Freelance Feels: Conversations about self-employed life freelancefeels

As a global communications director working for the biggest names in sport, Kat burnt out.
 
Her heart guided her to Antigua in the Caribbean where walking barefoot on the sand, floating in turquoise waters and eating mangoes from the tree brought her back to life.
 
Then nature began feeding her with inspiration for a radical way of being in business - True Business. Instead of pursuing profit and growth at all costs your are invited lead with the wisdom and creativity of your heart and thrive in harmony with the earth.
 
Her new book, Creative Happy Work: Follow your Heart to a Thriving Business, Life and World by Kat Byles is available now at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble. R.R.P Paperback £14.99 and Digital £4.99.
 
https://www.katbyles.com/ 

Karen Krizanovich is known in the film industry for her work on major studio feature films as a researcher.
As a journalist, she has been published in Wired, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and Financial Times among others. Broadcasts include BBC1 Breakfast, BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Woman’s Hour and BBC World Service.
For ten years the writer of Dear Karen, the quite popular comedy column in EMAP’s Sky Magazine, Karen’s career encompasses voiceover work (she was once the voice of a green M&M), TV presenting and books.
Karen has appeared on over 75 different TV shows, including CNN and Newsnight. Secretary of the London Film Critics’ Circle and a member of BAFTA, BIFA craft jury, BFDG and  FIPRESCI for whom she was a Cannes jury member in 2023. Karen also conceived, researched and presented Whistledown Production/BBC Radio 4‘s groundbreaking original radio documentary entitled Svelte Sylvia and the Hollywood Trimsters, Tinsel Town’s first and arguably greatest fitness and beauty expert who was wiped from history before this documentary. 

Penny Mallory was a homeless runaway teenager, against all the odds, she turned her life around and made the impossible possible to become a Champion Rally Driver. Her own life experience means she is well equipped to work inside and alongside many world class teams (including F1) to develop the qualities a high performing team needs to succeed.








 
Although her interest began with automotive performance, her passion quickly shifted to human performance and Mental Toughness.
 
She became a TEDX speaker, delivering keynotes and workshops for organisations - including Google, Sky, Costa, Microsoft and Coca Cola as well as head teacher conferences - to help people to develop their confidence, commitment, focus and determination. 
 
Using her expertise she can advise on subjects such as stress, motivation, burnout, Imposter Syndrome, as well as how Mental Toughness can be used as a tool to help us all overcome life's challenges both in an education, business and personal setting. 



 
Penny’s book, 365 Ways to Develop Mental Toughness: A Day-By-Day Guide to Living A Happier And More Successful Life was published on 10th November 2022.

Natasha Devon MBE is a writer, presenter & activist. She tours schools, universities and events throughout the world, delivering talks as well as conducting research on mental health, body image, gender and equality. She campaigns both on and offline to make the world a fairer place.  
Natasha is the founder of the Mental Health Media Charter, which scrutinises the way the media report on mental health. She works with a number of charities, is a Patron for No Panic,  as well as an Ambassador for Glitch and the Reading Agency.
 
A Beginner’s Guide to Being Mental: An A-Z was published by Bluebird in 2018, and Yes You Can: Ace School Without Losing Your Mind was published by Macmillan Children's Books in April 2020.  
 
Her debut YA novel, Toxic, was published by Uclan in July 2022.
 
Clicks: How To Be Your Best Self Online was published by Macmillan Children's Books in May 2023.
Babushka, a prequel to Toxic, will be published in August 2023.

Based in London, Samantha Lourie is the face behind Instagram page   @butterfliesandpebbles, with 100k followers. She has been running journaling workshops and online self-love/self-healing courses since 2016, developing an approach that aims to make the difficult areas of life more approachable and facilitate emotional integration and self-healing
Samantha Lourie has an English degree from King’s London and a teaching and film industry background. She describes herself as a 'free-spirit poet/writer mama'. She has been running journaling workshops and online self-love/self-healing courses since 2016, developing an approach that seeks to make the difficult areas of life more approachable. She is not a professional therapist, but she is an advocate who is curious about the human condition and she uses her work to facilitate emotional integration and self- healing. She lives in London with her husband and three daughters.
A therapeutic way of approaching the difficulties in our lives, working through (the messy) aspects to discover a new sense of self and freedom, THE POWER OF MESS interrogates mess itself - why we are taught to hate it, whether it's an untidy bedroom, a chaotic divorce, or a change in career, but how important and unavoidable it really is - and offers a way of working through the messy aspects of life without it becoming a negative aspect of life. Lourie encourages us to own our mess, and see life as a journey in which we pick up the pieces along the way and make something from them. Although loss, hurt and mess are still there, our perception of them has changed. 
#thepowerofmess #powerofmess #butterfliesandpebbes 

Anniki Sommerville is podcaster and freelancer writer. Her podcast'How To Be A Boss At Ageing' was released in June 2020. In eachepisode she tackles a different aspect of growing older, withinterviewees such as Cariad Lloyd and Sali Hughes.
She has her own monthly radio show on Soho Radio and regularly speaks on panels on topics such as motherhood, the changing nature ofwork, relationships and ageing. She has written for the Telegraphand the I and used to edit the successful parenting blog SelfishMother.
Her instagram stories are a brilliant take on parenting and midlife, and in this episode Anniki shares the highs and lows of her career, talks about why freelancing isn't for everyone and advocates for a good cry in the work loos.
There's a little bit of swearing at the end!
Find Anniki at https://www.annikisommerville.com/
And follow  her on Instagram @annikisommerville
 
#thebigquit #freelancing #selfemployed #annikisommerville