The Soapbox Newsletter
September '23 Edition
Good Morning Friends,
Welcome to the latest Soapbox newsletter! It’s a longer one today so pop on a brew and enjoy!
Our next gathering is on September 26th 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:
I recently visited a friend and we got talking about the topic of community. We discussed how it felt like community was being adopted by brands who were doing nothing more than collecting emails.
This got me thinking about the feeling, and importance, of belonging within a community. Brené Brown has my favourite description: “True belonging is not passive. It’s not the belonging that comes with just joining a group. It’s not fitting in or pretending or selling out because it’s safer. It’s a practice that requires us to be vulnerable, get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without sacrificing who we are”
We want Soapbox to be a place you feel welcome and somewhere you feel like you belong. Networking can get a bad rep, but the opportunity to gather and share ideas, meet like-minded people, make new pals, and be surrounded by people who can lift you up, and be a resource, is worth the few moments of feeling a bit awkward when you first walk through the door. If you’re still not 100% sure, bring a friend or colleague and come and enjoy our gorgeous coffee prepped by Dot Coffee Leith!
A milestone & a Q&A:
September is pretty special for us; it marks 6 months of Soapbox! To celebrate we decided to commission a member of our community to update and design us some new name stickers. Check out the preview illustrations below!
Who are you?
I am Jenni, and I am an illustrator. I like science and facts, and spending too long over silly amounts of detail.
What's your story, how did you get where you are now?
I trained as an animator and a medical artist, and regularly work to commission, specialising in scientific illustration. I have worked with clients like Edinburgh Uni, the University of Colorado and Cambridge University, Archaeology Scotland, and lots of lovely small businesses. I've run a gallery, worked for the national agency for craft and for the past 4 years have been a studio assistant to the queen of lampshades and a fellow illustrator. I'm just back at my desk from maternity leave, and I'm very excited to be getting my teeth into some new projects, and looking forward to many more!
What’s the best thing about Leith?
The creative community. There's just so much going on here, and everyone is so friendly and welcoming.
What's some of the best/worst advice you've ever received?
I have been given an awful lot of advice during my career, so I was struggling with choosing... Until I realized that of course, the best advice is to always ask for advice, or help, whenever you need it. Gotta say that Soapbox is a pretty good place to act on (or offer!) that too!
Tell us more about how you came up with the design for the stickers!
Ellie approached me to create some illustrations for the Soapbox name stickers, and I was more than excited to take on the challenge! I wanted to create illustrations that encompassed both the idea of Soapbox's creative bubbles and hinted at some of Leith's history. So we went with three things that produced bubbles: soap, a ship's propeller, and a humpback whale! All three elements can be linked back to Leith's history or coastal location, and each has a different "vibe" for each sticker. Soap for classic networking bubbles, the propeller for driven connections, and the whale for gentle introductions. Did you know humpbacks work together as a team to create bubble nets to catch their prey? Several whales will blow bubbles in a spiral below a shoal of small fish or krill, trapping them near the surface. That allows other whales to swoop in and grab huge mouthfuls of food nice and easily. I loved how the idea of bubbles and the whales working as a team tied really nicely into Soapbox's mission. And I hope you guys like the stickers too, and that they spark some conversations!
Find Jenni on Instagram and check out her website
Sponsor Section:
FreeAgent
If you caught our bonus newsletter last week you’ll know we have a brand new sponsor! 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 are highlighting some great resources to help you, our community, with all your accountancy needs:
A free webinar, Counting costs: mastering bills, expenses and more, which takes place virtually on Thursday 28th September at 2pm
This blog post on six admin tasks you no longer need to do yourself
This quick comparison of how FreeAgent stacks up against similar accounting software
Everyone in our Soapbox community can give FreeAgent a go with a 30 day trial and 50% off their first six months. Click here!
The Edinburgh Minute
The Edinburgh Minute Newsletter is a quick summary of local news, events and community vibes that lands daily at 7am. The daily newsletter is free and has bonus add-ons including the weekly Edinburgh Culture Minute, containing local creative industry jobs, funding opportunities and grants. To celebrate our new 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 so be sure to sign up using this special link
With Jack
This month With Jack is looking to capture feedback regarding non or late-payment, something that sadly tends to affect a lot of freelancers and small businesses. It would be great if you could help out by filling in this short survey.
If you’re a freelancer and keen to get insurance check out With Jack, they make it simple; it’s about one solid policy and the personal touch. But don’t just take their word for it; photographer Charlotte Hu has some great things to say!
And finally, check out this very helpful video on making sure to do client due diligence before working together - it can save you months of stress.
Something inspirational to end our September:
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
Excited to be there next Tuesday 😊 I was at the June event and it was incredibly inspiring for me, so I am looking forward to be there again - I've been feeling the need for community lately, the need to meet like minded people and create meaningful connections 💜 And can't wait to check out those stickers too!