The current pandemic has presented a challenging time for freelancers.
For many in the industry, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in loss of regular work and earnings, and has altered the line of focus.
Freelancers are now turning their efforts onto pivoting and finding new ways to make money.
In order to help guide and shine a light, Creative Bloq has put together its top nine podcasts, all recorded during the lockdown months, to help provide freelancers with guidance on how to tackle the challenges that have risen within the current climate.
While these discussions won’t instantly restore your income overnight or client base, we know that in times of need a friendly, guiding voice will help provide clarity and comfort.
The podcasts will also provide you with some useful tips on how to make best use of your new free time, and how to plan realistically for an uncertain future.
If you’re struggling and in need of some expert advice, please see below for Creative Bloq’s list of helpful resources:
- Freelance Party Broadcast: How You Can Use Lockdown To Work On Your Business
A regular podcast hosted by Freelance Corner, it’s an online platform for UK freelancers.
In this episode, Alison Grade looks at how freelancers can use this time to review and maximise their business opportunities. She offers some great advice on how to do a skill audit during lockdown, so you can reinvent yourself, position yourself in a fresh way and covers finding better and more rewarding work when the lockdown restrictions are lifted.
Released: 21 April ❘ Length: 27 mins, 21 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 6mins 5 secs.
- The Fizzle Show: Locked Down with an Uncertain Future: How Entrepreneurs Are Surviving
Fizzle offers training, community and resources for freelancers, creatives and entrepreneurs.
In this weekly podcast, Corbett Barr discusses with guests how freelancers and entrepreneurs are surviving the lockdown, and what can be done to make it through, both economically and psychologically. He also touches on past experiences with financial crises, and lessons learnt from these challenges.
Released: 14 April ❘ Length: 72 mins 32 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 21 mins 40 secs.
- The Freelancers’ Show: What Do You Do In An Unexpected Downturn?
In this weekly discussion-based podcast, Petra Manos showcases how she’s refocused her efforts on content marketing, with a panel conversation reviewing best practice for dealing with unexpected slowdowns in work.
Released: 21 April ❘ Length: 43 mins 42 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 6 mins.
- The Daily Creative: Taking Time to Invest in Yourself
The Daily Creative podcast, hosted by Todd Henry, provides freelancers with a quick daily tip, advice, idea or strategy to assist in becoming the best version of themselves.
In this episode, he looks at how freelancers can use the extra time to invest in themselves, through a disciplined manner to “plant seeds that produce a harvest later”.
Released: 30 March ❘ Length: 16 mins 35 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 6mins.
- Creative Pep Talk: The Powerful Thing You Can Do When All Seems Lost
This weekly podcast episode, designed to inspire and motivate freelancers, features an interesting monologue from Andy J Pizza, an illustrator for The New York Times, The Washington Post and Nickelodeon. Highly personal, the content features a lot of insightful thoughts about how to find the “inner you” that you may have lost over the years, and ignite your creative spirit again.
Released: 25 March ❘ Length: 78 minutes ❘ Short of time? Skip to 52 mins 47 secs.
- Beyond The Status Quo Podcast: How to Handle Losing Clients
In this weekly podcast from Avani Miriyala, she offers short snippets of positive, cheery thinking for dream-chasing freelancers and entrepreneurs. She also delves into past experiences of losing big clients, and how this can be transformed into new opportunities.
Released: 20 April ❘ Length: 17 mins 36 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 2 mins 40 secs.
- DIFTK: When You’ve Just Left Your Job To Go Freelance, In The Middle Of A Global Crisis. Eek!
Designed for freelancer parents, this podcast provides helpful advice from Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland, looking at how to send out the right messages to clients and potential new opportunities, pivoting and brand positioning once the lockdown restrictions end.
Released: 1 May ❘ Length: 19 mins ❘ Short of time? Skip to 6 mins 37 secs.
- Deliberate Freelancer: Pivoting And Finding Resilience
In this episode of Deliberate Freelancer, a podcast aimed at helping freelancers build a successful business, Melanie Padgett Powers highlights how she pivoted her business in order to find success with new clients and organisations and discusses her processes.
Released: 30 April ❘ Length: 33 mins 48 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 21 mins 20 secs.
- Freelance Pod: Imposter Syndrome, Social Media and Getting Through A Pandemic Lockdown
Release your inner creativity and build on your confidence through this podcast. Well known for sharing stories of news and creativing, Host Suchandrika Chakrabarti joins author and psychologist Dr. Richard Orbé-Austin to discuss how imposter syndrome is becoming particularly problematic during the pandemic lockdown, and practical ways to rise above it.
Released: 30 April ❘ Length: 29 mins 50 secs ❘ Short of time? Skip to 2 mins 29 secs.