Friends with Business Benefits

Hosted by Charlie Swift

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154

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Friends with Business Benefits hosted by Charlie Swift and Franky Shanahan is a podcast for creatives who crave connection, understanding and support. Hello, we are Charlie and Franky, two self-employed business owners living in Bristol in the southwest of England. Franky runs a copywriting business called Love Audrey, helping brands and creative businesses find their voice and tell their story online. As a business mentor to creative mamas, Charlie supports women to build their businesses alongside raising a family. For the last 5 years, we’ve been meeting for regular co-mentoring sessions. Working for yourself can be lonely at times, but through our monthly meet-ups, we’ve found the support and accountability we were craving in our working lives. Through our podcast, we hope to continue these conversations, share what we’re learning and also learn from you, our listeners. Business Mentoring for Creative Mamas: https://charlieswift.com Copywriting for Creatives: https://www.love-audrey.com friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com

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60 recent

October 14, 202637 min

Finding Your Authentic Voice in the AI Era

In this week’s episode, we’re chatting about finding your voice and sounding authentic in the AI era. Specifically, are Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Claude really making it easier to produce written content, or are they generating a whole new set of issues for businesses to navigate? As well as explaining why a unique brand voice is so important, we discuss the challenges LLMs are creating online, from the homogenisation of language to a complete loss of confidence in our own writing ability. Finally, we share tips and strategies to help you find your voice and use it consistently without relying on AI. Links and Further Reading Is AI Going to Kill My Copywriting Business? Franky’s Brand Voice Brainstorm How are LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude impacting how you feel about writing copy and creating content for your business? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

September 23, 202629 min

Adventures in Analogue Marketing

We’re back from our summer break and diving into a topic we’ve been talking about a lot off mic - analogue (or offline) marketing. What is it? What does it entail? And what are the potential benefits? As well as discussing the AI backlash and other broader trends making analogue marketing more popular right now, we share ideas and inspiration for your own offline campaigns. Franky also chats about her experience handmaking and distributing a small run of mini-zine business cards earlier this year. Links and Further Reading Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend Polaroid’s ‘The Best of Summer is Analogue’ ad campaign Parker’s Anti-AI Billboards Studio-Om Being Freelance Franky’s Mini-Zine Business Cards Have you tried any of the analogue marketing methods mentioned in this episode? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

July 27, 202621 min

Our Tips for a Summer Spent Working in the Margins

In our final episode before taking a break until the autumn, we’re chatting about working in the margins during a busy summer. What would the next six weeks look like if you did this intentionally rather than squeezing things in on the fly? Drawing on our own experience, we discuss visualising what you want the season to look like, adopting the right mindset, and mapping out the next six weeks. We also explore whether things really do go quiet online at this time of year and chat about the impact you can have by staying visible, even when you’re time poor. Links and Further Reading How We Savour (and Survive) the Summer Can You Ever Take a Break When You’re Self-Employed? Friends with Business Boundaries The Lazy Genius What will working in the margins look like for you this summer? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

July 10, 202629 min

Q2 Reflections, Q3 Intentions

As we hit the midpoint of the year, we’re reflecting on Quarter 2 and looking ahead to Quarter 3 in our respective businesses. Find out what felt good, what didn’t and what we’ve learned in the process. We also talk about our words of the year, dig into our plans for the next three months, and discuss what we’re hoping to achieve before the next time we have this chat. Links and Further Reading Franky’s Zine Business Card Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend What’s Working on Instagram Right Now? Spark Social Join us on Substack where you can share your thoughts on this episode in the comments. Come and tell us your own intentions for Q3 - we’d love to cheer you on! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

June 24, 202629 min

How to Write an Attention-Grabbing Homepage

This week, inspired by the work she’s doing on her new website, Charlie’s asking Franky to share her top tips for writing a compelling homepage. We chat about the things you need to know before you start writing, what information goes where, and the things you don’t need to include on your homepage. We also run through some common pitfalls to avoid and touch on topics like niching, SEO, and readability. With more than decade of experience, Franky shares a lot of website wisdom in this episode. If you’re currently writing your own copy, or plan to in the future, it’s a must-listen. Links and Further Reading Building a Portfolio and Sharing Your Work How to Write an Engaging About Page How to Name Products and Services Feeling inspired to revise and update your homepage copy? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

June 10, 202655 min

What's Working on Instagram Right Now?

