Get advice on setting up on your own, securing your first clients, and making a great first impression as a freelancer, from event manager Lauren Malone.

Lunch & Learn: Five lessons from my first six months of freelancing

Webinar

In this Lunch and Learn, freelance senior event manager Lauren Malone shares her experiences of quitting a full-time role and diving head-first into the world of freelancing over the past six months.

Lauren built a 10-year career in event management, heading up the female entrepreneurship arm of Enterprise Nation for three years. Here, she'll give her best advice on setting up on your own, securing your first clients, and making a great first impression as a freelancer.

Lunch and Learn: Five lessons from my first six months of freelancing

Get advice on setting up on your own, securing your first clients, and making a great first impression as a freelancer.

I&apos;m a <a href=&apos;https://danmartinuk.com/&apos; target=&apos;_self&apos;>freelance journalist and event host</a> who helps small businesses and the organisations that support them. I&apos;m also Enterprise Nation&apos;s news reporter and Bristol Local Leader.
I have 20 years of experience as a small business journalist having interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs from famous names like Sir Richard Branson and Deborah Meaden to the founders behind brand new start-ups.
I&apos;ve worked for a range of leading small business publications and support groups, most recently as head of content at Enterprise Nation where I was responsible for the prolific output of content on the company&apos;s blog and social media. I now freelance for Enterprise Nation as the website&apos;s <a href=&apos;https://www.enterprisenation.com/business-news&apos; target=&apos;_self&apos;>news reporter</a> and as the host of the <a href=&apos;https://www.enterprisenation.com/podcast&apos; target=&apos;_self&apos;>Small Business sessions podcast</a>.
I&apos;m based in Bristol where I run and host regular events with the local small business community in my role as Enterprise Nation&apos;s Local Leader for Bristol. I also have strong connections with other major business organisations in the south west region.
In total, I&apos;ve hosted over 100 events including conferences with an audience of hundreds for international brands like Xero and Facebook and live web chats from inside 10 Downing Street.
With my partner, I co-run <a href=&apos;https://www.lifestyledistrict.co.uk/&apos; target=&apos;_self&apos;>Lifestyle District</a>, a lifestyle blog focused on culture, art, theatre and photography.

Freelance content creator & event host

Cost of incorporating a company via Companies House website to increase from £12 to £50

The fee for setting up a limited company using the Companies House website will rise from £12 to £50 in May. 

Head of Ireland for Enterprise Nation

Head of Ireland

Female Founders Ireland

Following our in-person Festival of Female Entrepreneurs event in Dublin, an opportunity to build on the relationships made on the day!



I’m an independent consultant, trainer and mentor helping business leaders – and their teams – find new ways to solve problems, embrace change and make it happen.
I have broad experience built on a career that started in the late 90s in advertising and moved quickly into the fast-growing world of digital and technology.
I’ve held leadership roles at global networks and consultancies, working with British Airways, BT, McLaren Automotive, Mars, P&amp;G and RBS, and boutique creative agencies working with Budweiser, Drambuie and Peroni. I’ve also co-founded a marketing agency and worked for an industry association, prior to setting up my own consulting business in 2016. This has enabled me to work with a vast range of businesses, all with different challenges to overcome and opportunities to grab hold of. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and the relationships we’ve built together.
I get my energy and fulfilment from bringing people together and creating an inclusive space where they feel they can be themselves. My approach is always people-first, starting with a conversation to understand what’s working and what might need to change, before diving into the detail.
You might have a one-off problem that needs solving, a bigger challenge requiring skills and experience not currently in your team, or need someone to talk to for an external perspective.
Some of the problems I help solve:
<ul>
<li>We have a disjointed business strategy with no clear vision &amp; values, focus areas or team buy-in.</li>
<li>We’re stuck in a rut as our founders and company directors are lacking alignment on our path forwards.</li>
<li>We have regular disagreements and difficult conversations with clients, leading to lost business or bad reviews.</li>
<li>Our new business approach is stop-start and we only focus on it when the pipeline is looking empty.</li>
<li>We have a watered-down proposition that tries to be everything to everyone, but doesn’t truly resonate with anyone.</li>
<li>We lack diversity, creativity or innovation, driven by hiring people with similar backgrounds and lived experiences.</li>
<li>Our inconsistent approach to pricing and uncontrolled discounting is affecting profitability and team motivation.</li>
<li>We don’t have the confidence to delegate responsibility so finding purpose and a work/life balance remains a dream.</li>
</ul>
Strategy &amp; Consulting services provided:
<ul>
<li>Business strategy development support</li>
<li>Ongoing business mentoring</li>
<li>Mission, vision and values development</li>
<li>Goal setting, prioritisation and action plan development</li>
<li>Workshop design &amp; facilitation</li>
<li>Behavioural profiling and team effectiveness /performance support</li>
<li>People development and culture strategy</li>
<li>DE&amp;I consulting</li>
</ul>
Training offering (in-house and for individuals to book onto):
<ul>
<li>Managing people - effective delegation, setting and reviewing goals, adopting a coaching mindset</li>
<li>Personal development - giving and receiving feedback, managing conflict and difficult conversations, proactivity and problem-solving skills, time management and productivity</li>
<li>Professional development - negotiation for beginners, presentation skills, pricing, new business, workshop design &amp; facilitation</li>
<li>DE&amp;I - The business case for DE&amp;I, making space for inclusion, embedding DE&amp;I into your culture, an introduction to microaggressions, designing for DE&amp;I</li>
</ul>

Founder

Workshop facilitation

Sometimes it really helps to have an external facilitator who can provide an inclusive environment for a workshop, enabling the team to contribute equally and problem-solve together.

As a trained facilitator, I create positive conditions and energy into a room, so that you can focus on the things that really matter.

Kathie O&apos;Donoghue is a recognized business leader, Master Business Mentor and Coaching Supervisor specializing in the personal and professional growth of the Business Mentor/Coach. She also facilitates and trains other Mentors through the Help to Grow scheme.
With bases in Gloucester and West Sussex, Kathie is also the owner and Director of Mode Business Training &amp; Prosperon Networks, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, a Full Member of The Association of Business Mentors, a Member of the Association of Coaching Supervisors and a Master practitioner of the EMCC. Kathie is also a qualified CBT &amp; DBT therapist.
With a focus on accountability, constructive challenging skills and taking ownership of self-development. Kathie’s aim is to help individuals and businesses grow both organically and strategically using a range of techniques to uncover untapped potential.
Outside of the business arena, Kathie has an ongoing love of learning new, and sometimes bizarre skills. She has trained as an Opera singer, swum with Stingrays, has a full motorbike license, and considers herself a bit of a Sci-Fi geek.

Executive Business Mentor Supervisor and Trainer

Kathie ODonoghue

Kathie O&apos;Donoghue is a recognized business leader, Master Business Mentor and Coaching Supervisor specializing in the personal and professional growth of the Business Mentor/Coach. She also facilitates and trains other Mentors through the Help to Grow scheme.
With bases in Gloucester and West Sussex, Kathie is also the owner and Director of Mode Business Training &amp; Prosperon Networks, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, a Full Member of The Association of Business Mentors

Lunch and Learn: Five lessons from my first six months of freelancing

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