Cécile Caminade – Podcaster & Digital Marketing Consultant
Let’s Talk
Let's start light! What are 3-5 quirky things about you?
I'm obsessed with cats, monkeys and dolphins. I wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I was growing up, I brought a cat home without my dad's permission and my family call me 'baboon'. I hope that's quirky enough :)
What’s your creative freelance practice?
Digital Marketing Consultant, Web Designer and Indie Podcast Host & Producer.
What were 3-4 significant events that led you into your current creative practice?
Quitting my corporate job after realising that I didn't need to be in an office in order to do my job.
Working on my 10-year plan (whilst in Bali) and finally accepting that I needed to launch my own business if I wanted to have the freedom to work from anywhere and everywhere.
A friend joking about the fact that I should launch a podcast.
Figuring out that it's not that easy to be a young (Aussie) man when it comes to relationships.
What are three creative tools you couldn't live without?
My phone (work emails, podcast ideas & interviews, hotspot).
A good 3G or internet connection.
My laptop (editing my podcast + in depth client research and reports).
What are 3 business/self-management tools that you use to help make running your own business easier?
OneNote
Which artists in your field are you loving right now?
Joe Rogan from the 'Joe Rogan Experiment'
The girls who created 'The Squiz Today'
Jess Bineth - founder of Audiocraft (Podcast Festival and Agency).
Can you describe a working day for you?
Wake up (hopefully) before 7am. Check all the messages I received overnight from my family and friends in France. Go for a run while listening to a podcast. Drive my scooter to the co-working space I work from in Chippendale (The Commons). Listen to 'The Squiz Today', a daily news podcast while making a coffee. Check my 3 email accounts and my to-do-list for the day. Respond to any urgent emails. Go through my daily tasks and client communications. Finish work way later than I had expected. Have dinner with my boyfriend or catch up with friends. Try to go to bed early (and failing at this every night) REPEAT :D
What are the perks of your job?
Working from anywhere and everywhere and being able to travel without having to ask anyone. Meeting so many different people in my co-working space. Having the time to exercise and be outdoors more and making more time for the people I love.
What are some of the challenges you encounter?
Being responsible for your own failures and successes. Everything depends on you being productive and consistent. Motivation can also be very challenging - some days you might want to drop everything and just hide under a blanket...
For all the creative artists in our community, what are 5 tips you can give them that you've learned through your career?
Know your worth. It's been hard for me to understand that my knowledge is worth a lot of money and that I should charge people more for my help.
Following up is crucial. Not getting a response from someone doesn't mean that they are not interested as they might have just forgotten to reply. Follow up with them at least twice before giving up. No one will judge you for being persistent.
Create a to-do-list at the beginning of the week and reward yourself when you achieve at least 80% of it.
Surround yourself with like-minded people and don't be afraid to 'network'. I hate this word, but it's highly valuable if you want to find new clients or valuable partners.
Make yourself accountable. When working on your own it’s easy to start prioritising only urgent matters that are not important for the long term. You'll need to make sure that you include defined goals and deadlines for important projects that will have a long-term impact such as finishing your website and reaching out to new clients.
What advice would you give to someone who says they're feeling overwhelmed and anxious trying to self-manage their creative career and are in need of some practical advice?
Write down a list of 2-3 things that are highly important and that you need to do this week/today (I call them 'frogs'). Make yourself accountable by telling a friend or a family member about it and ask them to check on you.
It's ok to not be motivated every day. Just try to remember the reason why you decided to start a creative career, what you believe in and remember all of the things that you have already achieved. Be proud of yourself and try to imagine what where you'd like to be in a year's time.
Philosophical Musings
Why do you work in the arts and why do you create?
I don't know if I'd say that 'Podcasting' is an art :) I launched 'Asking For A Mate' to create a platform for men to feel comfortable talking about their emotions and feelings and to celebrate the ones who do. Together, we explore any subject they want to discuss including the positives and negatives of sex, relationships, women and love.
How does your art form make you see the world differently? What do you notice that others often walk past?
Since starting work on the podcast, I've asked myself a lot of questions about Australian culture, its history and the way men are raised in our society. What does it mean to be a man today? What are the pressures or fears they may have and how much do we allow/welcome men to share their emotions? I'm a lot more curious and inquisitive and I make a lot more space for active listening. I now feel empowered to ask tough questions and support my friends in navigating some of these difficult questions.
How do you balance business and creativity in your life?
I've created some specific goals for my creative work and try really hard to not let my business get in the way, but at the end of the day, my podcast doesn't pay the bills...
What do you think it means to live a creative life?
Having the freedom to (sometimes) do exactly what you love and what feels right.
Any final advice or words?
What's your 'frog' for the week?
Do you have any links to projects that you're involved in that you would like us to share with this article?
Here are two links. The first is to Digital Bohemian my Digital Marketing Agency. The second is to my podcast ‘Asking For A Mate’ .