Meeting with Mélanie / Podcast Fait Main

Mélanie launched her podcast Fait Main to learn more about the creators she followed. As someone who loves the behind-the-scenes of the creative world, I was thrilled to discover her podcast. I never miss a single episode ;)

Can you tell us about the origin of your podcast?
The idea of ​​launching a series on the world of creation?

The idea came to me when I was running in the forest near my house! I had discovered the podcast format a few weeks before and I was immediately hooked, especially because it allowed me to run longer, because I wanted to finish the episodes!

One day it clicked: what if I too created a podcast to learn more about the lives of the creators I loved following on Instagram?!

I was running a blog at the time, but the audio format spoke to me more than the written format. And there was no podcast on the subject. So I started, without knowing anything about the technical side and without an address book!

Which interview surprised you the most, either by the guest's revelations or by the impact it had on your listeners?

It's quite difficult to answer this question! In the vast majority of cases, the guests are as we perceive them on the networks: pleasant, generous and authentic. I am always amazed by their transparency and sensitivity.

I believe that each episode has something to teach us, no matter the size of the guest's community or their profile. Each of us can recognize ourselves in character traits, in trials we have gone through or in the medium we work in.

What was your worst mistake while recording an episode, and did you manage to laugh about it afterwards?

I seem to remember forgetting to start recording once, but I quickly noticed!

But the worst moment was an episode for which the recording at the time had gone well, but the platform I was using at the time bugged and I never got the audio back. We had to re-record! It was stressful but ultimately not dramatic, the guest was super nice!

How did this adventure evolve into writing books and providing support in creative entrepreneurship?

It happened really gradually, as the episodes went on I would say. It was on my mind for a while.
And then at the beginning of 2021, I started to survey my community about their support needs, I then prepared a first draft of a training plan and I approached a team whose job it is, so as not to have to do it alone. It was mainly the marketing part that interested me less (but I then understood that it is more the way infopreneurs sell their training that exasperates me and that I could do differently!). And then it didn't happen, the project was left on standby...

In April 2022, an editor from Créapassions contacted me to offer me the opportunity to write a guide on creative entrepreneurship! Publishing is a sector that has always interested me and writing a book was a dream, so I didn't hesitate for a single moment!
I wrote it between May and October 2022 (I was a full-time Marketing and Communications Director at the time, so it was tough!) and it came out in May 2023.

At the same time, in 2022, my desire to develop my freelance activity was accelerating (I already had a podcast hosting contract, sponsors on my podcast, Fait Main, and a small marketing mission). I felt that I could develop it further. And I was exhausted from working all the time. So I asked for part-time work, which was refused. So I asked for a mutual termination, which was accepted (I think I benefited from good timing, we were in a particular period in the company I worked for). We organized a fairly long exit, to facilitate the transition and since July 2023, I have been 100% independent!

So I then took up this idea of ​​training on creative entrepreneurship, because I still found it relevant and I finally had the opportunity to implement it. The difficulty then was to manage the production of this audio training alongside my podcasting and marketing consulting activities.
Devoting time to a non-remunerative activity at the start is a huge investment and so it was done gradually!

The proposal for the 2nd book, on creating podcasts, came from the same editor, Anne, and I accepted it very quickly too!

If you had to create a superhero based on the creators' challenges, what would her superpowers be?

Great question! For me, the top challenges for female designers are: making desirable and sustainable designs, managing the non-creative aspects of the business, making yourself visible, and embracing your vulnerabilities.

So if I had to "translate" these challenges into superpowers, it would be:

- put your heart into your work. Generally, you create first out of passion and you are very focused on yourself, your needs and your environment. But you must not forget that the creations will have to be purchased by other people for the business to work. So that means identifying your target customers, defining their needs, getting to know them, taking inspiration from successes without copying... All this while continuing to be passionate about what you do, because you will spend many hours on it!!

- know yourself well , to separate the subjects that interest you from those for which you have no affinity. This then allows you to identify what to train on and how you should surround yourself. Very often, for economic reasons, we do everything alone at the start. But we quickly find ourselves confronted with our limits. There is no business leader who knows how to do everything alone.

- be generous and authentic. When you buy a handmade creation, you buy a little piece of the creator's soul, you seek a human relationship, you put meaning into it. So you have to dare to reveal yourself, share your story, build connections...

- accept being yourself: the famous imposter syndrome, a lot of people feel it, even those who are competent and experienced. So hearing it: yes, but letting yourself be paralyzed: no! If we have other thoughts that limit us in our actions, identifying them is already a first step.

You also created an audio training course for creative entrepreneurs. Describe the process of creating a new course only in emojis.

If you had to create a “survival kit” in 3 tips for a beginner designer?

I like the idea of ​​the survival kit, because developing a business is always a long road, whatever our activity and our life context, and we can quickly become exhausted. If I had to choose only 3 tips, they would be these:

- be surrounded by caring and listening friends: sometimes we just need to talk about our troubles to get going again, more motivated than ever!

- be humble about your skills: no one knows everything, so you have to accept training and support. Listening to entrepreneurs or personalities tell their story in their own words and over a long period of time is very educational for me from this point of view.

- don't let yourself be overwhelmed by your emotions and feelings. We listen to them, it's important, but we remain factual. We set ourselves realistic goals in relation to our own situation. Social networks in particular constantly push us to compare, but we know nothing about what people are really going through. So we don't let ourselves be polluted by all that and we get moving! One step at a time, one day at a time.

Come quickly listen to Mélanie’s podcast and discover her books:
His podcast Fait Main
His Instagram account
His books