The Freelance Ads Club Podcast

#5 Freelancer Spotlight - Why you shouldn't overlook your mindset with Franca Cumbo

• Aggie Meroni

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In this episode, Aggie, the Founder of the Freelance Ads Club Membership, meets with Franca Cumbo - a fellow freelancer and the Founder of Lionstar Social 🤍

In this episode, Franca talks about her business journey and how important working on her mindset has been on growing her business.

Tune in here to hear more.

Having spent 15 years + working with some of the best global brands, Franca decided to take her digital expertise across brand strategy, web experiences and campaigns into her own paid social consultancy, Lionstar Social. 

Franca uses her digital marketing experience to help smaller, ambitious brands make a bigger impact. She works with aligned brands who are looking for a marketing partner with passion. Franca specialises in Meta advertising and Google search to combine brand building and performance marketing to introduce good brands to more people.


Get in touch with Franca: 

Email: franca@lionstarsocial.co

Website: www.lionstarsocial.co

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francacumbo/

P.S. Franka recommends to anyone who enjoyed this podcast to take a read of this book - the book expresses how women used mindset coaching to create aligned family and business lives  https://amzn.eu/d/9TS8svj 📖📚

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Aggie Meroni:

Hello and welcome to the freelance ads club podcast with me your host Aggie Meroni. Whether you're a veteran freelance ads manager, or just thinking about dipping your toe into the world of self employment, this podcast is for you. Every week, I'll be speaking about my own experiences as a freelance as manager, sharing a freelancer spotlights where I'll have a chat with one of the amazing members of the Freelancers Club, where I'll be asking guests to share their knowledge and experience in ads across all platforms and business. Don't forget to follow and subscribe on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. Welcome to this week's episode of the freelance ads club podcast. We have another Freelancer spotlight today, I am joined by Frank akimbo freelancer and founder of flying star social Franca is a member of the freelance ads club. And Franco will be sharing with us today, her journey into becoming a freelancer setting up her own business. But also the importance that working on her mindset has had on the growth of her business. Personally, before I launched my own business mindset was some kind of vague concepts that I'd heard of, but didn't really understand the impact of so I can really relate to what Frank has shared with me during this episode. So if you've heard of mindset of why it's important, or you're just intrigued to hear how it could impact your business, then listen in and hear what Franco had to share. Hi, Franco, thank you so much for joining me today.

Unknown:

Hi, Aggie, lovely to be here. Thanks for having me.

Aggie Meroni:

You're welcome. I'm so excited about having Frankie here to join me today. Because Franca is a fellow career changer as well. And we were also talking a bit about mindset and about how, you know, it's just not it's just kind of one of those really fluffy things. And we're like, actually, no, it's really important. So that's the topic of the podcast. Today, we're going to be chatting about career changing and how important mindset is when you career change, and start working as a freelancer. But before we dive into that, Frank, can you please introduce yourself and just tell us a little bit about your backstory. So how you ended up career changing?

Unknown:

Sure thing. Thanks, Aggie. So I'm a digital marketing consultant that specialises in meta ads, and Google and dabbling tic tock, I have my own consultancy called line star social, but it's been quite a journey to get there. I've had my own business since 2018. But I grew up in London, in an Italian, big Italian family. And then I moved to San Francisco, when I was 30, I was working for a digital agency. And then in 2008, I moved to Amsterdam. So that was 15 years ago, please don't do the maths because I'm really old. So I've worked in, I've started in marketing, and then I've worked in digital when it was called New Media, believe it or not, since 2000. And I took a career break, when I had my first child, it was quite a different time, you know, in at that point in time, you know, the way people worked, and just how people thought about careers, and I just couldn't see how to do motherhood and work. I just couldn't see it happening. So I just stopped and I was in a very privileged, you know, situation where we could afford to live off one income, my husband's income, but to get back into the workforce, you know, eventually, it's what I wanted to do, I wanted to be more significant and contribute to society. And I was really, really stuck. But one so obviously mindset coaching helped me so we'll we will talk about that. But I upskilled in social media, because that was the area that really blew up while I was sort of changing nappies and feeding toddlers. And it wasn't just about people posting but how business used social media to, you know, to do business. So then I upskilled again, as an ads manager, and now I'm sort of combining you know, all the sort of skills and experiences that I've had from my past but you know, it's been quite a journey is definitely wasn't an overnight thing.