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Instagram shifting and changing. They’re constantly adding new tools and features, and there’s always different styles of content to consume. As a result, what worked this time last year, probably isn’t giving you the same results today. With this in mind, we’re chatting about current trends and popular types of content on the ‘gram. What’s performing well? What isn’t? And how are tastes changing? From text carousels and tiny mics to creating your own episodic ‘TV show’ via Reels - our conversation is packed with ideas and inspiration to help you market your business on Instagram. Links and Further Reading Gina Slow Going Cari Williamson What Happened to Online Etiquette? What’s working (or not working) for you on Instagram right now? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

May 20, 202625 min

Protecting Your Business When Personal Crisis Hits

Most people go through some sort of personal crisis at least once in their lives. In the time Franky’s been running her business, she’s experienced a few. Most recently, she’s had to navigate the sudden, unexpected death of her step-father. In this episode, we’re chatting about what happened and what she learned. Why is preparing for a personal crisis something all business owners need to consider? And where do we start? We cover building a strong foundation before disaster hits, what to do during a personal crisis, and what to do next. It’s advice we hope you never need to use, but we think you’ll be grateful for it if you do. Links and Further Reading What I’ve Learned From Running My Business During a Personal Crisis How I Run My Copywriting Business with a Chronic Illness Some Thoughts on Dropping Balls Have you ever had to navigate a personal crisis while running your small business? Do you feel prepared to face one in the future? Join us on Substack to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

May 7, 202633 min

Q1 Reflections, Q2 Intentions

We’re back following an unplanned, emergency hiatus. Find out what happened and listen as we belatedly reflect on Quarter 1 and look ahead to what’s left of Quarter 2 in our respective businesses. We share what felt good, what didn’t, and what we’ve learned in the process. We also talk about our words of the year and how they’ve been showing up for us since we last spoke. Spoiler alert: Charlie didn’t choose one for 2026! Finally, we share a few sources of creative inspiration and dig into our plans for the next three months. Links and Further Reading Carolyn Yoo See You Xanthe Appleyard Join us on Substack where you can share your thoughts on this episode in the comments. Come and tell us your own intentions for Q2… we’d love to cheer you on! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Larking About Content Creatives with Charlie Swift Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

March 19, 202641 min

How We're Using Substack in 2026

It’s been two years since we last chatted about how we’re using Substack in our respective businesses. A lot has changed for both of us since then, so we decided it was time to share an update. Listen as we discuss moving the podcast to Substack, growing our mailing lists, turning on paid subscriptions, and in Charlie’s case, turning them off again. As well as sharing what has and hasn’t been working for us on the platform, we chat about our plans for 2026 and what we hope to achieve through our publications. Links and Further Reading Are You Going to Start a Substack? How Are We Showing Up on Substack this Year? Glennon Doyle, Mean Girls, and the Evolution of Substack Should I Start a Substack for My Small Business? Are you using Substack in your small business? Join us over there to share your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe

February 26, 202629 min

What Happened to Online Etiquette?

We’ve been noticing a rise of some poor manners online of late. Copy-cat content, big brands using photos without permission or giving proper credit, people presenting other creators ideas as their own. SO, in this episode we’re wondering ‘what happened to the Online Etiquette of the early internet’? Listen to hear us share some examples of the types of poor etiquette we’ve noticed recently, chat through the difference between being inspired and copying, consider the role the rise of AI is playing and rant about Pinterest being sited as an image source. Links and Further Reading Siece Campbell Shana Blakley Our Thoughts on the Analogue Trend Join the conversation on Substack to share your thoughts on online etiquette. We’d love to hear from you! Connect With Us Friends With Business Benefits on Substack charlieswift.com love-audrey.com Find Us On Instagram @loveaudrey83 @_charlieswift Subscribe to Our Mailing Lists Franky’s Mailing List Charlie’s Mailing List Get full access to Friends with Business Benefits at friendswithbusinessbenefits.substack.com/subscribe