In this candid reflection, founder Kim Ellis shares how a spark of an idea during a Welsh getaway became L&D Free Spirits – a supportive, slightly cheeky hub for self-employed professionals in learning and development. From big lessons to even bigger ambitions, this is a story of community, courage and connection.

It’s been 84 years… Bonus points if you recognised the quote from the Titanic film. Actually, it’s been 21 months, but sometimes it feels like 84 years. And while it feels like I’ve been running L&D Free Spirits forever, I can still remember when the idea first sparked to create a community just for self-employed folk who work in the Learning and Development (L&D) sector.

Where it all began

Let me take you back to that day in a chilly December 2023. I was on holiday in a log cabin in Wales, but me being an absolute workaholic – was still working. I was dabbling with some client work and Learning Network duties. I had a call with Erin Donovan and we were bouncing ideas around about a different type of community. One which was for people like us, freelancers in L&D. It wouldn’t be about growing our L&D skillset, there are already so many communities and resources out there for that, but rather on growing a thriving L&D business.

All the stuff no one really teaches you when you first step out on your own

That means Free Spirits is for anyone who works for themselves in L&D, whether brand new to freelancing or been around for years: trainers, facilitators, coaches, consultants, designers, tech specialists. It’s about the business side of L&D life: pricing, clients, marketing, automation, networking. All the stuff no one really teaches you when you first step out on your own.

Taking the leap

Ideas bounced, sparks sparked, and the company was registered a month later. Everything moved really quickly after that. The biggest and scariest decision I made personally was to scale back my consultancy business and self-fund the L&D Free Spirits community. Should I have applied for grants, sought out investors or a loan? Maybe, but I wanted to do everything myself. Was I super naïve? Yeah probably. But I had big expectations and a growth plan.

I funnelled money into Free Spirits, hired my web guy to build the website, and Maisey Marketing to get my marketing strategy off the ground. For a while I also had a VA too but I found it really difficult delegating things because I was too close to it.

We launched in September 2024, although technically it was late August because we opened the doors to the waitlist early. And we launched at full pace, no easing into it! Weekly webinars, courses, exhibiting at LN Connect, podcast, fiestas, Slack community… there was a lot.

Lessons from year one

That first year has taught me some big lessons:

• I wouldn’t have launched courses so quickly.
  
  The first ones went live before I’d built enough of a following or mailing list, and I wasted hundreds of pounds on LinkedIn ads trying to sell seats
  
  
• I would have ‘maybe’ sought financial backing.
  
  To me, this is a long-term investment, but I know Free Spirits would be further along by now if I’d had funding
  
  
• I would have focussed more on my mailing list.
  
  LinkedIn followers are nice, but mailing lists are gold. They’re hot leads compared to the lukewarm ones you get on socials

And of course… creating a new community isn’t all unicorns and rainbows. Ask any founder and they’ll tell you it’s tough. You need dedication, time, and visibility. You need to be loud enough so people know you exist, otherwise how do you ever convert them to members?

But it’s so worth it

But when you get it right, the results are magic. Chris Chilvers, one of our members, shared about what helps him: “When I first met the L&D Free Spirits at World of Learning I was immediately bought into the concept of the community. I signed up straight away! …The opportunities channel is fantastic and there are so many opportunities to learn from the community, the experts and the events taking place.”

We’ve built a safe, supportive, slightly cheeky space

And it’s not just about opportunities. For so many, it’s about belonging. Thea Newcomb highlights the the joy of being around like-minded people: “As a self-employed trainer, finding a community that gets it has been game changing. L&D Free Spirits is the one place where I can talk pricing, wins, wobbles and everything in between, without feeling like I have to pretend I’ve got it all figured out… it has given me both practical support and a proper sense of belonging.”

That’s the bit that makes me proudest. Yes, we’re building skills, contacts and opportunities. But more than anything, we’ve built a safe, supportive, slightly cheeky space where freelancers don’t have to feel alone.

A good community should inspire, not overwhelm. Free Spirits has shown that when freelancers come together, the result is something bigger than the sum of its parts. And this is only the beginning. Imagine what the community will look like in another year, or five, or ten…

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Kim Ellis is Chief Learning Architect at Go Ginger Learning Solutions, CEO at L&D Free Spirits