Aggie Meroni:

So what do you think's been the biggest difference It's for you from being in a kind of more cool, I guess. It is corporate, isn't it? Because you're you were employed to now being a freelancer, you're freelance, aren't you?

Unknown:

Yeah, I am. And I think, you know, yes, I was in agency world where you know, you have, you have a very fixed sort of structure. I think the biggest difference for me is freedom and choice. And I'm sure a lot of freelancers can relate to that. It doesn't come without its headaches, but I love that I can, you know, choose how I work and with whom I work. And it's just the most important thing for me, you know, initially, what motivated me was to work around my family, you know, I had young kids at home, I didn't want to be out all day. So I thought, Great, I can work while they're at school, I can work when I put him to bed. I also wanted the freedom to work wherever because I don't live near my family. And I've, I travel a lot, you know, I was going back to London a lot to see my family. Just put a laptop in your bag. And that's it, you're done. You've got your office. So the freedom and the choice has been just amazing to work differently. And just as by being very, very fulfilled,

Aggie Meroni:

amazing. And was there anything that shocked you, when you decided to go freelance Was there something just weren't expecting,

Unknown:

I think, I'm sure lots can relate to this as well, it's just the fact that you have to wear so many hats, you know, you're not only doing the work to best serve your clients or what you're paid to do. But you've got to also know how to run a business. So that was all new to me, I'm still learning how to run a business. You know, things always evolve, you know, I invested in my systems in my business, or had just how to be more organised. And, you know, you have to be able to manage sort of the ebbs and flows of the in, you know, around the insecurity of freelance work. So, yeah, I wasn't prepared for that. But it's been great to learn all of that, and be sort of in control. It's very empowering.

Aggie Meroni:

Absolutely. I think for me, the biggest shock was the same. It's like, I literally have no idea how to do accounts, I'm still learning, like, I don't know how to do accounts, or have an accountant, but just getting my head around. Okay, this is like the VAT payment day for the next run. Or this is like there are different year ends for me for my business and my personal tax and all that kind of thing. And I'm still getting my head around it, because you don't really need to worry about it. When you're employed. It just kind of ticks along in the background for you. Yeah. And also the amount of time in and marketing yourself so that you have work. Yeah,

Unknown:

for sure. That is something I'm still not very good at. I'm really good at dishing out the advice, but not taking it. It's no different when it's your own business, isn't it? Yeah, definitely. And something I've come to realise is, we just can't be sort of good at everything as well. So I'm quite happy to outsource areas of my business, I think, why am I spending so much time on this? Like, I need to let somebody who's, you know, who loves doing this? And does this every day to help me? So what kinds of things have you outsourced, I have a VA. So she helps me with invoicing and just reminding me like, you know, this has to be done. And it just ticks along in the background. I've invested in systems so things can be a bit more automated, you know, I use clickup for project management. So that was a bit of a learning curve. But now I have you know, if anybody sort of works with me, we use clickup. And I, my clients use that with me too. So that's really helpful just to sort of stay organised. But yeah, I have an accountant too. I have no idea when it comes to doing the accounts. So yeah, those are the main main areas.

Aggie Meroni:

So when you started using clickup and I know we're like going off on a tangent here, but I'm always really interested to hear how other people manage their workload and things. Was that because you were recommended it by someone else, or did you do some research? Because I know there are a few alternatives as well.

Unknown:

Yeah, it was recommended. I just knew quite a few people that were using it and we're just saying I love it. I love it. It's so good. I was using Trello before which I think is just easier to pick up Trello with clickup It's a little bit more involved in. But now I've got my head round it, I really, really like it. But yeah, there are, there are so many tools out there, I think you've just got to kind of find one, give it a go, and then just stick with it.

Aggie Meroni:

Did you do any training on clickup? Or hire someone to help you set it up? Or is it something you just put some time aside to get your head around it yourself?

