All These Things That I've Done: portfolios
This episode is called All These Things That I’ve Done and it’s all about how to put together a portfolio to show off what you can do. We look at… creative…
indie business club31 Moving Pictures: using video in your marketing
This episode is called Moving Pictures and it’s all about using video to market yourself and your business. We look at… why some people would rather poo in…
indie business club30 Where Is My Mind: marketing psychology with Phill Agnew from Nudge podcast
Want to trick people into buying from you? Then read on!Jokes, that’s deeply unethical, please don’t do that. Today’s pod episode is a bit special. Firstly…
indie business club29 We Want The Airwaves: starting a podcast
This episode is brought to you by Copy Or Die, the copywriting agency we work at, which Ben co-founded with Dave Harland. If you say you listen to the podcast…
indie business club28 Roll With It: starting something new
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Nikki Pilkington - SEO expert, copywriter, legend, and friend of the show. You can get 20% off Nikki’s full…
indie business club27 Music Sounds Better With You: audio branding
Hi, Mel here, Today’s episode is all about audio branding. And so, we’ve brought in the expert! Of course, it’s sound guy (and sound guy) our producer and…
indie business club26 You Get What You Give: outsourcing
Today’s episode is all about outsourcing. Are you an outsourcer? Or an outsourceee? Or both? Did I just make up those words? At least one of them. Either way…
indie business club25 Frankly, Mr Shankly: testimonials
Today’s episode is all about testimonials. But just before we get into it… we’re incredibly excited about this 👇 We’re doing a Marketing Meetup webinar with…
indie business club24 Let's Go Surfing: LIVE Q&A episode at Creator Day 2025
This earlier-than-expected episode is called Let’s Go Surfing* and it’s a LIVE Q&A episode recorded at FOUNDRY Poole as part of Creator Day 2025. Extra special…
indie business club23 Separated by motorways: working with friends
This episode is called Separated by Motorways and it's all about working with your friends. We’re at Creator Day today. So the YouTube video will be up in the…
indie business club22 Bloc Party: celebrating wins
Episode 22 is called Bloc Party and it's all about celebrating your wins as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner. Subscribe n Are you good at…
indie business club21 Got Your Money: pricing your work
Episode 21 is called Got Your Money and it's all about pricing work as a freelancer, founder, or indie business owner. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in…
indie business club20 Joy Division: work/life balance
Episode 20 (TWENTY! 🥳) is called Joy Division and it's all about work-life balance. If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at…
indie business club19 Daytripper: Conferences part deux
Episode 19 of indie business club podcast is coming at you faster than usual. We recorded a second episode on conferences, called Daytripper, so we could…
indie business club18 The Day We Caught The Train: conferences
Episode 18 of indie business club podcast is called The Day We Caught The Train and it’s all about going to conferences, networking, and events as an indie…
indie business club17 Hanging On The Telephone: ghosting
Episode 17 of indie business club podcast is called Hanging On The Telephone and it’s all about professional ghosting. In it, we cover: reasons why prospective…
indie business club16 Heart Shaped Box: niching
Hello, If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at ko-fi.com/indiebusinessclub please and thank you 💖 In episode 16 “Heart Shaped Box”…
indie business club15 The Masterplan: goal setting
Hello, and welcome to our first full-length podcast episode of 2025 🙌🏻 If you enjoy the show, you can chip in on our production costs at…
indie business clubb-sides: word of the year
On this minisode we discuss the concept of having a "word of the year". In case you missed it, we’re speaking at the Alt Marketing School open day on Thursday…
indie business clubb-sides: LinkedIn revisited
Hello, Mel here, We’re rounding off the year with a b-side to revisit LinkedIn. The b-sides are shorter chats than a normal episode, so if you've got any…
indie business club14 Handbags And Gladrags: Industry Awards
Hello, Award-Winning-Copywriter Mel and Non-Award-Entering Ben here. Today’s episode is called Handbags And Gladrags. It’s all about industry awards and…
indie business club13 You're The Voice: tone of voice
Today’s episode is called You’re The Voice, and we talk about what tone of voice is, why it’s important to you and your business, and how to get in touch with…
indie business club12 Plug In Baby: Software
There’s so much tech around nowadays, it’s hard to know where to start. Today’s episode is called Plug In Baby, and we talk about which software we use in our…
indie business club11 Somebody Told Me: Referrals
We met up in Norwich this week (thanks, half term) to plan out our upcoming episodes. We’ve got topics up to #20, but we always welcome suggestions. Themes…
indie business club10 Paranoid Android: AI
Hi, Mel here, Today’s episode is called Paranoid Android, and it’s all about AI. Specifically, generative AI. Even more specifically, the large language model…
indie business club09 Shiny Happy People: Personal Brands
Hallo, Ben here, Today’s episode is called Shiny Happy People, and it’s all about building a personal brand. Mel and I dig into what a personal brand actually…
indie business club08 Chasing Rainbows: Business Plans
Hi, Mel and Ben here, Today’s episode is called Chasing Rainbows, and it’s all about business planning. There’s a strong theme of “do as we say, not as we do”…
indie business club07 A Design For Life: creating for yourself
I’ve got a special guest co-host this time, because Ben’s been on paternity leave. This one’s called A Design For Life and features the lovely Dan Nelken. In…
indie business club06 I Bet You Look Good On The Timeline
This episode is called I Bet You Look Good on the Timeline, and we’re talking about everyone’s favourite/most hated social media platform… LinkedIn. In the…
indie business club05 Flaming Lips: Public Speaking
This episode is called Flaming Lips, and we’re talking about public speaking as a way to build your profile and attract more clients. We’ve both spoken on…
indie business club04 A Little Respect: Client Relationships
This episode is called A Little Respect, and we’re talking about Client Relationships. We’ve got a contribution from creative force of nature Jodie Newman at…
indie business club03 All Together Now: COMMUNITIES
This episode is called All Together Now and we’re talking COMMUNITIES. We’ve both been part of various communities as freelancers, and in this episode we…
indie business club02 It's Oh So Quiet: Finding Clients
Ben McKinney and Mel Barfield discuss strategies for attracting clients during economic downturns, emphasising the importance of diversifying marketing…
indie business club01 Fools Gold: Pricing your projects
Ben McKinney and Mel Barfield discuss pricing strategies for freelancers and small business owners. They emphasise the importance of understanding value…
indie business club00 What's The Story?
Mel Barfield and Ben McKinney have been learning all about podcasts. Especially about how microphones work. And how they don’t. First sound guy (and sound guy)…
indie business clubPodcast trailer
A podcast for independent creatives. Packed with tips, advice, and food for thought for freelancers, founders, and business owners in creative industries…