AAMP 2026 over and out! by Hannah Fisher

I have been freelancing my entire career. That’s over 8 years of figuring things out on my own (with the help of some very kind colleagues at various stages along the way). So, you can probably understand that I was unsure how much I would get out of ‘Freelance 101’ as a session run by David Thomas Media, which was the final group session of the Audio Academy Mentoring Programme 2026.

However, I went in with an open mind, even if just to get the metaphorical pat on the back that I was doing everything right, thank-you-very-much.

Instead, I came away with a refreshed perspective on freelancing, a long to-do list and new plans on how I can be more efficient.

The point that stuck most in my head was figuring out what your survival figure is, i.e. the amount you need to earn to live, and then your thriving figure, i.e. the amount you need to enjoy life. I’ve never thought of it this way before. Often, as freelancers, it can be hard to say no - to work, to people - or to say yes - to holidays and social plans - because it always feels like you should be working as much as you can to earn as much as you can

to show your success.

But this was a stark reminder that that’s actually not the point of being freelance. I am freelance because I enjoy the freedom. The freedom to work on different projects, with different people, for different outlets. It’s a juggle, yes, but it’s also a lifestyle, where you can just decide to stop working at 3pm on a sunny Wednesday afternoon to go and make the most of the last of the summer sunshine. But this is something that I don’t do. I work normal working hours every week and then some, and often also on evenings and weekends. But while this may be keeping me busy (and earning), this session with David Thomas made me question: is it helping me thrive? In theory, yes, but in reality… is it stopping me from properly thriving?

The session also had other useful takeaways, for example about tax, and how many working days there are in a year for someone who is employed (minimum 220, if you’re wondering). It was an interesting exercise to calculate if I was similar to that this year - the answer is ‘kind of’, they’ve just not been skewed in the normal Monday-Friday pattern. It’s certainly an interesting metric to bear in mind going forward.

Overall, it was a beneficial session and left me feeling rather bashful about my initial smugness. A seasoned freelancer I may be, but it was a timely reminder that there are still always things to learn (and that systems seem to keep changing and we need to keep up…).

After the session, we moved on to a wrap session for the Audio Academy Mentoring 2026 scheme overall. With most of the cohort sitting in the same room for the last time, it was nice to reflect as a group on everyone’s takeaways from the programme. Similar themes came up: community, confidence and connection. Realising others felt the same way as you did. Realising no-one really has it all together. Realising we all worry about similar things, even if we all make different audio for different people and in different ways. Participants said how lovely it was to meet others at a similar stage of their careers, how they felt held and secure in the group sessions, and how new friendships and networks had been formed. Everyone was thankful to their mentors and felt buoyed and energised by their guidance and advice.

We moved on to writing encouraging comments about people on post-it notes for them to take home - notes which I still have, just as a lovely wee reminder every now and then. And we wrote to our future selves - a task which we are still yet to see the fruition of, at an unknown future date. I can’t remember what I wrote so it’ll be a nice surprise to receive, whenever that happens!

And then came the final part of the evening: our Graduation Ceremony, in the cavernous leafy atrium in Bauer’s offices. It was a lovely way to round off the day, and our mentors were there too, which felt very full circle as they all attended the first session for us back in March as well. We were each awarded our certificates and, to our surprise, they featured some personal comments from our mentor, mine was the brilliant Catherine Carr, about our progress through the programme. It was a brilliant way to celebrate and mark the end of a scheme that has flown by. We also all had a chuckle as many mentor / mentee pairings had unintentionally worn matching outfits - a sign of a good match in general.

The Mentoring Programme overall has been such a fulfilling, confidence-boosting and affirming programme. It has enabled me to feel more comfortable giving myself credit for where I have got to in my career so far and gave me newfound ideas and confidence for all that is yet to come. I met wonderful people, making wonderful things, and hope to stay in contact with them for a long time to come.

I’m sad it’s over, but I feel very privileged to have been a part of it - and to the next cohort: you get out what you put in, so enjoy it, turn up 100% each time, and enjoy. I’m already jealous of everything you have ahead of you, while feeling energised and thankful for the time I had!

AAMP 2026, over and out x

Hannah Fisher