Grow your freelance business with #FreelanceHeroesDay 2019, supported by FreeAgent and Dinghy Insurance for Freelancers

On Thursday 16th May 2019, freelancers from all over the UK will come together to learn, be inspired and open doors to opportunity through networking and collaboration. 

Bringing the Freelance Heroes community together 'offline' once again, #FreelanceHeroesDay offers the opportunity to meet with fellow freelancers and learn from awesome speakers who will enlighten us on relevant topics as voted for by the community itself. 

This year we will be focused on the growth of your freelance business with topics such as work-life balance, confidence and mindset, goal setting, finding clients, content creation and the impact of communities such as Freelance Heroes on your freelance business.  There will also be a forum on how to grow your online presence, with experts on website development, website design, SEO and SEM/social media. 

The Freelance Heroes community (now with over 4,800 members) is a supportive and encouraging community of peer support and a platform for personal development. Never closed for business, members share experiences, ask questions and network with people who are in the same freelancing boat. Join them here for free >>

Be part of  #FreelanceHeroesDay. Book your early bird ticket now for £59*  (Ticket cost from April 1st 2019 will be £89)

Freelance Heroes Day is supported by FreeAgent and Dinghy Insurance for Freelancers

FreeAgent provides accounting software that sorts out the mess and the stress of managing business finances. With our exclusive #FreelanceHeroesDay promotion, you can claim a 3 month free trial AND 10% off when you subscribe! Just subscribe via this link

Programme & Speakers

8.30am Registration and networking 

Grab a coffee (and of course a pastry),  and meet your fellow day delegates. Find out who everyone is, tell them about you and put real life people to the names of the people in your online Freelance Heroes Community

10am Welcome to Freelance Heroes Day with Ed Goodman and Annie Browne

A brief intro from Ed & Annie from Freelance Heroes HQ

10.15am Goal setting from the world's worst goal setter, and what happens when things don’t quite go to plan with Kelly Molson

How many times have you said to yourself “I’m going to write that book” or “I’m going to work for that big client” and another year goes by and no book and no big client? We all know we need to set goals, but what if you’re just not that great at it? 

In this session Kelly shares her journey from freelancer to agency owner, how goal setting has helped her win global clients, grow the agency and reach 16 years in business. But let's face it, things rarely go to plan, so she’ll share what happens when it all goes wrong. We’ll look at how to develop an effective goal setting strategy that works for you, and what sausage rolls have to do with it all.

Find Kelly on Twitter and LinkedIn

11.15am Being The Central Cog: Confidence, mindset and work-life balance with Annie Browne 

Owner of established VA business Hello My PA and Co-founder of Freelance Heroes, Annie Browne knows a thing (or a few) about what work-life balance really means. 

A self-employed mother of two, married to a globe trotting academic and living 3 hours away from any family; Annie has spent 4 years building a business that truly works for her, her family, her employees and her clients.

In this session, Annie will talk about why we're failing by searching for 'work-life balance' and how your mindset and your confidence are key to creating the freelance business and the lifestyle you really want.  

12.15pm Anti-Sell: Lead Generation & Networking Tips for Freelancers who Hate Sales with Steve Morgan 

Steve Morgan is a freelance SEO consultant based in Cardiff, trading as Morgan Online Marketing. I've been working in SEO for 10+ years, with the last 5-6 years as a freelancer. I also blog (SEOno) and run Cardiff SEO Meet, an SEO meetup. More recently, I've just self-published my first book: Anti-Sell, the sales guide for freelancers who hate sales. He says:

"Almost every freelancer I've met absolutely hates sales and struggles with it - myself included. We just want to get on with our 'work' (our specialism), but in order to do that, we have to sell ourselves to other people and businesses. Many freelancers I know consider sales their weakest quality, their Achilles heel. Fortunately, especially these days, the best way to sell is NOT to sell - you can just be YOU: giving advice, helping people and showing off your expertise and knowhow that way. This talk will run through my experiences with networking and lead generation, giving you actionable tips and advice so that you can sell yourself (and other people will refer you on and sell you FOR you) without even trying, with the leads coming to you."

Find Steve on Twitter and LinkedIn

1pm Networking lunch

Refuel for the afternoon! Enjoy a lunch (included in the price of your ticket of course) with your fellow freelancers. Use the time to reflect on the morning's speakers, meet our sponsors or discuss the trials and tribulations of freelancing with your fellow delegates. 

Discover ways to grow your freelance business through the art of face to face conversation. 

2pm Introductions from #FreelanceHeroesDay supporters, FreeAgent and Dinghy 

A brief hello from our event sponsors. 

2.30pm Forum: Getting The Most From Your Online Presence featuring Andrew Cock-Starkey, Karen Arnott and Simon Badman

Andrew Cock-Starkey has been working on websites for nearly 20 years – creating compelling content, eye-catching headlines, link building, launching social media channels, building audiences and ‘getting a bit optimisey’. 

Karen Arnott is an established and enthusiastic graphic designer, with over twenty years’ worth of corporate and freelance experience. She has expertise in many graphic design specialties — from branding, websites, brochures, books, exhibition graphics, email marketing and just about everything in-between

3.30pm Content and Blogging With PURPOSE with Stacey MacNaught

Stacey MacNaught is a freelance SEO and content marketing consultant. Her foray into SEO began when she took a trainee role with a Manchester agency in 2009 with the intention of learning it for a year and then going into freelance copywriting. 9 years and 4 promotions later, Stacey was a board director with that agency, overseeing all SEO and content marketing operations. She made the decision to leave the role and go self-employed in early 2018. Stacey has been invited to speak at SEO and content marketing events globally, including Mozcon, SearchLove, BrightonSEO and Learn Inbound. She lives just outside Manchester with her husband and two young sons. She says:

"Let’s stop blogging “just for the sake of it”. Most of us have, at some stage, felt like we’re blogging or creating content because we feel like we should. But why? Content, like anything you do within your work or business, should have objectives. In this session, Stacey will share practical tips, takeaways and real world examples of using content and blogging to: Drive enquiries for your freelance services Drive relevant traffic Build inbound links/coverage to drive improved SEO, traffic and awareness Build credibility We’ll talk about tools, touch on ideation tactics and discuss ways in which we can make content and blogging more efficient and cost effective."

Find Stacey on Twitter and LinkedIn

4.30 The Impact of Freelance Heroes and Close with Ed Goodman 

A private bar will be available on the evening of the event for any delegates who are staying local; nearby hotels include Premier Inn, Novotel, Britannia Hotel.

Get involved in the #FreelanceHeroesDay conversation via @FHChat

*Please note that tickets are non-refundable