Katie Chappell is a freelance live illustrator based in the UK - and her story takes some unexpected turns.

After being sacked from a graphic design job, Katie slowly built a freelance illustration career through side jobs, teaching guitar, working in retail, and even becoming a nanny abroad. A 100-day drawing project helped her find confidence, momentum, and visibility - and eventually led her into live illustration and graphic recording.

Things really took off during the pandemic, when Katie adapted quickly to online events and found herself booked solid. At one point, she scaled the business into an agency-style setup with salaried staff and 24 illustrators on the books.

On paper, it looked amazing.

In reality, it nearly broke her.

In this episode, Katie talks honestly about scaling up, scaling back, pricing, niching, marketing, work-life balance, and the moment she realised something had to change.

We also get into the practical stuff: working with a virtual assistant, setting clear prices, and why “make work, share work” is still the foundation of her marketing.

Katie is part of The Good Ship Illustration - an education and community space for illustrators, that she founded with two of her friends. If you enjoy Katie on here, do check out The Good Ship Illustration podcast!

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As freelancers, it’s easy to spend most of our time in the business - delivering client work, meeting deadlines, keeping things ticking over. But if we never step back, time has a habit of running away from us. We can be swept along on a current of what people ask us to do, not thinking about if it's where we want to be heading.

This episode is a little different from the usual Being Freelance podcast format. Instead of a single guest interview, it’s a reflection on conversations with freelancers who consistently make time to work on their business - not just once a year, but regularly.

You’ll hear how different people approach this in their own way:

Some take themselves off on solo business retreats - sometimes to a hotel, sometimes just to a different room in the house — with no client work allowed. Others hold quarterly CEO retreats, stepping away from day-to-day delivery to review what’s working, what isn’t, and what they want more (or less) of.

One even does a 'Weather Report', seeing what's on the horizon for their work, personal life, creativity, and the wider world - treating their business like something that moves in seasons.

What they all have in common is this:
They don’t leave their freelance business to chance.

Regular reviews help remove mental load, bring clarity, and often make client work feel more enjoyable - because you’re no longer carrying half-finished thoughts about marketing, pricing, direction, or next steps in the back of your mind.

You’ll also hear a very practical reminder: if you want thinking time, you usually have to put it in the diary first. Two or three hours, a half day, once a month or once a quarter - it all counts.

This episode isn’t about grand five-year plans or fancy frameworks. It’s about creating space to ask better questions:

Is this still working?

Am I enjoying this?

Is this profitable?

Is this taking me where I want to go?

Because freelancing doesn’t have to be something that just happens to you. With a little regular reflection, you get to design it - deliberately.

Featuring the insights of these fantastic freelance guests, whose full episodes you should totally check out.
Follow these links for their podcast conversations.
- Writer Rebecca Rosenberg
- Designer Brennan Gilbert
- Writer & Editor Melanie Padgett Powers
- Voiceover Emma Clarke
- Market Research Consultant Katie Tucker

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
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Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
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NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
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From an overworked designer posting “a visual diary” on Instagram to running a multi-stream creative business, Itzel Islas has built a freelance life entirely on her own terms.

After almost a decade in apparel design, she started illustrating for fun - and quickly realised people loved her colourful, playful style. “Little by little I started creating art… and then I started getting clients through it.”

Today she runs YAY Itzel, blending branding work, her online shop, Patreon sticker club, brand partnerships with Adobe and Wacom, murals, workshops and even organising pop-ups, all rooted in her Mexican culture. “I’m just chasing whatever is fun for me. And if it sounds fun, I’m all in.”

She talks building a business organically, finding clients who share her values, and why being authentic is her biggest asset. “I’ve always seen everything I do as a big package of what is my business and how I sustain myself as an artist.”

Hosted by freelance podcast and video podcast editor Steve Folland.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community

NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
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Freelance market research consultant Katie Tucker shares how being intentional - with her time, energy, and choices - helped her build a freelance life that truly fits.

From walking away from a corporate job for a family adventure to launching her freelance business Product Jungle and writing excellent business book Do Penguins Eat Peaches?, Katie opens up about patience, priorities, and the reality of balancing work, parenting, and wellbeing.

You can watch the video podcast of this episode on Spotify or YouTube.

In this episode we cover:

• The leap from corporate to freelancing after a family gap year
• How writing Do Penguins Eat Peaches? helped shape her business
• Balancing client work with parenting and self-care
• Why understanding your customer starts with asking better questions
• The power of patience, pricing, and permission

Plus ,we discover the one market research mistake that freelancers and small business most often make. Make sure you catch it.

