Unfinished Business

Laura Kalbag and Ashley Baxter did a wonderful job hosting Unfinished Business for the last three weeks and this week Laura hands it back to me. We talk about how we interpret the ‘business’ theme of Unfinished Business differently and how that changes the focus of the podcast. As we’re both small business owners and we’ve both been on holiday recently, we discuss how we handle keeping on top of business while we’re away from it. How we handle email and client enquiries and even work that going on while we’re away. Finally we talk about “Smartphone stress: Are you a victim of ‘always on’ culture?” If smartphones have become “tyrants in our pockets” and how being connected affects how we relax when we’re not supposed to be working.

[Ashley Baxter](http://insurancebyjack.co.uk/) and [Laura Kalbag](http://laurakalbag.com) are back for their [final takeover episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/82). We talk about using social media for your business and whether writing and speaking are a scalable part of your business model. We had a couple of questions from Shane Hudson and Simon MacFadyen on forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and advice to a designer just starting out. This episode is sponsored by [Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso) and [Native Summit](http://unfinished.bz/nativesummit). You can get a 10% discount on [Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso) with the offer code **unfinished**. Native Summit are giving away **20 free tickers** to the first 20 listeners who visit [their site](http://unfinished.bz/nativesummit) and use the offer code **unfinished**.

[Ashley Baxter](http://insurancebyjack.co.uk/) and [Laura Kalbag](http://laurakalbag.com) are back again for [this week’s episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/81). We talk about the common myths around working for yourself, particularly as a solo entity working from home. We have some great questions from Elliot Davis, Simon Cox, and Shane Prendergast, resulting in us talking about photo manipulation and what do we both want to achieve before we retire? This episode is sponsored by [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent) and [SimplyFixIt](http://unfinished.bz/simplyfixit). You can get 20% off your subscription to GatherContent **forever** with the offer code **unfinished**. You can get 10% off any iPhone or iPad repair with SimplyFixIt plus a free upgrade from the standard warranty to three-month’s accidental cover with the offer code **unfinished**.

While Andy’s on holiday, [Ashley Baxter](http://insurancebyjack.co.uk/) and [Laura Kalbag](http://laurakalbag.com) take over [this week’s episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/80). We talk about all things business insurance, including public liability, professional indemnity, business contents and copyright infringement. And it’s not boring, honest! This episode is sponsored by [Devicelab](http://unfinished.bz/devicelab), [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch) and [dConstruct](http://unfinished.bz/dconstruct). Get your ticket to dConstruct for only £125+VAT (£150) when you use the offer code **unfinished**.

Before we go any further, I need to let people know that there is absolutely zero business content in the show this week. (Thousands of people are thinking now, “when is there ever?”) That‘s because this is a spoiler filled [‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ cinema special episode](http://unfinished.bz/79) with my guests and film buff friends [Brendan Dawes](http://brendandawes.com) and [Jeremy Keith](http://adactio.com). It’s a wild show. We ask whether there should be a new Oscar category for performance capture and if Andy Serkis should win everything? We talk about the other seven Planet Of The Apes films, starting with the original five and if Tim Burton’s 2001 reimagining is a guilty pleasure. Then we get in deep with the new ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’ before asking ourselves the important questions; When will apes wear clothes? When and how will humans become mute, and why should you avoid watching an apes film in Rhyl? Even if you’re not an Apes aficionado, I think you’ll enjoy listening to [this episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/79) as much as we enjoyed making it, which was a lot. This special episode was made possible by two special sponsors, the [ShropGeek Revolution Conference](http://unfinished.bz/shropgeek) and [BigBoard](http://unfinished.bz/bigboard). Get 15% off your ticket to ShropGeek Revolution when you use the offer code **unfinished**.

I’ve been looking forward to speaking with [Sara Soueidan](http://sarasoueidan.com) on [this week’s episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/78) for a long while, not least because I’m a huge, huge, fan of her work. She’s been writing what I consider to be the best articles about CSS and SVG. We talk about those, yes, but we also talk about what it’s like for her, living and working as a web developer in her home country of Lebanon. We discuss the preconceptions and misconceptions that people in the West have about Lebanon, its people and its customs. I think you’ll find what she has to say fascinating. I know I did. This episode is kindly sponsored by two UK conferences, [Native Summit](http://unfinished.bz/nativesummit) and [dConstruct](http://unfinished.bz/dconstruct). Get your ticket to dConstruct for only £125+VAT (£150) when you use the offer code **unfinished**.

[Ashley Baxter](http://iamashley.co.uk)’s back on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/77). We talk about the reasons why she’s speaking in public more and how it may help her to promote her new business. Speaking of promotion, we discuss her $99 tweet sponsoring experiment, how buying tweets works and whether it worked for her. We also talk about how to move on when you feel like you’ve reached a plateau, in business as well as in the gym. This week we’re sponsored by two very different, but both excellent companies, [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent) and [SimplyFixIt](http://unfinished.bz/simplyfixit). Get 20% off your subscription to GatherContent forever when you use the offer code **unfinished** , then get 10% off a SimplyFixIt iPhone or iPad repair with the offer code **unfinished**.