Unknown:

I did get somebody to help me. So the VA helped me set up, click up as well as actually did Zabo, which is another system I've invested in to help with, you know, proposals and input. Just yeah, getting invoices out and proposals, and just to have things look a bit a bit nicer for the client than just an email with attachments. But yeah, once once clickup is set up for you, I think you do have to understand it. And they have amazing support, they have tutorials, there are people on hands that if you just say I can't I want to do this, how do I do it, you know, you have a goal in mind, they'll help you figure it out. But it does take a little while to get used to. But I do really like it now. Once you set, you know you have something that works like a template, then you can apply that I keep using the same thing. It's got automations, you can have links to Google Docs. And yeah, it does so much probably more than what we actually need it for.

Aggie Meroni:

That's interesting. So I know, when I was doing some contracting at an agency, they just brought it in. And they were using it to manage the workload of about I think there was about 12 ads managers, so they were all working on different elements of the campaigns and you know, tasks were being assigned to different people, I was tracking my hours in there as well. And I think I'd never really gotten like an induction into the, into the software, I just found it so overwhelming. But I'm sure if I sat down with someone and went through it, it would be a lot more manageable to understand.

Unknown:

Definitely, I think you do need to be shown how to use it. Because every, every organisation will set it up differently as well. So you know, you've got so many different there's views, you've got status. So they have to give you a little bit of an overview of this is how it works. This is the flow, this is what we want you to do. But yeah, once you get some, you know, some help some support. It's great. So do you

Aggie Meroni:

think sort of investing in systems was an outcome of mindset work that you had?

Unknown:

Yes, that's a really good question. But yes, I think what it allowed me to do was to let go of the idea that I had to be good at everything. And that if I wasn't there was something wrong with me. So I think the whole mindset around figuring out what your superpower is, you know, your zone of genius. And then spending time on that and what you're not so good at, just stop struggling with it, and let people help you. So whether that's resources, human resources, or tech or whatever, you know, get the support you need to propel yourself forward. And I think yeah, it was definitely changing my mindset around, I had to be good at everything. Otherwise, I'm a failure.

Aggie Meroni:

So how did it look for you to work with a mindset coach? Is it something that was on your radar that you needed one? Or did someone tell you about these elusive beings that are mindset coaches that how did you come to work with one.

Unknown:

So as I mentioned, I try upskilled in social media to start with, so the organic side, and then about a year later, I retrained as an ads manager, and as part of that course, we had a mindset coach come in once a month to give us a little session. So I had not been, you know, exposed to this before. But it was a real game changer. For me. It was okay. Before I was learning the skills, I knew I had, what it took to be able to do the work. But something was still getting in my way. I just didn't feel confident. I didn't feel like like, yeah, I just didn't understand why I wasn't going for things or just work into my full potential. And with these sessions, it just changed the way I thought about things it gave me sort of allowed you to have to incorporate tools into your everyday life, that and to be able to take action. So you actually saw things happen and things change. And from that course, I then became sort of a client of that coach in a group, like it wasn't one on one, I think you learn so much from others I, I did value the group environment, rather than a one to one, because everybody shares a lot of the same challenges. So, you know, you may not bring it up yourself, but you hear somebody else talk about it, and we helped each other to, you know, unpack it and, and just support support that, that chat that person in that challenge. So that's how I was exposed to it. And I've been with this particular coach, since that time, so for quite a few years through different, you know, different. I wouldn't really call it a course, but programmes, I suppose. So I'm, I'm still with this coach. But now I'm in her mastermind, which is very different to the first one that I did. And it's not for everybody, when, you know, when we're talking about masterminds,

Aggie Meroni:

I think it's so fascinating to hear that just from a funnel perspective on how you introduced to the mindset coach. So you were like, it was part of a programme, and then you join, then you sort of bought into how she works and you liked her, you trusted her, then you went into group programme, and then you've gone into her mastermind. So that, for me is just fascinating from a business perspective. But I think it's, it's really interesting how you came across mindset work, because I think it is such an underrated element of running your own business. And it's really not something that was on my radar when I was employed at all, but you can really see how people's businesses progress. Dependent on their mindset, I think that you think that you can see, suddenly someone accelerates in your business in their business, you think what's changed. And it's like, oh, I just started thinking differently about things. And I did this, and I did that. And I was like, it's just so important about how you frame things and how you think about things. I

