Architecture Business Club with Jon Clayton · Jon Clayton

How To Be Lucky In Your Career with Mel Barfield | 072

March 13, 2025·51 min·4 clips

Mel Barfield reveals how her entire business was built just by posting online and connecting with people.

This episode of Architecture Business Club features host Jon Clayton and guest Mel Barfield, a copywriter and careers advisor, exploring how professionals can actively influence their career luck. Barfield co-hosts the Indie Business Club podcast and writes for Freelancer Magazine, bringing a focus on independent creative careers. Barfield references the book *The Luck Factor*, which identifies maximizing chance opportunities as a key component of luck. She advocates for strategic networking, both online and in-person, and using platforms like LinkedIn to connect with people in desired roles. Barfield emphasizes the importance of clear personal messaging so others understand your skills and goals. She also discusses listening to "lucky hunches" or gut feelings about opportunities and clients. The conversation covers expecting good fortune and learning from setbacks rather than repeating mistakes. Barfield shares her own non-linear career path, moving from admin roles to careers advice before transitioning to freelance copywriting. A surprising insight is that Barfield considers some social media content valuable for repelling unsuitable clients as much as attracting ideal ones. She cites her own popular LinkedIn post titled "Five reasons not to work with me" as an example of effective filtering. Barfield argues that making your personality visible online, even through casual "brain farts," can lead to significant opportunities, as her collaborations with Ben McKinney and Dave Harland began on Twitter. She observes that a strong sense of purpose, like spotlighting creatives of color, can motivate people to become more visible. The episode suggests that commenting on others' posts can be a more effective and authentic starting point for online engagement than formulaic connection strategies. The tone is conversational and anecdotal, blending personal career stories with practical, actionable advice. The style is encouraging, focusing on mindset shifts and small, manageable steps. This episode would appeal to freelancers, solo practitioners, and small business owners in creative fields who feel invisible or want to attract better opportunities. Listeners seeking highly structured, data-driven social media strategies might find the anti-formulaic approach less useful.

As heard by us

A grounded case for making luck easier to meet.

How To Be Lucky In Your Career with Mel Barfield treats luck as something people can help along, not some mystery that just happens. The episode is most convincing when it shifts from ideas to habits, especially the point that quick, lightly edited posts and plain…

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Rethink luck as something you can influence in your career.

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