About Ben Matthews

Hello, I’m Ben Matthews Based in London Co-Founder and Director at Empower Brief summary of my story so far: Contact me Want to ask me something? Email me at [email protected] Book My book, Freelance in 30 Days, is out now

About

Hello, I’m Ben Matthews Based in London Co-Founder and Director at Empower Brief summary of my story so far: Contact me Want to ask me something? Email me at [email protected] Book My book, Freelance in 30 Days, is out now

Meeting Heroes: My Y Combinator Interview Experience

Growing up in the seaside town of Brighton, I never thought I would meet and mingle with "famous" people (famous in the form of well respected icons – not the here today, gone tomorrow celebrity variety). When I was small, just going to the local park or the walk to school seemed like a big trip. … Read more

Why I Learned To Code

There’s plenty of posts out there on "How To Learn To Code in Just One Month!", but not a lot for why you should learn to code. One of the problems is that you get articles like this,  with the following unhelpful insights into how others have learnt to code: "I slept an average of 5 hours a night, had … Read more

Tech For Good: The Rise of a Movement

"Tech

 

One of the things I’ve been struggling with as a freelancer lately is focussing in on a sector that matches my own values and who the clients I work with give me work that I enjoy doing. Often when your values and your clients’ are aligned, your work will be better as a result. This has the added benefit of making your client happier too.

This is easier said than done.

I’ve been struggling because some of the clients I’ve been working with recently haven’t matched my values and so poor work, somewhat beneath my usual standard, has crept through. This hasn’t been anything to do with my clients, who are fantastic to work with and appreciate my work, but is more to do with me and the opportunities I take on.

I often chat to my better half about what kind of clients I want to work with. She says I need to focus on a particular group of clients I enjoy working with and match my values. I agree and resolve to do something about it, only to take on a non-value-matching client the next week, under the guise of a nice client and good money. C’est la vie.

That has changed though, as I’ve found the area I want to focus on: Tech For Good.

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