Unknown:

definitely couldn't agree more, you know, I've talked to people in different businesses, you know, and when I see them doing well, and I asked them, you know, gold, how did you do that? A lot of the time, the answer is just had to persevere, you know, it was mind over matter, you know, it's not necessarily the operational side, or the, you know, the tangible, it's just having the right mindset. This just taught me so much you know, about myself, and it's helped me in relationships. So we all know that our working relationships are so important to be able to do the best work, you know, I think it's made me realise that I need aligned to relationships at work to be able to be happy, you know, whereas in my past life, my old career, I didn't even think about that. It's like you work with whoever you end up working with, you work with the clients that you get, and if you have issues, those issues that are either down to you or down to the agency or down, you know, you don't think about, well, how can you step out of that and think about solutions, or it's not actually about you, and it's you know about something else that's going on. So I learned a lot more about how to accept myself, you know, how to be more empathetic towards sort of my clients. So understanding that, you know, they have a lot going on, it's not just about what you want from them, or what you're trying to help them with. Trying to be better at responding rather than reacting to situations. So it's really about like, how you frame things, and it's very easy to focus on the negative. That's the first thing that we do, but, you know, it helped me to change that to, you know, flip that switch and focus on, you know, the positive the wings, the small things, it's not like, Oh, I've won, you know, three new clients this week. It's, you know, I managed to get ads running even while my kids were at home from you know, from school because there's a school holiday. So that is a win. So it's a lot of positive psychology. It's a lot of gratitude lists, you know, you kind of hear that you see those posts on Instagram, but it has worked for me if you may Get habit for men. So you know, when I'm feeling kind of a bit mare, which happens to all of us, you know, I will write a list of all the things I'm grateful for, you know, the the wonderful clients, I work with all the, you know, all the, you know, the fact that I'm healthy. And so you just have to get into, into those routines. They have really, really helped me,

Aggie Meroni:

I think it's interesting as well how our mindset or perception of things really changes as we mature in our in our businesses as well, because I remember, I was totally unexpectedly a business owner, I was not planning at all on launching my own business, and the mentality around really new businesses a lot. Obviously, it's doesn't happen all the time. But it's like, how can I save money, so I'm going to build my own website, I'm going to, you know, I'm not going to invest in my own email domain, I'm not going to, you know, pay someone, anything for anything, I'm literally going to do everything myself, I'm not going to have an accountant, I can I can manage, you know, and what happens. And this is something that that trap that I fell into as well is I ended up completely burning out within about a year, which I think is quite a long time, actually. But I remember reading the big leap, which was a massive, like game changer for me. And it was all about this zone of genius, and about focusing about what you're good or good at, and all that kind of thing. I just remember thinking the only thing I enjoy about running my business is actually running ads, I hate everything else that I have to do. So I hate the fact that I have to be on social media. I already had an accountant, but you know, it's still like a pain, you know, making sure that all your invoices are in zero, getting your head round zero. That's the system I use. And I was like, I hate all the admin I have to do, like all the invoicing and everything like that was like after that summer holiday, it was like my flip had switched in my head, I looked for a VA, I outsourced the graphics on my social media. And, you know, working with my viz VA has been amazing. And it made me realise that I'm not great at delegating, either. It's been like, it's been a journey for me to be able to hand things over and explain what I need. But invoicing. But you know, the fact that I don't do that anymore, chasing invoices, I don't do that anymore. You know, it's just such a weight off your shoulders when the small tasks are no longer on your desk, because they add up. And that's all time that you could be actually servicing more clients and making more money. So that was a massive, massive, like, change for me. Also, something that I've noticed around a lot of my peers are the freelancers. I don't know if you've noticed this as well, that I don't know if it's a confidence thing or self esteem issue. But lots of freelancers almost seem like they're not worthy to work with bigger brands and bigger clients with bigger budgets. And they're almost scared to take that responsibility on when actually the Freelancers I know are more skilled than the agencies that are usually hired by those bigger brands, with those budgets. So it's, I think that's the mindset issue as well, I don't think many people talk about that.

