Stop.

A conversation with a fellow strategist caused me to pause for thought this week.

We were talking about how exausting it can be running your own business.

If you’ve been subscribed for a while, you might know that I recently had a moment where my body told me to stop, and I didn’t have much say in the matter.

For those of us who are self-employed, that’s a brutal wake-up call.

I’ve had quite a few conversations with folk recently in fact, where they’ve been sharing their physical and mental health challenges with me - perhaps because I’m so open, perhaps because that’s part of what being part of a community means.

I’m all here for those conversations, because all too often I hear the same phrase “People don’t really understand what it’s like, running a business.”. And I get it - it can be hard to explain what it feels like to lose a client, to lose a pitch, to not be able to switch your brain off at night, to not know where the next dollar is coming from.

Even if you’re super busy, “can’t you just take some time off” isn’t helpful.

But that’s why we exist - as a community. We’re here to support each other.

To offer up an hour for a chat, a cuppa, a friendly ear. Check-in with those around you, see how they’re doing. Or if you’re struggling, reach out to someone, and just say “Hey, can I have five minutes.”

Don’t jump to answers. Don’t try and solve their problems for them. As a strategist, it comes all to naturally to try and look for solutions. But sometimes the most powerful things you can do is simply listen.

So this week’s community edition doesn’t have any groundbreaking thinking, culture, reframing, provocations.

Just two things. Take which you would prefer.

1. Permission to take a break. To close this tab, close the laptop, put down the phone, and take some rest this weekend. If you can’t give yourself permission to do so - let me. You’ve done enough this week.

2. Encouragement to connect. Drop someone a note and let them know how you’re feeling, or check in with someone you know might be struggling a little bit at the moment, or perhaps even just you haven’t spoken to in a while.

Working solo can be incredibly solo at times.
Just remember that you’re not doing this alone.
We’re all here with you, in some form or another.

Leave a comment

No seriously. Go away.

Oh, okay, if you’re still here…

A few things happening next week:

If you’re keen to learn more about the adaily platform, and access the exclusive Outside Perspective freelancer pricing - come along to the demo next week.

Piotr is going to take us through how to create a project, how it unlocks insights and actionable results, some key use cases, and answer any of your questions.

» Register for the event here.

» Anna is hosting an open webinar exploring how luxury brands are showing up on social - if you’re building a luxury brand or are interested in social media marketing, this one’s for you.

Gigs.

Briefs discovered and curated from across the stratosphere.
Promote your brief - or tell us if you’ve found work via the project.

1. Freelance Senior Content Strategist Opportunity (London,UK)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250606-ventures.html

2. Junior and Mid-Level Strategist (USA)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250606-mayor.html

3. Senior Comms Planning Strategist with qual, and saudi culture knowledge (Saudi Arabia)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250606-akqa.html

4. Snr Strategy Role - 6mo mat cover (UK)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250603-hyve.html

5. Freelance Creative Strategist (Paid Social) (UK)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250603-elements.html

6. Freelance Senior Strategist with design exp (NYC,USA)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250603-craft.html

7. Freelance Strategist with copy skills and fluent in portuguese (UK)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250603-copy.html

8. Media Strategist & Buyer (Freelance / Part-Time) (MA,USA)
   https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20250603-buyer.html

See, told you - that’s all for this week.
mk✌️