Find Katie Tucker at https://www.productjungle.co.uk/

Get Katie's excellent business book: https://amzn.to/4hQ60bh

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Hosted & produced by freelance podcast editor & video creator Steve Folland.

EPISODE SPONSORED BY FREELANCER MAGAZINE

Much more than a magazine these days - but come on, who doesn't love sweet glossy pages dropping through your door helping you explore the world of freelancing?

Visit freelancermagazine.co.uk

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community

NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

From choreographing dance routines and directing a TV show at a South African megachurch… to running her own freelance business - Lineo Kakole’s journey into branding was anything but traditional.

When no one would hire her after she quit her job, Lineo started sharing passion projects on Instagram. From there, she built her creative identity design studio, Get Ready With Me, around beauty, strategy, and intentional living.

But freelancing wasn’t always smooth. Burnout forced Lineo to rethink everything - from how she planned her day to how she tracked her emotions. Her solution? Turning to her 16-year-old self for guidance.

Her high school self packed a lot in without burning out, how did she do it?

Paper planners. Quarters, not just years. Dance breaks. Report cards. Slowing down.
Now she does client work just four focused hours a few days a week - and she’s built a business that truly fits her life.

In this episode, Lineo shares how she:

- Built her freelance brand from scratch with no client experience

- Discovered her niche through joy, not just opportunity

- Designed a unique way of tracking emotional productivity

- Learned to value her unconventional career path

- Built market access beyond South Africa — into London, Sydney, Berlin and more

Lineo reminds us: No one’s chasing you.
You don’t need to be 'Forbes 30 Under 30'.
You just need to design a freelance life that works for you.

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Hosted & produced by freelance podcast editor & video creator Steve Folland.

EPISODE SPONSORED BY FREELANCER MAGAZINE

Much more than a magazine these days - but come on, who doesn't love sweet glossy pages dropping through your door helping you explore the world of freelancing?

Visit freelancermagazine.co.uk

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community

NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

When Jess Bruno left her corporate job in marketing, to help with managing her chronic illness - she had no idea freelancing was even an option.

It was her mum that made her realise all the free marketing advice she was giving to her friends should be worth paying for.

The next time they called asking for help, it would cost £25.

Since then, Jess has built a six-figure freelancer business.

And what's more, she's built it on her terms: around her health, around surgeries, around grief.

The past five years has packed in a lot for Jess. And we pack a lot into this episode:

- How chronic illness shaped her business model

- Rebuilding from grief, surgery and burnout — twice

- How she grew her business without posting perfect content

- The shift from doing it all to coaching and strategy

- Why her content converts, even with 30 likes a post

- What Netwerking is, and why it’s worth every penny (even in the red)

- How she’s planning a sustainable new version of her business

It’s bold, honest and brilliant — just like Jess.

--

Hosted & produced by freelance podcast editor & video creator Steve Folland.

EPISODE SPONSORED BY FREELANCER MAGAZINE

Much more than a magazine these days - but come on, who doesn't love sweet glossy pages dropping through your door helping you explore the world of freelancing?

Visit https://freelancermagazine.co.uk

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community

NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland

From finance lawyer in Malta to FinTech copywriter in Edinburgh — André Spiteri’s freelancing story is full of risk, reinvention, and real talk.

In this episode, André shares how he went from a corporate job he hated to building a sustainable freelance writing business.

He talks honestly about the pressures of starting out, the mindset shift that came with success, and why the freedom of freelancing can sometimes be the hardest part.

You’ll hear:

Why André quit law and moved to London with no plan

His cold-pitching mindset and why, against the usual freelancer advice, he doesn’t follow up

What changed when he embraced being himself on social media

How community and a mastermind group made a huge difference

The surprising thing he found most challenging about freelance life

What he’d tell his younger self after 10 years in business

It's a fun, sometimes sweary story of escaping corporate life.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
You're not alone being freelance.
Come and hang out with your BFFs (Being Freelance Friends).
beingfreelance.com/community

NEW TO FREELANCING? THERE'S A COURSE FOR YOU!

The Being Freelance course is made for you!
Take the course and you'll also get 6 months FREE community membership.

FREELANCER MERCH
Get Being Freelance merchandise at beingfreelance.com/shop

Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance on:
Instagram - Instagram.com/beingfreelance
YouTube - YouTube.com/SteveFolland