Unknown:

Totally agree. Aggie, I mean, I was experiencing impostor syndrome before I'd even heard that term. I didn't even know it existed. But it's something that women fall into a lot more than men, you know, they say, you know, if you see a job spec, men will, the first reaction will be I can do that. And the first reaction from women will look at everything that they can't do. I mean, I had a conversation this very morning with somebody offered me an opportunity. And they had one requirement that I don't have experiencing, I think a guy would have just blanked his way in and said, Yeah, I can do that. But I was very forthright and said, I'm being transparent, I haven't done it. If you want somebody to jump in, you know, I have to sort of come in with integrity. And I think maybe somebody else would be better suited. Yeah, I think we do fall into the trap of not feeling worthy self worth was a really big, big driver to try and address my self worth. And a lot of that goes back to you know, how we were raised our upbringing, our stories, so it's about changing those those patterns. And, you know, those automatic responses that we have to situations, you know, but it's okay to feel that but then try not to let our actions or our decisions be based on that. So, yeah, you might think oh, I'm not sure I could do that. And a lot of the time, what's driving that is fear, fear, because it's going to be probably stretching us is going to be a challenge. And every time we level up to something that's, you know, new that where we're learning where we get out of our comfort comfort zone, we feel the fear. And that's a good thing. You know, that means you're growing, and we all want to be growing, we all want to be learning. But I think until I understood that, if I felt nervous or not confident, or, you know, doubted, if I could do it, I just sort of pin it down to my, my inadequacy, like, oh, I can't do that. I'm not as good. I, you know, exactly what you said, is that, oh, they're big brands, and they expect all of this and but now, I sort of question like, really, is that what's really driving this decision? Or is it that you're just kind of just a bit scared, because you're actually going to grow, and you're going to learn. So I'm, I'm more aware of what I base my decisions on. And, you know, if you think about how LinkedIn has changed, you know, we can show those vulnerabilities more now than we used to be able to, in our past lives, past careers, you know, you had to be all buttoned up and professional at work. And you wouldn't really show that you were, you know, feeling anything, but but we can see that just from all the content that's been shared about how life is hard when you're working and raising a family or working and doing something else. And people are sharing those challenges and being more vulnerable. I think that's a really good thing. You know, COVID had something to do with that as well, we were all for, you know, forced to work from home, I don't, I've always worked from home, as a freelancer. But, you know, all of a sudden, everybody's in our situation. And suddenly, you've got, you know, kids running across the screen. And, you know, so it did sort of help our cause for when moms or women have been crying out for flexible working for a long, long time. But I think that did help to accelerate things. Not that it's perfect now, but I think it's all positive.

Aggie Meroni:

I think it's not even just a women's issue. I mean, the fact that my husband's home, like three days a week or two days a week, is amazing for him, because he's actually there to pick my son up from nursery, he can actually go to the gym, or whatever he wants to do, he doesn't have to spend those two hours commuting every day. So I think it's been good in general, that people get that flexibility. But I think it's interesting what you touched on that you become more confident in the decisions that you make. Because you said that, you know, earlier when you had that discussion about the opportunity that came up, and you were honest about your strengths and things like that, I think there's power in that as well. Because there's nothing wrong with taking on something new if you want to like if it's what you want to develop into. But if you know that it's going to be a massive drain on your time, you've got no interest in upskilling in that particular thing. There is so much power and saying this opportunity is actually not right for me. But I do know someone who'd be amazing and could help you with this. So I think it's all about knowing what you actually want to do and what your what projects she wants to take on. That is what's amazing, when you kind of know what you want, like you know, what your strengths are and what you know, you can be really good at

Unknown:

Yeah, it's very, very empowering and totally agree about, you know, the the advantage to men and husbands and dads and all of that my husband has absolutely loved the extra flexibility he's got nowadays. But another thing that I wanted to touch on with what I've learned through mindset coaching is to focus on how I feel like feel in my body, as opposed to focusing only what's going on in my head. Because sometimes those decisions are based on FOMO you know, or just Well, everyone else is doing that. Like, I don't like being on social as much as I wish I would. I wish I liked being on social promoting myself. But then I look at other, you know, other peers and I think I should be doing this, I should be doing that. But if it doesn't feel right, you kind of have to think about okay, how do I make this work for me? What's the right way for this to work for me, but even in terms of taking on clients? You know, I'm really believe in working if you work with the lines, clients and the energy is right, so how do you feel when you're having those? You know, that discovery call? I think we can all sense. You can I mean, it's tapping into your gut, I suppose that's what, that's what it's down to. But I didn't really focus on that before. I was much more thinking, Well, you had to kind of be a bit more masculine. If you're running a business, and it's all about the numbers. And is it going to bring in revenue? Yes, then just say, yes. Whereas I mean, my husband thinks I'm a bit woowoo, to Guru sometimes when I'm talking about my business, but I'm like, No, I want it to feel right. Because then it just works it, you know, it's good for the client, it's good for me, I'm happy. But just want to have these sort of positive connections and work with people that are more aligned in terms of values and energy. So really tapping into kind of how do you feel about opportunities, not just thinking about in your head? Well, you know, the numbers work. So I should, I should do this, I should do that.

