My first DIFTK meet-up

So today was the day when a Facebook Community DIFTK (Doing It for The Kids) that I recently joined did a live event.  It was really nice to put faces to names you’ve been following and conversing with online and to also get a chance to hear a series of awesome short presentations.

The event was introduced by Frankie Tortora who runs DIFTK - by trade she’s a graphic designer who has also built up an awesome community of freelance parents who have bypassed the typical 9 - 5. I loved the fact that her jumper matched the branding for DIFTK - and yes it’s the little things that make me smile :). I’d seen her speak at the Enterprise Nation event a few weeks ago on a panel with kid food guru Annabel Kermal. The content was interesting and diverse and everyone was lovely. The event was held in the event space at Huckletree West which is an awesome co-working space in White City.

Here’s my round up of what went on.

Steve Folland - Video and Audio producer and podcaster

Steve Folland kicked things off sharing how to set up your own podcast and not shying away from the fact that it’s hard work, needs some kind of purpose but is a goldmine for spin-off content. He obviously touched a bit on the basic equipment out there but didn’t dwell on it too much. He then moved onto the need to promote, promote, promote. And emphasised that the work certainly doesn’t stop once the actual podcast is done. But closing statement was to give it a go because podcasting is a great  platform for networking, building your profile and positioning you as an expert.

Yvadney Davis - Fashion stylist and all round busy wonder woman

Next up was Yvadeny Davis, a freelance fashion stylist. She was awesome sharing her experiences of having a portfolio of businesses including Mum’s that Rave – one I think I’ll be looking up as I do miss my heady days of dancing with a sense of abandon and just being lost in the moment. My favourite quote was always making sure you have some kind of ‘work wear’ when working from home – something comfy that represents you but signals that you’re working day has started.  I loved her analogy that she always imagines that she needs to be suitably dressed just in case Edward Enniful calls to tell her he’s setting up baby Vogue and wants her to take a leading role in it but she must get on a call now!! What an awesome mantra to have for staying sharp.

Holly June Smith - Life coach with buckets of personality and words of wisdom

Next up was Holly – a life coach who I loved not just for her lovely cardi but also for her direct and straightforward advice. Chatting to people later on – many of us remarked that these events were a great reminder for us all about what things we should be doing.  It’s so easy to advise others and to neglect your own business and activities.  E.g. writing this event round up blog for me! Holly’s most sage piece of advice was not to hide what you do under a bushel and to make freelancing work “You’ve got to tell it to sell it.”

Ingrid Fernandez - Freelance lawyer

The last but by no means least speaker was Ingrid, a freelance lawyer by trade. Ingrid choose not to focus on this but to tackle the topic of resilience and her personal experience when her mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  The real emotion throughout her deeply personal talk was plain to see and her sage words of advice about finding your inherent resilience and not being afraid to talk to your friends, community and clients about what you’re going through as we’re all people and therefore human was so true.  As someone who lost her mum from cancer 20 years ago, I totally empathise with every word she said and I passed on my admiration at the end. She was indeed was very courageous to share something so raw and personal. Thank you.

Anyway this is my round-up of the DIFTK event today. I made some lovely connections and had some awesome conversations from construction to nutrition apps for parents, coaching, social media and everything in between. Can’t wait for the next one. Would love to hear what you thought of the day?

Thanks so much for reading this blog.  I’m Ayo Abbas and I‘m a marketing strategist that helps SME’s to get their marketing strategy and campaigns in place. I also enjoy writing an array of content particularly B2B in having worked for years helping architects and engineers market themselves.. So, do drop me a line ayoabbas@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

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