The Savvy Creative Academy - Thursday March 26th 2026

Agenda

• 8:30 am - 9:30 am

  Registration

• 9:30 am - 10:00 am

  Welcome

  Welcome and Mission for The Savvy Creative Academy with Nell Nakkan. 10 lessons from a creative in corporate who learned everything the hard way.

• 10:00 am - 10:45 pm

  Maximising Tax with Count Out Loud Accountants

  Tax basics for freelancers with an accountant - Blake Jenkins, Director of Count Out Loud will outline the common mistakes freelancers make in the early years of a freelance career. Learn how to maximise your tax return and other considerations for savvy EOFY activity.

• 11:00 am - 11:45 pm

  Personal Finance

  Setting myself up for financial success with Pascale Helyar-Moray OAM. Pascale is sharing the depth and breadth of 30+ years of financial experience from the lens of having run her own business. Listen as she outlines the traps of not having financial structures and systems in place to sustain you, especially when dealing with lumpy money.

• 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm

  Marketing 101

  Harnessing Marketing fundamentals to get clear on your brand with Alison Dean. Alison brings over 20 years of experience and works with founder‑led and creative businesses that are overwhelmed by marketing “shoulds,” Helping them: Get clear on who they are and who they’re really for Build simple, powerful brand and messaging foundations Turn that strategy into practical content, campaigns, and customer journeys their teams can actually run Known for her warm, no‑jargon style, Alison blends creative thinking with commercial reality. Her goal is to make marketing feel human, sustainable, and effective—so business owners can do more of the work they love, supported by a brand and strategy that finally fit.

• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

  Lunch

  Provided

• 2:15 am - 3:00 pm

  Showing up online

  The power of strategy and content for a freelancer with Nat Lynch It has never been more important to have a strong online presence and Nat is going to take us through her own journey with building her business in public and the use of social media in order to attract clients. Natalie Lynch is a leading digital media and audience strategist redefining how Australian screen stories find and grow their audiences. With over 15 years across production, broadcast, and digital innovation, Natalie has built a reputation for bridging the gap between creative vision and audience engagement. After five years working on Australia’s high rating drama for the Seven Network, Winners & Losers, Natalie stepped into a leadership position as Producer on the historical soap, Neighbours, and drove transformation change across production resulting in an unprecedent six Logie award nominations. Seeing an opportunity in the digital media landscape, Natalie moved into the position of Digital and Strategy Producer at Fremantle, leveraging digital platforms to drive audience growth. Her mission is clear, to empower producers and storytellers to amplify their reach and future-proof their projects in an ever-evolving media landscape.

• 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm

  Panel

  A Panel with career creatives to discuss examples of success with Tahyna Tozzi Macmanus, Bianca Zouppas and Ethan Reginato. These three creatives have successfully diversified their income capitalising on their skillset. Get golden takeaways from their journeys and their own learnings along the way.

• 3:45 am - 4:45 pm

  Structured Networking

  Small set groups designed to maximise collaboration and work opportunities.