Aggie Meroni:

So no one can see me, or frankly, can see me but I can't see her on our podcast recording. But I've been nodding away. While you've been saying that, because I was actually talking someone this morning about how your energy is just so underrated as well, which it kind of ties into your mindset as well. But there's been a few posts recently in Facebook groups that have just totally made me groan inside because they're from freelancers, usually. And they are complaining about awful clients that are just training them totally under appreciate them, micromanage them all this fun stuff that all frayed freelancers come across at some stage, and I've had my own share of these types of clients, my gut has been screaming at me, don't take them on, they are not right for you. And it might have been a long time in my business, I was thinking I don't have a choice, I need to take this on. Or they just turned into like the devil when you start working with, like, there were no red flags at the time. But something happens, and you think I literally cannot take this anymore. And it's having that power and isn't always easy. I mean, it took me months to part ways for the client earlier this year. Because I was dithering about whether I should or I shouldn't, for various reasons. And then I was like, this is actually making me nervous every time I have a call with them, because they just throw like, you know, these things out of nowhere at me. And I'm always unprepared for these, like explosions that happen in our one to ones or, you know, they're never happy, despite me proving that things are working. And I thought you know what, I actually deserve to work with clients that value what I'm doing. And I've terminated that contracts, which was not well received at all. And it's like, it's so important to not have that anxiety in your own business. Like when you're working for someone, there's a level of that, because you have no control over who you have to work with. It's just tough, you know, that's the client or they're your colleagues, you need to just get on with it. But when you're your own boss, you can think I literally can't be bothered with this, like, I need to put my energy into finding a better client or one that you know, works differently, or, as you said, is more aligned with me. And to protect that energy. Because you're just one person, aren't you? You can't just as soon as you have one client sapping your energy impacts the quality of service that you can provide to others as

Unknown:

well. Yeah, well, well done.

Aggie Meroni:

I gave her it was traumatic. I'm not gonna lie.

Unknown:

Ya know, it's not easy. And, you know, I'm still in a coaching, you know, environment, and I'm still learning and I still have these moments where, you know, you think should I be taking this on or that on, but I've had my fair share of, you know, things aren't working, or you're not delivering the results. And you think, well, it's not because of the ads, it's because their website is totally rubbish and doesn't convert, but, you know, there's times when we're just not mature enough in our in ourselves in our business to be able to look at the whole funnel and, you know, look at those criteria before taking on the clients that I've, you know, was it a mistake? I mean, I just learned from that to say, right, I'm not going to say yes to every you know, every opportunity but you know, when you're starting out it's it's hard to be so rational about things and you know, you need to get exposure rinse and you take you take clients on, but it's definitely a work in progress. Is this a constant? Thinking Like, is this right? Am I going to? You know, am I sort of on the right foot? Are we starting off on the right foot? Even if they don't have a perfectly work in funnel? Are they open to fixing things, improving things? You know, do they want to grow as much as I want to help them grow? So, you know, are they open minded? Are they entrepreneurial? So you just have to ask all those questions. But yeah, not always easy. And

Aggie Meroni:

I think the personal chemistry you have with your clients is also massively underrated. Because you can sense if you're going to get on with someone or not. So yeah, it's all a learning curve. Like everything's a lesson.

Unknown:

I totally agree. Yeah. Yeah, this has been like, every single day.

Aggie Meroni:

Absolutely. But that's what keeps it fresh. That's what keeps it exciting. That's why we continue to do what we do. I guess the final question.

