Two reasons to eat cake in this week’s Community Edition.
First, it’s the one year aniversary of sibling, and Lucinda Bounsall shares her deeply human experience of the first 12 months launching her business below.
Secondly, today is National Freelancers Day, here in the UK.
Whilst there’s a hallmark holiday for every possible thing (apparently today is also “National Open an umbrella inside day“), any moment in a calendar which prompts reflection upon a topic of group can be helpful.
I’m not a fan of the word freelancer - it doesn’t reflect the diversity of models within independent work, and many of us here reject the word. We’re not freelancers, we’re microstudios, we’re entrepreneurs, we’re consultants, we’re advisors, we’re just doing a good job without a label.
That said, there’s also an importance in belonging. Being able to identify with a group who share some attributes, challenges or experiences. Especially within independent work, where the risks of feeling isolated are 2-3 times higher than in employment. Working solo can be especially hard.
So having a group of fellows who “get it” is important.
And recently, there’s been a huge amount of talk around the future of strategy. Of our industry, of our discipline, of even the notion of employment itself. I’ve been on the phone with some 20 odd folk in the last few months, listening to the existential concerns of many.
We’re in a period of dramatic disruption (although one could argue we’ve been in that state for the last two decades at least. Has not every basic strategy deck opened with the same statement, since 2005?) and the shape of how we work is facing a complete redesign.
It’s too difficult to predict where the chips may fall. I have my own views on what the shape of things might look like (I often look towards the 40/40/20 model, proposed by Rich Wilson at gigged.ai: 40% employees, 40% independent, 20% agentic), but there’s one guarantee I can offer - that community networks will play a much greater role in work than ever before. Informal and formal networks, with shared intent, meaning, experiences, and crucially emotional support.
So, how awesome that you’re already here and being part of that ecosystem for each other, underpinning the next chapter in how we work.
Because having folk around you, who might not have all the answers, but absolutely understand the questions, is a Good ThingTM.
Whatever you call yourself, Happy {doing it for yourself} Day.
Matthew
This week sees the first aniversary of sibling, a culture-led strategy studio founded by Lucinda Bounsall. We asked her to share reflections on the first 12 months.
Someone told me that if I wait for the website to be finished, or the positioning to be finalised, or everything to feel completely ready and perfect before launching the studio, I would always find something else to push the launch back. So I just did it.
Without a finished website, and without any real grasp of the magnitude of what I was undertaking, I pushed the metaphorical button (the “post” button on LinkedIn) and launched sibling onto the internet.
The truth is — and it’s not something I talk about much publicly—that I launched the studio in the fallout of a brutal relationship (it sounds dramatic I know, but it was one of those situations whose after-effects take years to fully work through — shout out my therapist, Henry ). 🫰
At the time it felt like everything I had built for myself; my self-worth, my self-esteem, my confidence, had been stripped away. I wanted to build something partly as a distraction, but also to create something that was mine. Something that could secure my future on my own terms and couldn’t be taken away from me.
Over the course of one of the hardest years of my life, I quietly built this business, often too deep in the heartbreak to fully realise what I was creating. Now that the clouds have lifted, I can see what started to grow during that time: a studio, a community of incredible people, and work that I’m deeply proud of. The people I’ve met along the way have also helped rebuild my confidence and reminded me that kindness, generosity and gentleness aren’t weaknesses but strengths.
Here are five lessons I’ve learned over the last year that might be useful to others starting their own thing 🌷
Just because you love something doesn’t mean you should fill every waking minute doing it. When you start your own business, work can quietly expand until it occupies everything; evenings, weekends, holidays. Close the laptop. Put down your phone. Nothing is really that urgent. We’re not saving lives here.
Running something of your own can be intoxicating. A good project, a nice LinkedIn comment, or a Substack post that travels—they all deliver tiny dopamine hits. But your life needs to be bigger than your business.
I hate this phrase but it’s so true. Just because something already exists in the market doesn’t mean there isn’t space for you. Plenty of people with far less hesitation start things every day. The difference is rarely brilliance. It’s simply that they started.
When someone hires you, they’re not just paying for the hours in the proposal. They’re paying for the years of experience and judgement that allow you to do the work well. Price accordingly!
Be generous with your time. Share advice. Introduce people. Celebrate others’ successes. The best opportunities rarely come from cold outreach, they come from goodwill built over time.
» You can connect with Lucinda in the community slack, or via LinkedIn.
Outside Perspective is part of the Independency Community Coalition - and we’re hosting a webinar on Making Tax Digital - an introduction to everything you’ll need to know to prepare for the changes in April 2026. If you’re a UK sole trader, this one is for you. We’ve invited HMRC to answer your questions. Register here.
» Emily Penny hosted an insightful huddle for the community this week, sharing data on what has driven her business Becolourful. Slides are here.
» covered the fountain of filth from last week.
» How Rethink Toronto is reinventing its strategy dept.
» McKinsey forgot to password protect all their data.
» Why nice founders struggle with authority
» The Shopping Conspiracy - thanks Sandeep
» The next in situ is happening on March 24th
» The next DrinkedIn London is happening on March 26th
A digest of recent gigs found and shared via our community - plus things from our friends and partners. Want to reach 4k+ strategists for your next project? Drop me a note.
💛 [UK] Our friends at Craft are looking for freelance comms strategists and media planners: https://bit.ly/40wGWOC
💛 [Remote] The good folk at Toaster are looking for a brand strategist for a healthcare/AI project: https://outsideperspective.co/gigs/20260310-toaster.html
[US] Freelance Social Strategist at Coolr
https://bit.ly/4sA29Dc
[UK] freelance comms strategists and media planners at Craft
https://bit.ly/40wGWOC
[CA] Freelance Creative Strategist at Revolt
https://bit.ly/4bhIgtx
[UK] Freelance senior content strategist at Content Design London
https://bit.ly/4rtmFED
[US:CA] freelance Senior Brand Strategist at Brand New School
https://bit.ly/4lvWonY
[US] Freelance Brand Strategist at Brand New School
https://bit.ly/4rscH6u
[UK] Insights Director (mat cover) at Carat UK
https://bit.ly/4uknXo9
[UK:London] Freelance Senior Strategist at CreativeCrowd
https://bit.ly/4aZHZwA
[UK] Freelance midweight brand strategist with automotive exp at EdenMarsh
https://bit.ly/40qm1wF
[ES] Freelance Brand Strategist for childrens magazine
https://bit.ly/40qnl2B
Don’t forget, we share these in real time here:
» Web
» Telegram
» Whatsapp
+ and of course, our slack channel if you’re a community member.
That’s all for this week.
mk✌️
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