Nicola Balkind

Freelance Writer & Content Specialist

  • Services
  • Work
  • Books
  • Contact

Lessons from Small is Beautiful

By Nicola Balkind

Small is Beautiful

As I’ve mentioned before, I love working with Roanne Dods and the rest of the amazing team on Small is Beautiful – an annual conference for microbusinesses and freelancers. I consider myself a bit of both.

This year’s event took place on 17 & 18 June, here in Glasgow. I was live-tweeting the event – a process I really enjoy. There was so much to keep up with, and after a while it became a process of hearing great scraps of wisdom fly in through my ears and straight back out through my fingertips.

The event featured an amazing array of speakers whose talks were filled with brand new advice and valuable reminders.

Today I want to share some of the highlights of the speakers’ shared wisdom – and some things that really resonated with me and my own business.

 

Standing out often means putting people off

As James Greig put it: “If you want to be magnetic, you must be as willing to repel as to attract.”

There isn’t a big committee mentality among microbusinesses, but when striking out on your own it’s easy to cast too wide a net. The more you try to appeal to everyone, the more standard and boring you risk becoming.

Patricia van den Akker had another way of making the same point, saying simply: “More businesses should be a bit more like Marmite.”

Are you putting off the customers who aren’t right for you?

 

Your time is a precious resource

Leah Hutcheon gave a talk about the value of time. We talk about spending, wasting, running out of time, but as humans it’s our most precious resource.

She also debunked that quote about how Beyoncé has 24 hours in a day, too. Unlike the rest of us, she has help. She probably isn’t worried about getting the laundry done before tomorrow’s meeting. Remember that.

 

You can use your fear as motivation

On Day 2, we revisited Akiko Kobayashi’s Pecha Kucha talk, which she delivered at our event back in December. It’s entitled Do The Talk That Scares You. My subtitle would be Apply liberally when feeling afraid. 

Her story is a stark reminder about the power fear can hold over you, and how you can choose to overcome it, one challenge at a time. And it’s just beautiful.

 

On reading & writing

Fi Scott gave a daring talk about her experience with starting a small tech company in Scotland called Make Works. She discussed everything from securing arts and innovation funding to the pit of despair. There were tons of gems in her talk, but the one that stuck out to me most was, “When I panic, I read.” I relate, but I’m just as frequently paralysed by panic.

I also took a lot of solace and inspiration from James Greig’s talk on writing. He told us that writing is like time-travel – an idea I’ve been juggling around in my head with unending amusement. He shared advice that I often give my collaborators, and hearing it back was just as powerful: “Blogging isn’t really about writing blog posts, it’s about telling stories.”

James also shared a great Elmore Leonard quote: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” Simple, effective, and it made me return to my old habit of collecting and squirrelling away useful quotes for anytime I feel under-inspired.

 

Small matters

One of the biggest themes at Small is Beautiful is, unsurprisingly, the power of being small and staying small, but doing work that has a big impact.

This quote gave me great comfort:

“From little things, big things can grow.” – Lucy Simpson

 

 

The greater context in which we exist as microbusinesses in a macro business world was also explored. Ruth Little gave us a visual metaphor of the capitalistic obsession with growth resulting in cancers and Godzilla-sized hamsters. Then Katherine Trebek summarised on the final day with these thoughts:

“We’re overexposing our communities & our planet to the wrong sort of growth: obsessions with big, with status,and with self. [We need to] build from the bottom up, cherish the small in a world obsessed with big.”

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about running your business?

You can find out more about Small is Beautiful at smallisb.com – and keep an eye out for recaps and videos of all the talks coming later this year.

Filed Under: Microbusiness Tagged With: inspiration, microbusiness, quotes, small is beautiful

Follow Me

Sign up for my newsletter

Contact Me

Email: nicola@nicolabalkind.com
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Subscribe to my newsletter

Categories

  • Archive
  • Client Work
  • Microbusiness
  • Notebook
  • Social Media & Content
  • Writing Portfolio

Testimonials

Nicola has been nothing but helpful, insightful, and an amazing force to impact our team. She exudes exceptional talent, and throughout working together I’ve been able to see first-hand her strength in organising and leading a team, attention to detail, and ability communicate with her peers and clients effectively. It has been a real pleasure to work with Nicola, and I can’t wait to continue working alongside and learning from her.
Jessica Yamamoto, Yelp
Nicola is crazy talented, knowledgeable and efficient when it comes to Social Media and Copywriting. I had the pleasure to work with Nicola on several online marketing projects over the course of almost two years. Not only is she a fountain of knowledge regarding latest trends and best practices for both Social Media and online writing – she is also able to put abstract ideas into action. Any team looking to improve their online presence would be lucky to get their hands on Nicola.
Eva MartinSERPS Invaders
Nicola was an important member of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Marketing Department and was key in the communication delivery of the Festival. In such a dynamic and demanding environment, Nicola delivered great content and was dependable throughout, an invaluable asset to the Festival.
Ross PerthEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola has been my number one go-to for freelance community management. She is incredibly efficient, she is clear with costs, time estimates and invoicing and completely reliable. She is a breath of fresh air in an industry which is plagued by self-promoting “gurus”: her range of skills and experience is broad and authentic. I really appreciate the way Nicola is uncomplicated to work with: she asks quick, straightforward questions about what’s required then sits down and gets the job done without fuss. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nicola and would certainly work with her again.
Annie MacfarlaneTOMS Europe
Nicola is an experienced creative copywriter, with a great ability to produce quality pieces quickly and at short-notice. She has a great knowledge of social platforms and ability to apply this knowledge. Nicola is an absolute pleasure to work with and brings her creativity and personality to everything she does.
Kaye SymingtonMint Digital & Stickygram
Nicola helped transform EIFF’s web vision at a time of change. She is assured and confident with her tactics in an ever-evolving industry and, more importantly, generates great content with results. Allied to Nicola’s strategic savvy, it’s a winning combination.
Colan MehaffeyEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola was a pleasure to work with. She managed a number of our clients social media and content strategy with a brilliant flair to adapt her creative skills for each of their brands guidelines. She also provided social media training which was highly informative and engaging. Nicola is highly knowledgeable and is constantly in touch with the forefront of all social media developments. She provides all her work in a professional and timely manner. Nicola is comfortable presenting and talking to clients. I would have no hesitation in recommending Nicola. Great person to work with!
Lorraine WaddellSERPS Invaders
Nicola’s contributions to our projects for Channel 4 were invaluable: her huge knowledge of social media developments and online trends, together with her editorial flair and excellent writing skills made her invaluable in roles that encompassed community management, social media marketing, content strategy and product development. Her dedication, creativity, forward-thinking and attention to detail made her a major factor in the success of these projects. It was a pleasure to work with her, and I hope to work with her again!
Laura GraceMint Digital
Nicola and I worked together across several projects in the Yomgeo community management team. Nicola is great to work with, her attitude towards projects is always amazing and she is incredibly efficient, Her work is always of the highest quality, and I’ve learned a lot from working with her.
Catherine CarriganYomego
Nicola has worked with Purplefeather on various social media and copywriting campaigns. She is creative, reliable and professional and can be completely trusted with the voice of your brand – rare qualities indeed!
Andrea GardnerPurplefeather

Copyright © 2023 · Modern Studio Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in