Unfinished Business

[On Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/68), and with us both fresh from the Net Awards, [Laura Kalbag](http://twitter.com/laurakalbag) and I talk about our experiences there. I explain why I don’t feel at home in the web design industry as it is today and how its conversations no longer reflect my interests in design. After last week’s ‘giant’ misunderstanding about speaker fees, we also talk about the responsibilities that speakers have to themselves, to an audience and to an event and the people who’ve organised it. It’s a lively discussion. We talk about swearing, why private agreements between speakers and conferences should remain confidential and why speakers should play their part in supporting an event, before, during and after it. Laura, I and everyone who makes Unfinished Business, wants to say an enormous “thank you” to everyone who voted for our show and put it in the final five top podcasts of 2014 at the Net Awards. I also want to thank our sponsors this week. They are [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent) and [Hammer For Mac](http://unfinished.bz/hammer). As we always say, please support Unfinished Business by supporting them.

On [this week’s (early) episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/67), [Ashley Baxter](http://twitter.com/iamashley)’s back to talk about her brand new business, [Insurance By Jack](http://insurancebyjack.co.uk). We talk about why she started the business and some of the challenges she’s already faced. No ‘Ashley’ episode would be complete without her “Baxter’s Scottish Slang Word of the Week.” What is it? You’ll just have to listen to the show to find oot. Oor sponsors this week are the fantastic [Ghostlab](http://unfinished.bz/ghostlab) and [Logical Elements’ PHP For Web Designers course](http://unfinished.bz/logical). Get £100 off when you book using the offer code **unfinished**

[Dan Davies](http://twitter.com/danjdavies) is back on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/66) to talk about what he’s learned in the five months since he switched from front-end development to user-experience design. We discuss how his agency is improving communication between designers and developers, [his interview series](http://iaskyouanswer.co.uk/) about workflow and more and how he was once replaced by a fibreglass rhino. We have two excellent sponsors this week, [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch) and a new sponsor [Hover](http://hover.com), the best place to buy and manage your domain names. Get 10% off your first purchase at Hover with the offer code **unfinished**.

[This week on Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/65) I’m joined again by [Elliott Kember](http://twitter.com/elliottkember) to talk about Speedos, fitness tackers and—one day before Nike announced they’ve stopped making hardware— my Nike Fuelband. We discuss Cennydd Bowles’ [Letter to a Junior Designer](http://alistapart.com/column/letter-to-a-junior-designer) and if there are differences between designing a website and designing a digital product. I ask if designing with data is just an excuse for not having enough confidence in an idea and suggest that banging on about ‘empathy’ deserves a punch in the face. This week our sponsors are [Macrabbit’s Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso)—get 10% off with the offer code **unfinished** —and [Shopify](http://unfinished.bz/shopify). Join their free partner programme today.

On [this week’s Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/64) I’m joined by not one, but two guests to keep me out of trouble, [Laura Kalbag](http://twitter.com/laurakalbag) and marathon runner [Rachel Andrew](http://twitter.com/rachelandrew). We talk about the fallout from last week’s news that publisher Five Simple Steps has closed, what this means for other niche publishers and for the authors who write for them. We talk about how the abrupt announcement of the closure could’ve been handled better and the lessons we might learn to help us in the future. Finally, we break down how advances and royalties work differently between small and large publishers and the reasons why authors might choose a publisher over self-publishing their books. Finally, everyone involved in making Unfinished Business wants to say an enormous thank-you to all of you out there in podcast land who voted for us for [Podcast Of The Year at The Net Awards](https://thenetawards.com/vote/podcast/). You helped us make the shortlist of the final five that’s full of brilliant podcasts and put a very broad smile on all our faces. Thank-you to our sponsors this week. Get 20% off your subscription to [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent), forever using the offer code **unfinished** and 50% off for your first two months using [Forge](http://unfinished.bz/forge) with their offer code **unfinished**.

Special guest [Jeffrey Zeldman](http://zeldman.com) joins me on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/63) to talk about how important is it today for designers to be able to tell stories and sell ideas to clients. We talk about whether designers need ‘empathy’ or strength of character and conviction in their ideas, whether the web needs ‘account menpeople and what it feels like when people you’ve mentored go their own way. It’s a packed show and as we both love advertising and Mad Men, we end by talking about my Don Draper depersonalisation disorder theory and what we expect and hope from the final season which starts next week. Even if you’ve not seen Mad Men, I think you’re going to like this episode. Thanks to our sponsors this week. They are the [Business Of Web Design conference](http://unfinished.bz/business) (get 10% off your ticket with the offer code **unfinished** ) and [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch) (get 10% until April 11th with the offer code **unfinished**.)

New regular [Ashley Baxter](http://twitter.com/iamashley) joins me on [this week’s packed Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/62) to talk about eating well and staying fit, my goal to lose 14lbs and why my competition with [Paul Boag](http://twitter.com/boagworld) is spurring me on. We also talk about how happy I am that [Stuff and Nonsense](http://stuffandnonsense.co.uk) has been [shortlisted for Agency Of The Year at the Net Awards](https://thenetawards.com/vote/agency/). Last, but not least, there’s Ashley’s Scottish slang word of the week. I’m also over the moon to learn that Unfinished Business has been [shortlisted for Podcast Of The Year.](https://thenetawards.com/vote/podcast/) When you listen to the show, you’ll hear I obviously wasn’t expecting that. This week’s sponsors are the [Business Of Web Design conference](http://unfinished.bz/business). Use the offer code **unfinished** to get 10% your ticket. (And here’s a secret code. If you use the offer code **dirtyape** , you’ll get 20% off until the end of Wednesday April 2nd. Don’t tell everyone. Actually do.) And [Device Lab](http://unfinished.bz/devicelab).

