The Freelancer Life: Shona Chambers
Meet Shona, a Marketing Consultant who specialises in working with small business owners on their marketing planning and strategy.
We chat to Shona about publishing her first book ‘100 Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners’ and how networking plays such a huge role in her freelance life.
“I collaborate almost every day in some way. Whether that is co-authoring a blog, or working with other freelancers on shared projects. ”
Hey Shona, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for?
Hello. I am Shona and I am a Marketing Consultant. I have been self-employed since 2011 after 10 years working in corporate marketing within media and financial services companies. I specialise now in working with small business owners on their marketing planning and strategy.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
In 2011 I was made redundant from my last corporate role, which was running the Customer Insights function of a large online media company. I lined up another job almost immediately, but at the last moment had one of those sliding door moments and decided to make the leap!
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home and why?
Before lockdown, I loved working from our amazing local coffee shops and workspaces. In South East London where I live there are two really great places that I'd love to mention. Peckham Levels is a multifunctional space, with yoga studios, offices and lots of small businesses working together, set in a former multi-story car park. And the other place I love is Parkhall Business Centre in West Dulwich. It is housed in an amazing old building that has a Volcano Coffee roastery and cafe on the ground floor. Perfect for meetings, working and great coffee!
Share your struggles – what do you find hardest about working for yourself and why?
Often it is not having someone immediately to hand to share those highs and lows we all experience. But you can find those people online pretty quickly.
How have you found ways to combat these parts of working for yourself?
I am a big fan of networking. In fact, I founded my own networking group Self Employed Club in 2017 which was all in-person networking but is online only at the moment. Building a network is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner.
Share your perks – what do you enjoy most about working for yourself and why?
It may sound like a strange perk but I love not having to spend my entire day in meetings. I see this as an area where corporate and self-employed work really differ. So many people I know are really struggling with having others set their agenda every day. I see it as a perk that I can control how and when I work (for the majority of the time).
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
Evaluate the earning potential before making any big moves. It may seem glamorous to 'quit the day job' but if it’s paying the bills then you need to be cautious about taking any big steps into the blue. There is nothing wrong with being employed and working on your other work at the same time.
Consider what you have to offer that is different to other people. Why should anyone employ you? What is your USP? If you don't know this, then you'll find it very hard to attract clients.
Focus on your network. People are very keen on social media but networking can be 10 times more powerful. Think for a moment, if someone tells you they need something and asks for your help, who are you going to think about the next time you hear about an appropriate opportunity? Most networking groups give you the opportunity to say who you are and what you are looking for.
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration etc. and why?
One of my favourite podcasts is The Entrepreneurs Growth Club by Charlie Day. Charlie has a range of business owner guests on who share their knowledge and experience in short bite-sized episodes.
I recently enjoyed reading The Practice by Seth Godin. His top piece of advice in this book is if you have a practice, like writing, or anything else that matters to you. Just do it. Do it every day, get better, work at it. Creativity is not a talent, it is something you improve through practice.
I enjoy following Laura Vanderkam on social media, reading her books and blogs. Laura is a productivity expert and author of 168 hours and I Know How She Does It. She gives bite-sized tips on how to improve your time management to have a better life.
What role does collaboration play for you?
I collaborate almost every day in some way. Whether that is co-authoring a blog, or working with other freelancers on shared projects.
What do you love to do? What makes you tick and what do you simply love doing?
I love to read. Anyone who knows me or follows me on social media will have seen me recommend books or talk about what I'm reading.
I love to cook! I was lucky enough to be gifted a Zoom Wanton Cookery Class recently by Yuki at Cultivate Life and enjoyed trying that out for Chinese New Year
I love to introduce people who I think would work well together or could help each other in some way.
Finally, I love learning. I am always looking for new ways that I can improve what I do for clients whether that's through short courses or YouTube.
What are you really good at? What’s your marketing superpower?
Having worked in Customer Insight for the first 10 years of my marketing career I always start with the customer first. I've helped a lot of clients to really focus on the way their customer thinks and feels first before designing a marketing strategy that will help to reach them. It is no good thinking about what tools you like to use from a marketing perspective and then trying to fit the client into that, you have to start with the person you are trying to reach first, not the tool.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
Last year I was completely stopped in my tracks by the first lockdown period, like everyone else I'm sure. I was doing lots of in-person meetings, marketing training workshops and all of my clients were local. I felt a bit freaked out about the idea of just jumping headfirst into Zoom so I took a bit of time out. I'd had the idea for a book in my head due to a blog I'd written that was always very popular. I used it as a starting point and wrote my book 100 Marketing Tips For Small Business Owners which I self-published last September. I am really pleased with the way it has been received by my clients and peers in the small business world.
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
As I mentioned briefly above I was doing 100% in-person meetings last year, running workshops and networking events for locals. Since then I've taken on clients throughout the UK and taken to online life pretty well. I would never go back to 100% in person now. The travelling time alone to meetings is a natural wastage in our days.
“Focus on your network. People are very keen on social media but networking can be 10 times more powerful.”
If anyone would like to join in, Shona runs The Sunday Social every Sunday on the Self Employed Club Instagram where anyone can tell others what their company is doing at the moment, advertise offers, or look for others to collaborate with. She does the same thing in her Self Employed Club Facebook Group on Mondays which is her free promotion day.
Want to learn more about Shona? Visit her website shonachambersmarketing.co.uk or give her a follow on Twitter @ShonaMarketing, Instagram @shonachambersmarketing or Facebook @shonachambersmarketing.