Unknown:

Yeah. And I think, you know, you know, we, we were talking about sort of energy and, you know, making decisions based on kind of how you feel. But I think something that, that I worked on with mindset coaching was sort of getting clarity on my why. And I think that's something that's quite, quite important. Because when you're not making sacrifices, so that's not the right word. But when you're maybe having those challenges or those hard days, I think it's really important to sort of say, Why am I doing this? And it's not always, you know, just making money isn't enough. That isn't really, that isn't always the driver for people, it's like, they want to, you know, have a bigger, I say, purpose, but, you know, is it to be like, for me, it was to be a role model for my kids, and to be able to afford them, you know, experiences with the money that I earn. So it's like, what do I want to do? With my, with my income, you know, and what, what do I want to teach my kids? Well, I want to teach them that you're never too old to, to change paths. And you're never too old to learn something new. Like I'm a content, I definitely believe in being a continual learner. And I'm, I'm still doing courses, and I always will, but I want them to know that, that it's okay. And it's okay to not know it all. You just need to figure it out, you know, you've got the brains to figure it out. And it's okay to have off days. So I think that also helps you with your decision making, it's like to just go back to your why. And I wasn't very clear on that, when I was trying to figure out what to do, you know, when I had that career break. And I think that was really, really helpful. I felt quite paralysed, you know, with what to do, because I didn't really have that clear.

Aggie Meroni:

Absolutely. I think that's another thing that is I mean, it totally goes into the mindset thing, that you totally have to reframe how you think about everything. Because when you when you're employed, you don't have you don't need to think about those things. Because you just you do, you know, you go to work, you do your job, you're probably like chasing a promotion or something. And that's usually your why that's why you're there. Maybe it's like develop your skills or something. But even your learning is dependent on a budget that you have internally. So you might not get all the training that you want, you might not even be encouraged to learn new things in the company that you're at. And if if it's not something that's really talked about, or in the culture, you might never do any additional training in your role. Whereas if you're freelance or have your own business, you have to keep on top of things, because it's that that gives you the edge to make sure that you're always ahead of the game.

Unknown:

Yeah, definitely. And I love that I love, you know, learning something new. And it's just made it more sort of accepted. It's just sort of part of the work that we do things change technology, and you know, in our space that's continually changing, it makes it exciting. Definitely not definitely not boring.

Aggie Meroni:

You definitely can't say that. So just to wrap up, there's like one question that I asked everyone sort of a general freelance question. Is there a lesson that you've learned since you well, there's been I'm sure, there's been many, but a lesson that you've learned that you think would help someone else that's just starting

Unknown:

quite a hard one. I wouldn't say that something's gone really wrong. But it just goes back to what we were talking about, like working with the wrong type of clients or the wrong type of project, because then it just spirals into Do you know you're not doing good work or you don't think you're doing good work, and it can really bring you down, it makes you feel like you don't know what you're doing or you're not good at your job. And then the clients not happy and not getting the results that they expect. It's sort of little that sort of managing expectations from the start, or maybe saying no, to those clients. And that's what I've experienced, you know, is, oh, my God, you know, you look back think, why did I? Why did I take that client on? Didn't? You know, it didn't really help anybody. I hope so I hope that any Freelancer listening to this would, will, hopefully have the opportunity to assess a few different things and not just take like the first or think that they have to take everything that comes their way. You have to create space for the work that you want to do. And if you're just taking everything, your as you said, your energy just gets drained. And you don't have the energy to do the work that you want to do. I love that line, create space for the work you want to do. I think that's the perfect summary

Aggie Meroni:

like for this call. Is that is exactly that is what I believe as well that you need to create that space. Frank, if people want to get in touch with you like what's the best way for them to do that?

Unknown:

LinkedIn, I would say I'm pretty active on LinkedIn and Instagram. I'm frankly Cumbo on LinkedIn, you know, my personal profile. That's probably the best way that I look forward to connecting with everybody. Perfect.

Aggie Meroni:

Well, I'll add those links in the show notes. Well, Franco, thank you so much for joining me today. It's been great to talk about mindset and your journey and how career changing has impacted you and continues to impact the job you do and the clients that you work with today. So thank you very much. Thank

Unknown:

you, Aggie. It's been great britain enjoyed it.

Aggie Meroni:

Thank you for listening to this episode of the freelance ads club podcast. If you're a freelance ads manager, don't forget to download the free Client Onboarding Trello you can find in the show notes. If you're a brand or agency looking for support from one of our community, visit our website at the freelance ads club.com to access our member directory. Tune in next time