Blog

How to Get Into Marketing Without a Degree

If you have ever typed "how to get into marketing without a degree" into Google at midnight, wondering whether you have already missed your chance, I want to stop you right there, because you have not.

Digital Marketing for Small Companies: The No-Bull Guide to Getting It Right

Let’s be honest. Digital marketing for small companies can feel like an absolute minefield. There are a hundred things you’re apparently supposed to be doing, seventeen platforms you’re told you can’t ignore, and not nearly enough hours in the day to do any of it properly. I’ve worked with small businesses for over two decades […]

Is franchising finally getting the recognition it deserves?

Every now and again, I read something that makes me stop and think: yes, this is exactly what I have been trying to explain.

A Generation Has Been Taught That Knowing TikTok Means Knowing Business. It Doesn’t.

There is a growing problem in the marketing industry, and I think we need to talk about it more honestly. We have created a world where young people are surrounded by marketing every day. They understand social media platforms, trends, short-form video, personal branding and online visibility in a way that many businesses are still […]

The Freelance Flaw: Why Pumping Out More Marketing Hours is a Trapped Growth Model (And How To Fix It)

Most freelance marketers hit a revenue ceiling within three years — and it's not a skills problem, it's a model problem. Here's how to escape the time-for-money trap and build a marketing practice that scales.

So You Want to Own a Business, But Have No Idea Where to Start? Read This First

Thinking about investing in a marketing franchise in the UK? Activ CEO Katie Bullon breaks down the opportunity, the pros and cons of franchising, and how to find the right fit for your ambitions.

Why I Created Solo Power® (And What I Wish I Knew When I Started Freelancing)

There’s a version of me, not that long ago, sitting at a laptop thinking, “I should feel like this is working by now.” I had clients, I had work coming in, and from the outside it probably looked like I had made it work.

This Is a Big Moment: Introducing the Solo Power® Pathway

This feels like a really big moment. Not just for me, but for freelance marketers. Because for a long time, I have seen incredibly talented marketers building businesses that feel harder than they should. And I have always known there had to be a better way. Solo Power® is that better way – and this […]

Why Maternity Leave Changes How Marketers Think About Their Careers

For many marketers, maternity leave becomes more than time away from work. It becomes a thinking space. Somewhere between the feeds, the routine and the emotional shift that comes with becoming a parent, a quiet question often appears: Do I go back to how things were… or do I build something different? This is not […]

5 Reasons Freelance Marketers Burn Out And Fail – And Why It Isn’t About Talent

Freelance marketers often hit a ceiling not because of skill, but structure. Here are the five patterns and what comes next.

From Burnout to Top 10 Percent – Brand You Magazine Feature

Here is my latest feature in Brand You Magazine, where I talk openly about the reality of burnout, motherhood, and the turning point that changed everything. This two page feature explores why the traditional freelance path so often lets mums in marketing down and how I set out to build something better through the activ franchise. […]

The Time Ceiling For Solo Marketers: How Freelancers Can Break the Income Limit

There is a phrase I use a lot with freelancers and social media managers – the time ceiling. It is that invisible point where your income stops growing, not because you are out of talent or ambition, but because you are out of hours. Every freelancer hits it eventually. You start by saying yes to […]