IPSE ‘Sustainable Freelancer Award’ finalist
Last month (October 2022) I opened an email announcing that I had been named a finalist for the IPSE Sustainable Freelancer Award.
IPSE is the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Their Sustainable Freelancer Award is a national recognition, “celebrating a freelance business or individual consciously working greener and cleaner”.
Importantly, it’s about making small changes in daily practices. Which is exactly what I aim to do both at home and in my working life.
My business journey
I first dipped my toe into self-employment when I decided that writing walking guidebooks and articles about outdoor adventures for publications and websites would be a great way to ‘never work another day in my life’. I found the reality to be the opposite. I never felt like I had a day off in my life!
My outdoor activities, which had always given me balance in life, soon became a place where I constantly thought about work. So I stepped back, began working part-time for a conservation charity, and thought about how to change things around in my business.
On my spare days, I began writing for other businesses. Especially those in the outdoor sector or purpose-driven organisations. I found that my experience as an employee over the years helped me understand and share their marketing messages.
Then, in January 2022, I took the plunge and decided to become fully self-employed.
Support from the Organisation for Responsible Businesses
Two pivotal things happened that month.
The first was that I came across an entity called the Organisation for Responsible Businesses (ORB). Their website talked about running businesses in an ethical and responsible way. And it mean being connected with other like-minded business owners.
I completed the joining application and received an invitation to have a chat with one of the founders. During that meeting, I realised the sheer amount of information they had about ethical business practices. So, I was delighted when they accepted me as a member.
The second was that I decided to brush up on my search engine optimisation (SEO) skills. I’d been following Kate Toon, a British copywriter, now living in Australia, for a couple of years and loved the SEO information she shared. When I realised how much depth her 12-week Recipe for SEO Success training course went into, I decided to stump up the hefty fee and invest in my business.
Being part of ORB, learning from other ethical business owners, and working on my own SEO while on the training course both helped shape the direction of my own business. When I was invited to pitch for content writing work on a new net zero project, things really began to slot into place.
Choosing to niche
Prior to beginning work on The Net Zero Accelerator I’d resisted the advice from others about specialising in specific sectors. But once I began interviewing other business owners about their net zero activities, I realised just how much it was resonating with my core values.
Looking back at my previous client work, it suddenly clicked. Everything fell into one of three categories:
Outdoor activities
Charities and organisations providing services with purpose
Brands with a strong environmental ethos
And so, my client niches were born.
I now market myself as a marketing content writer for outdoor, purpose-driven, and eco brands. They’re all sectors which mean something to me. Which means I get to love the work I do, and my clients get the best of my knowledge.
The IPSE Sustainable Freelancer Award
After working on the net zero project, I decided to develop an environmental policy for my own website.
It covers my thoughts on reducing carbon emissions, choosing not to work with certain businesses, my office and work practices, and how I give back to others. But in the spirit of knowing that we are all far from perfect, it also covers the things I’m still working on.
As my knowledge develops, I expect that list to grow.
Interestingly, in late summer 2022, I also learned about the carbon impact of the internet via a presentation at an ORB networking event. The astounding information that the carbon emissions from the internet are equivalent to the aviation industry caused me to make some more simple switches.
For example, my search engine is now Ecosia which works just like Google but they plant trees for every search made.
I’m just one person in a very big world. And the impact I have is minimal when compared to some of the huge global corporations. But I have a firm belief that lots of small changes can add up to a big impact.
In other words, if millions of individuals make small changes, the impact can be huge.
So when the IPSE Sustainable Freelancer Award recognised the importance of small changes in daily practices to achieving net zero, I knew it was the category for me. I’m in good company with the other three award finalists and am looking forward to finding out who wins later in November 2022.
In the press
Massive thanks to the following organisations for featuring me in their publications
YORKSHIRE BUSINESSWOMAN
https://yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk/freelancer-nominated-for-national-sustainability-award/
To chat about how I can help with your marketing content, either send me a message or book a no-obligation discovery call below ⬇️