Hello you šŸ‘‹

Welcome! Itā€™s a newsletter and community for women building a big life from a small biz.

My wingwoman ā¤ļø

ā€œThe Shiftā€ means two things to me: moving from 9-5 to self-employment and remote work when I had Julieta in 2006 and being more self-sufficient and selective: diversified income streams, time freedom, and location independence.

Iā€™ve been blogging and newslettering since the early noughties. I think newsletters are the best thing since sliced breadā€”the most intimate form of journalism. I see it a way for me to have a closer, more direct relationship with readers off-socials (rented land) to find solutions and empower each other.

Enterpreneurship is great, but it can be challenging and lonely as fuck. We donā€™t talk about that side of it enough.

And now another shift: the AI revolution. Exponential growth and itā€™s more than our heads can handle. Get ready: ChatGPT 5 is coming in June. Iā€™m using the Pro version as a mini-me to help me grow my biz.

There have been a ton of shifts in publishing over the years, but I still believe in the little guy. Amy Aitman, Content Forward.

Me too! I told her this really resonates with me. Iā€™m enjoying being part of a culture shift towards giving writers more agency and paying them properly for their work. Iā€™m passionate about that.

Itā€™s a place to talk about the business of writing, explore ideas and be inspired. Play and experiment for fun and profit. Iā€™m building my dream lifestyle biz I can operate from anywhere (Blue Zones, here I come!) and keen to help others do the same.

Learn from interviews with successful experts and entrepreneurs on Substack and beyond. Plus, personal stories from me, curated links, threads, co-working - and maybe even the odd retreat!

Whether you sign up for free or upgrade to paid, I hope youā€™ll come along for the ride. Letā€™s go!

Free subscribers have access toĀ 

  • Sunday columns. I talk shop about content, newsletters, and the business of writing. Actionable advice and links to make you think

  • Interviews with experts and entrepreneurs

  • Newsletter Talent Directory! Add your deets here to find collabs

Paid subscribers receive all free content plus

  • Social networking - give and get support. This work can be lonely af

    • Add your views to discussion threads in my weekly Office Hours (Every Friday, 9 am)

    • Newsletter Writing Hour āœļø (Every first Friday, 2 pm) - link for April 12 here and May 3 here

    • Social Pods (not the dodgy kind), but no one wants tumbleweeds, right? Iā€™m on LinkedIn and Notes and up for LinkedIn Local meetups (East Sussex)

  • AMA: send me questions via email, and Iā€™ll turn them into short posts so others can learn from them. You can add your name and a link to your website if you like so we can check out your work

  • Access the archives to help you grow as an indie media publisher. Doing my best to overwhelm you with awesome :)

  • My eternal gratitude - being a paid subscriber means you are directly supporting me and my work. And for that, I love you dearly

  • I give 1% of my revenue to carbon removal via Stripe Climate #techforgood

About me

In a nutshell, I love a good story. Since 1999, Iā€™ve been writing online (Y2K problem, the millennium bug, end of the world - remember that!? Weā€™re still hereā€¦) as a journalist, blogger, ghostwriter, copywriter, and content strategist.

Working with media orgs (NUJ London Freelance, Women in Journalism, Women Writersā€™ Network) to help freelancers survive and thrive in a tough industry and an expensive city (just cleared my debt from all that, hooray, a story for another day!)Ā 

Iā€™m the founder of firebird, a small but mighty content consultancy. I offer content, comms, and newsletter services to help entrepreneurs and purpose-led orgs tell compelling stories.

My mission: helping women build wealth, health and happiness through digital entrepreneurship (and making business less lonely).

We still have a shit deal - unaffordable childcare, unpaid labour, and unequal pay. Itā€™s even tougher if youā€™re a lone parent.

1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs is female: thatā€™s a gender gap equivalent to 1.1 million missing businesses [The Rose Review]

Iā€™ve written 11 non-fiction books and hosted St Leonards Salon (talks, workshops, co-working) from 2016 to 2019.

I live in a tiny apt in St Leonards on Sea with my daughter, Julieta.

Simplifying my life and work. Saving to buy my first home and travel the world on my quest to Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones (Sardinia in September!) šŸ‡®šŸ‡¹

Have you seen it yet? Turns out the secret to a long, healthy, happy life is connection and community. And a good bottle of EVOO.

Gotta have big, hairy, audacious goals, right?

Lifeā€™s too short for the in-between.

Join the community

Tell your storyĀ 

Subscribe, connect, get involved!Ā 

If you have topic ideas or guest suggestions, email nika@nikatalbot.io or find me online at @nikatalbot.Ā Iā€™d love to hear from you.

Itā€™s just me behind this inbox, and I read and reply to all messages.

What readers sayĀ 

ā€œNika writes a really helpful newsletter for the intersection of writing, the digital world and entrepreneurship, which can be a lonely place for many people. Her guidance is greatly appreciatedā€ - Ann Marie McQueen, Founder @ HotFlash Inc

ā€œIf youā€™re interested in a lifestyle-first one-person model too, subscribe to The Shift, the newsletter for content entrepreneurs. Written by Nika Talbot, a fountain of knowledge in creating online!ā€ - Ellen Donnelly, Founder @ The Ask

ā€œNika has written 12 books relating to health and wellness. There is fun to be had as we make The Shift to work smarter and live betterā€”recommended reading for Workforce Futurists!ā€ - Andy Spence, Founder & CEO @ The Workforce Futurist

ā€œThey should frame this newsletter in the Louvreā€” simply a joy to read!ā€ - Eoin Whyte, Co-founder @ Savvy

ā€œYou too, Nikaā€”your emails are šŸ”„šŸ”„ā€ - Adriana Tica, Marketing Strategist, Writer & Trends Analyst, Ideas to Power Your Future

ā€œThank you for your thoughtful questions. Answering them felt more like a journaling session than an interview. Very great!ā€ - Johanna Renoth, Founder @ Bye, Social Media!Ā 

Gold star for reading this far! If youā€™re in the content / creator space, Iā€™d love to connect šŸ¤©

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A newsletter and community for women building a big life from a small biz.

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Founder at firebird, a small but mighty content consultancy. Writer at The Shift, a newsletter about building a big life from a small biz šŸ™Œ