On [this week’s Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/61), [Laura Kalbag](http://twitter.com/laurakalbag) and I talk about the business of speaking at conferences, why it’s essential to be paid to speak and the importance of contracts that cover the paying of expenses, who owns the content of a talk and what conferences can do with that content after the event. This week’s amazing sponsors are the [Scotch On The Rocks](http://unfinished.bz/scotchontherocks) conference and [Macrabbit’s Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso). Get 10% off your copy of my favourite code editor using the offer code **unfinished**.

Illustrator [Josh Cleland](http://twitter.com/joshcleland) is back for this, [the sixtieth episode of Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/60). We talk about Milton Keynes Geek Night, losing my voice and what can go wrong if you suck too many Strepsils. (Spoiler: diarrhea.) We discuss how we’re both trying to achieve a better work/life balance and what’s been driving us to work all the time. I’d like to thank this week’s sponsors, [Shopify](http://unfinished.bz/shopify) and [Logical Elements](http://unfinished.bz/logical). Get 50% off their April PHP For Web Designers online course when you use the offer code **unfinished**.

Despite possibly the worst Skype connection in history, I chatted with [Ashley Baxter](http://twitter.com/iamashley) on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinshed.bz/59) about her semi-professional photography business. We talked about the photo walk and workshop that she recently organised in her home city of Glasgow and why conference organisers should host more photography workshops at their events. Aye. And let’s not forget Oor Wullie. This week’s sponsors are the [The Web Is](http://unfinished.bz/thewebis) conference that’s happening in Cardiff on 30/31st October 2014. Use the offer-code **unfinished** for 10% off your ticket. Also thanks to [Hammer For Mac](http://unfinished.bz/hammer) and [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent). Use the offer-code **unfinished** for 20% off your subscription forever.

[Laura Kalback, Kalbang, Kalbung, Cowabunga! Kalbag](http://twitter.com/laurakalbag) is back on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/58) and we talk about her troubles at her bank and how changing your name once you’ve built an online persona might be a challenge. We follow up on our previous conversation about business ethics, then discuss how much time is reasonable to spend on researching requirements to provide a client estimate. This week’s sponsors are the [Scotch On The Rocks](http://unfinished.bz/scotchontherocks) conference that’s happening in the beautiful Scottish capital Edinburgh on June 5th and 6th, and [Espresso](http://unfinished.bz/espresso). Listeners of this show can get a fantastic 10% discount by using the coupon code UNFINISHED at checkout.

[This week on Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/57), [Elliott Kember](http://twitter.com/elliottkember) and I talk about how Director [Lottie Dexter](http://twitter.com/lottiedexter) introduced the Year Of Code initiative and most importantly the message we think it sends about our industry and what we do. Thanks to our sponsors [Logical Elements](http://unfinished.bz/logical)—get 50% off ‘PHP for Web Designers’ when you use the offercode **unfinished** when you book your place—and [Shopify](http://unfinished.bz/shopify).

This week, [Josh Cleland is back on Unfinished Business](http://twitter.com/joshcleland). We talk about updates on our various piracy issues and whether it’s necessary to add copyright notices or watermarks to our work. We also discuss why people at large put a low value on creative work. Thanks to our sponsors this week, [GatherContent](http://unfinished.bz/gathercontent), [Forge](http://unfinished.bz/forge) and the [Dot York](http://unfinished.bz/dotyork) conference. Get 20% off your GatherContent subscription for life, and 50% off Forge for two months when you use the offer code **unfinished**.

This week on [‘Net Awards Podcast Of The Year’ nominated Unfinished Business](http://unfinished.bz/55), [Liz Elcoate](http://twitter.com/liz_e), from some other podcast, joins me to talk about why it’s acceptable to admit when we’ve availability and to ask people for work. We talk more about having flexibility in our rates and why it’s reasonable to quote different rates to different people. We also touch on whether web designers should charge ‘rush rates’ and why working for free can be good for the soul. Speaking of the Net Awards, did I mention that Unfinished Business has been nominated for Podcast Of The Year at the Net Awards? No? If you’ve liked what you’ve heard over the last 55 episodes, [please vote for us](https://thenetawards.com/vote/podcast/unfinished-business/). After-all, this is the _only_ podcast where you hear about the things that are really important. Apes (obviously,) soap, weeing in kettles and of course Purple Rain. This episode is sponsored by [Perch](http://unfinished.bz/grabaperch) and by [Logical Elements](http://unfinished.bz/logical). Get 20% your place on their ‘PHP for Web Designers’ course when you use the offer code **unfinished** at checkout.

[Laura Kalbag](http://laurakalbag.com) is back on [Unfinished Business this week](http://unfinished.bz/54) to talk about how far in advance we book client projects and what we you do if a client wants more work done, but we’ve other work booked for the next few months? We discuss upping our day rates and how Laura’s client suggested she charge more. No Unfinished Business would be complete without talk of pirates and smugglers and the Milton Keynes Geek Night All Dayer conference which took place last week. Thanks to our sponsors for this episode, they are [Hammer For Mac](http://unfinished.bz/hammer) and [Ghostlab](http://unfinished.bz/ghostlab). You can support our show by supporting them.