Good Morning Friends,
Welcome to the latest Soapbox newsletter!
Our next gathering is on February 27th at Sierra Metro (one week today!) where you can come and meet like minded folk who freelance or are employed in culture, creative, tech & digital for a morning of blethering and sharing news and opportunities over a cuppa. Soapbox events are free, and you’re invited to pop along any time between 8am and 10am. Whether you stay for 10 minutes or the full 2 hour duration is totally up to you!
We’d love to see you there!
Updates:
The other day we had our first day of Fool’s Spring. I’d never heard about Fool’s Spring before, it’s when you get a day that out of nowhere feels like Spring; the sun’s out and it’s warmer than it has been. But it’s usually gone quicker than it arrived and the weather prominently goes back to being Winter. It’s true if you blinked you probably missed it. But I’m very hopeful, because I’ve seen a lot of snowdrops recently and even some daffodil leaves have started poking through. Spring is coming, pals.
Last month there were so many of you who popped along to Sierra Metro to join us at the end of January, it was lovely; seeing familiar faces, after what felt like ages, as well as welcoming so many of you to Soapbox for the very first time. Having our community come together to support each other, make new connections and share opportunities over coffee makes me feel incredibly fortunate and grateful. Even more so with some of the ideas I have for future events! Within that gratitude, I think it’s important to acknowledge the immense amount of suffering and injustice happening in Gaza right now. If you feel called to, I’ve shared below some events in Edinburgh over the next couple of weeks who are donating money to aid Palestine.
Ruth MacGilp is running a yoga class on March 24th from 3pm-4pm for a flow and restore practice, suitable for all levels. 100% of proceeds will go to MAP in order to deliver essential aid to Palestine.
If you’re an artist with original artwork that is Palestine related, Sumud Edinburgh are asking if you would consider donating it for an upcoming Auction. The funds of which will go towards A Palestinian Film Festival coming to Edinburgh, Oban and Mull in May. Deadline for submissions is February 25th.
If you have something to share such as an upcoming project, an event, an opening, anything community driven, please reply to this email or leave a comment on Substack!
Sponsor Section
The Edinburgh Minute
The Edinburgh Minute Newsletter is a free daily newsletter that aims to make it easier for locals to find all their news linked in one place. Here’s a subscriber testimonial from reader Nick:
"Hi there! I was taking advantage of a free month offer you gave me and really got a nice feeling when the daily email came to my inbox. I much prefer local news over gloomy international news I can do nothing about. I also really like the culture weekly as I do like arts and me and my partner can find some nice things to do each week. Thanks and keep going!"
To celebrate our partnership, founder Michael is giving all Soapbox Newsletter subscribers three months of subscription for free! That includes 12 editions of The Edinburgh Culture Minute, which normally costs £5 per week. The offer is open for Soapbox Subscribers only and ends at the end of December so be sure to sign up using this special link: https://edinburghguardian.substack.com/soapbox
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is award-winning online accounting software designed specifically for UK small businesses - and based here in Edinburgh. The folks at FreeAgent are all about making business owners and freelancers happier and more successful by putting them in control of their finances.
This month, FreeAgent is highlighting some more great resources to help you, our community, with all your business and accounting questions:
Spreadsheets or software: what’s best for your business finances? Assess your accounting method and make sure you’re using the right one for your needs
If you missed the Self Assessment deadline and received a penalty from HMRC, you have two options: pay the penalty and avoid further charges, or appeal it if you have a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline
You don’t need to be a financial whizz to create a brilliant business budget - here are six steps to help you create one
Everyone in our Soapbox community can give FreeAgent a go with a 30-day free trial and get 50% off their first six months.Click here!
With Jack
When buying insurance, most people don’t consider where their clients are based and how this impacts their policy coverage. It’s really important to check the jurisdiction of your policy. This reel is jam-packed with useful information for all the freelancers working with US or Canadian clients.
With Jack recently recovered £6000+ in unpaid invoices for a client through their Timely service. It’s important to know you don’t have to suffer late payments alone. Check out this testimonial from a very happy customer!
If you’re looking for Insurance check out With Jack who is all about insurance for freelance creatives. They make it simple and accessible. With Jack.
Something inspirational to end our February newsletter:
If you would like to stay up to date with more events, jobs and opportunities, do consider following us on Instagram!
If you have something you would like to share with the community please feel free to message us!
We hope to see you at our next event if you’re local, and in the meantime please feel free to share The Soapbox Newsletter if you enjoyed it.
Until next time,
Ellie & Janine