[This week on Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/76), impresario, organiser of Flash On The Beach and more recently [Reasons To Be Creative](http://reasons.to), [John Davey](http://twitter.com/johnnybelmont) offers me some fatherly advice on how to handle a personal dilemma and what not to wear at [Alex](http://twitter.com/beardyscientist)’s upcoming graduation. We talk about the Reasons To Be Creative conference, how he finds and why he chooses so many new speakers and his unusual elevator pitch approach. **Swearing:** I mostly bleep out swearing on Unfinished Business, but I think that this week’s episode is funnier with our cussing intact. I hope you won’t be offended by a couple of ‘f’ words, one ‘b’ word and a dozen jokes about Brighton. I want to thank again our two terrific sponsors this week, [Ghostlab](http://unfinished.bz/ghostlab) and [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch). I also hope that you’ll support Aimie Lockwood’s Kickstarter project, [Adventures of Alex](http://unfinished.bz/alex), beautifully illustrated childrens’ books which break social norms.

Designer and artist [Brendan Dawes](http://brendandawes.com) joins me again for the [75th episode of my “one-sided, biased, poor quality personal soapbox](http://unfinished.bz).” We talk about the people who have inspired us the most in our working lives and Bren tells me all about how the famous designer and filmmaker [Hillman Curtis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillman_Curtis) helped him to get started. It’s an inspiring story. I’ve also reinstated the after hours film talk spot that Anna and I started in the early episodes of Unfinished Business. This week Bren and I talk about briefly about [Her](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)), the fabulous [Stalingrad (2013)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalingrad_(2013_film)) and Luc Besson’s totally terrible [3 Days to Kill](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Days_to_Kill) starring Kevin Costner. It’s a funny segment although I’m clearly no Mark Kermode and this show is obviously nowhere near as good as something on the BBC. Thanks to our sponsors this week, they were [Big Board](http://unfinished.bz/bigboard) and the [Shropgeek Revolution Conference 2014](http://unfinished.bz/shropgeek). As always, you can support Unfinished Business by supporting them.

[This week on Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/74), [Sean Johnson](http://twitter.com/seanuk) and I talk not only about Laura Nevo’s “Dear Visual Design” open letter but also how wrong the people who thought I’d criticise Laura are. While I disagree completely with Laura’s message, I appreciate her writing it, not least because it helps sum up everything that I think is wrong about how we talk about web design today. Sean’s not just along for the ride, he has plenty to say about user experience, the Net Awards and why he hates football. The berk. As always, we have two fabulous sponsors, [Hover](http://hover.com/) and [Macrabbit’s Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso). Get 10% off both when you use the offer code **unfinished** at the checkout.

[Jeremy Keith](http://adactio.com) joins me on this, [episode 73 of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/73). Although I try to steer clean of provoking him by not talking about moon landings, we disagree about just about everything else. Fish tacos, things that scientists haven’t done yet and I think they should’ve and what makes advertising fascinating to me and hateful to him. It’s a lively show. There are sparks. I think you’ll like it. We have two excellent sponsors this week, [Shopify](http://unfinished.bz/shopify) and [Logical Elements’ ‘PHP for Web Designers’ training course](http://unfinished.bz/logical). Tickets cost just £295, but listeners to this show can get one-hundred, yes one-hundred pounds off by using the offer code **unfinished** at the checkout.

A slight change of format for [this week’s Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/72). [Laura Kalbag](http://twitter.com/laurakalbag) wanted to know our experiences of working with our partners—she’s just started working with hers—so she emailed Sue some questions. I hadn’t heard her answers until Laura read them on the show, but I think that makes for interesting listening. I’ll publish Sue’s full answers on [Stuff and Nonsense](http://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/blog) later on in the week. Thanks to our sponsors this week, they were [Gather Content](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent)and [Forge](http://unfinished.bz/forge). As always, you can support Unfinished Business by supporting them.

[Ashley Baxter](http://twitter.com/iamashley) is back on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinshed.bz/71) and we start the show by talking about why she started [a podcast with some other fella](http://workingoutpodcast.com/). We discuss how businesses should be authentic on Twitter and if a brand can justifiably spend 45 days planning a tweet about cheese. (Mmmm, cheese.) We round off this week by talking about how working with other people can affect your fitness and diet and why working from from home might be the best thing for some people. And let’s not forget Ashley Baxter’s Scottish Slang Word of the Week. “Heffer.” Thanks to our sponsors this week, they were [Vanamco’s DeviceLab](http://unfinished.bz/devicelab), [Big Board](http://unfinished.bz/bigboard) and [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch). As always, you can support Unfinished Business by supporting them.

Illustrator [Josh Cleland](http://twitter.com/joshcleland) joins me for [episode 70 of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/70) this week. We discuss about how I’m struggling with an idea for the next version of the [Stuff and Nonsense](http://stuffandnonsense.co.uk/) header and I baffle Josh by talking about vintage British adverts, including the PG Tips chimps and Cadbury Smash’s famous Martians.

On [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/69), I’m joined by designer and artist, the one and only [Brendan Dawes](http://twitter.com/brendandawes). Bren and I talk about data inspired art and his Cinema Redux pieces. As we can never get together and not discuss films, so we talk about the greatest westerns of all time, the True Grit remake and Django Unchained. Plus, being ‘men of a certain age’ we reminisce about childrens TV from the seventies and why the writers of The Banana Splits must have taken a lot of drugs. We have two excellent sponsors this week, [Shopify](http://unfinished.bz/shopify) and [Logical Elements’ ‘PHP for Web Designers’ training course](http://unfinished.bz/logical). Tickets cost just £295, but listeners to this show can get one-hundred, yes one-hundred pounds off by using the offer code **unfinfished** at the checkout. Plus, you’ll get a 20% discount on any other course if you book them before the end of May.