This month, we’ve been talking about community; what it takes, what it looks like and how it feels both in branding and beyond. And there’s no better perspective on the topic than someone who’s started one.
To that end, we’ve got a guest segment from Matthew Knight, founder of Outside Perspective, who’s built a support system for the autonomous set. Think of his community like a water cooler where everyone gathers to kibbutz and fill their cups with insight and wisdom from around the world. He’ll also share his most recent entries in his Notes app for a new feature we’re calling “Passing Notes.” It’s like middle school without the threat of detention.
Lastly, we added a round-up of communal opportunities both in-person and online, in case you get inspired to rustle up a village of your own.
Matthew, take it away…
I’ve been self-employed since I was fifteen. I’ve built agencies, brands, teams and products, and spent time embedded in organisations, always making it a priority to establish a support system with other freelancers that otherwise wouldn’t exist. These communities have changed the game for me. So when the opportunity arose to expand my reach and do the same for others, I jumped at the chance.
I started with Leapers - a mental health project that focuses on the challenges and gaps in freelancer support. Next was Outside Perspective - a global community for independent and freelance strategists that now boasts 5,000 members including some of the world’s best and brightest strategy folk. Most recently, I’ve introduced Flightplan - a peer-support group for new freelancers as they launch their businesses.
The winds of employment are blowing in a new direction. Whether folks like it or not, more and more of us will be working alone in the coming years - either by choice or through circumstance.
Whilst I can’t say what the future of work looks like (who can right now?), the role of community will migrate from “nice to have people around” to critical infrastructure shaping why, how, and when we work. We’re already seeing community-as-agency models, and I expect we’ll start to see community-collation models spring up too - villages over verticals.
One of the most personally rewarding aspects of building communities is sharing the work of our members. Each week in Outside Perspective, we highlight independent work produced by independent thinkers. I want to share a few things we’ve seen this month from our friends.
Sibling.Studio and LOOKUP WORLD are starting a series on what it takes to create great work in the branding industry right now, with insights from a wide range of folks.
Charlotte Rubesa has recently published a new zine and writes about attention in a saturated media landscape. As a lover of print media, I’m gutted I haven’t managed to get my hands on the physical copy yet, but her Substack is worth a read in the meantime.
Whilst Zoe Scaman probably doesn’t need an introduction, her writing both manages to articulate uneasy feelings and fierce debate about how the creative industry behaves, and what we need to do as individuals and collectives to move forward to build better. Her recent post on Creative Mycellium was brilliant and connected a number of disparate ideas in my head.
And I’d not be able to post without including a mention of Rob Estreitinho‘s writing, across LinkedIn and Substack. Founder of a fellow strategy community, Salmon Crew, his writing is regularly insightful and actionable, and members of his community consistently call it out as one of the most valuable spaces for strategy people on the internet.
There’s an old English proverb you may have heard already, but just in case you haven’t, it goes like this: Give someone a phone and you feed them for a day. Teach them how to use their Notes App and you feed them for a lifetime.
And now, Matthew Knight’s top three:
”What do I like doing” - A task from my therapist. I need to create a list of things that aren’t work related, but stuff just for me. It’s quite an empty list at the moment, but currently has “Air Traffic Control”, “Maps”, “The Pitt”, “Coding”, “New Roasters”, “Swedish”. Read into that what you wish.
“Freelancers can’t afford enterprise events” - this is the stub of a thought I need to expand into something. It’s SXSW London next week, and a day pass is £330. There are so many events and conferences designed for employees (or rather for employers to pay for their employees’ tickets), and with 30% of the creative industry being freelance, we’re often excluded through lack of affordability. I wish more organisations would think about the typical freelancer’s budget and price accordingly.
”Poolside Prop” - this is a new project I’m working on that plugs community support into agencies’ freelance pools. We power their community, providing peer-support, resources, events, training, discounts, and engage and retain an agency’s freelancers so they’re around for the next brief. I’m really behind on explaining it clearly, and need to write a one pager so I can bring more agencies onboard.
Connect with Matthew on Linkedin or at OutsidePerspective. Thanks Matthew!
Got a novel in you, but need twenty-nine hours in the day and a roomful of likeminded folks to get it done? There are so many incredible writers’ retreats out there, some of which offer childcare and scholarships.
Northern California Writers Retreat
Longing to replace doom scrolling with prose but need a deadline involving wine and cheese to get going? There’s a book club for that.
What about an excuse to wear pants that button again? Shoes that lace? You can dust off your business cards and attend a conference.
Brand New - The Subtext’s very own, Carissa Justice, will be speaking at this one! Use code BNC26-NIMBLECREATIVE for a 10% discount.
If you’re more of a once in a blue moon when the urge strikes kind of person, there are tons of meet-ups to choose from.
And if virtual is more your speed, there are communities designed for whatever discipline you find yourself in.
To close out our focus on community, we’ll be sharing our first live interview with Jasmine Bina Bina who runs Exposure Therapy, a private community for strategic minds.
Up next, we’ll anoint your inbox with an ode to creative collaboration. What does it look like to collaborate today? What are the green and red flags to look out for? We would love to hear from studios, independent freelancers or in-house folks on the topic, so hit us up if you have an idea.
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