Escape the 9-5 and build the life you have always wanted

If you’re looking for greater purpose and autonomy in your work – or a better work-life balance – don’t miss this unique day of talks with successful entrepreneurs, freelancers and creative thinkers

Ever spend Sunday evening dreading Monday morning? Always wanted to be your own boss or have more freedom?

Yet, leaving the security of a job or making a big career change is scary. This day of talks will help you understand how to take your career in directions that will bring you greater purpose and autonomy.

This unique day promises practical inspiration and encouragement, and honest, first-hand accounts about the ups and downs of pursuing your dream career or business idea. You will receive guidance on idea generation, networking as well as partnership building, and leave with a boost of confidence and bursting with ideas.

This masterclass is a chance to meet likeminded entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creators who have taken the plunge and injected a little more of what they love doing into their daily lives. You will hear honest, first-hand accounts about the ups and downs of pursuing your dream career or business idea.

Content

• Writer, illustrator and performer Laura Dockrill: how to get started and not take “no” for an answer, how to live and breathe your job, blurring the lines between work and play, where to find inspiration, how to network and be your own boss.

• Author, artist and Central Saint Martins lecturer Rod Judkins: how to develop the creative confidence to have ideas and become prolific at it, how to overcome obstacles to creative thinking and turn small ideas into big ones.

• Performance artist, writer and comedian Bryony Kimmings: how to balance a varied career, use your life for creative inspiration and divide your attention between other commitments, such as having a family.

• Founder of Dorset’s first gin distillery Conker Spirit Rupert Holloway: the practical challenges of setting up a business – how to think about money, what to do when your work and life are one and the same, transparent marketing and being honest.

• Founder of Yala Records, guitarist and songwriter of The Maccabees Felix White: finding what you love doing, changing direction, creative collaborations and having multiple careers.
  

Host profile

Laura Dockrill is a writer, illustrator and performance poet. Her books include Echoes, a collection of poems and short stories, the Carnegie Medal nominated YA novel Lorali, as well as the Darcy Burdock series for younger readers, which was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2014. Laura has appeared on Blue Peter and CBeebies and is a frequent poet performer at festivals, including Glastonbury, Hay, Edinburgh, London Literary Festival and Latitude. She’s been a roaming reporter for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and also performed her work on Newsnight, BBC Breakfast and BBC Woman’s Hour.

Speaker profiles

Rod Judkins is an author and artist, and teaches creative thinking at Central Saint Martins College of Art. His bestselling book The Art of Creative Thinking has been translated into more than 10 languages. Rod's most recent book is Ideas Are Your Only Currency. He has delivered creative thinking workshops to some of the world's top organisations, including The Royal Free Hospital, Apple and Samsung.

Felix White is a founding member, guitarist and songwriter with The Maccabees, who announced their split last summer, after 14 years of touring and recording, and four studio albums, the last of which, Marks to Prove It, was a UK No 1. Over the past few years, Felix has written about music and sport, including a regular new music column in NME and features on cricket and football for the Guardian, Soccerbible and All Out Cricket. Six months ago, he co-founded Yala Records, a record label and club night, focused on debut artists and new music.

Bryony Kimmings is a performance artist, writer, comedian, director, musician, activist, feminist, mother and loudmouth. Her award-winning work has been seen in theatres in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia. Bryony’s work exists cross-platform, as music, documentaries, websites, PR campaigns and viral movements, but always ends in performance. Her most recent works have focused on socio-political injustice: Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model tackled the sexualisation and commodification of childhood through tween pop culture and Fake It ‘Til You Make It tackled the dark subject of male suicide and depression.

Rupert Holloway is a fresh face to the drinks industry. Prior to launching Conker Spirit, Dorset’s first gin distillery in April 2015, he worked as a chartered surveyor, a career that took him seven years to train for, and yet had failed to evoke a smile for as long as he dared to remember. Almost two years after Rupert’s decision to take the leap and work for himself, Conker Spirit has become a highly regarded mainstay of the gin renaissance, winning multiple awards and national listings, including River Cottage, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website