MEET RACHAEL ARNOLD, OUR MARCH 2025 SPEAKER

With over 20 years’ experience at the cutting edge of developments in the arts and creative sectors, Rachael Arnold is a trusted advisor, a respected entrepreneur, and a sought-after voice for thousands of creatives worldwide. Her current work includes serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Creative Entrepreneurs Club - a global membership community that connects, upskills, and empowers creative freelancers and businesses - and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

CM Glasgow: What do you think about when you consider this month’s theme of PARALLEL?

Rachael: The first thing that comes to mind is the idea of a parallel universe. Sometimes I need to choose which one I’m in: sometimes it’s in a crazy place and other times it’s in a sensible place. I think it’s true that two things can be correct at once, whether they’re contradictory or not. And when you get used to that idea you start to feel a lot happier; a bit more humble, a bit quieter, a bit more engaged in what you do.

People used to talk about ‘what hill are you going to die on, what mountain are you going to climb?’. I’m not in that space anymore. I’m quite leisurely canoeing down a river somewhere, and there’s two sides: there’s the left bank and the right bank, and my life is both of those things at the same time. 

I choose calm and I choose chaos at the same time. I choose light and I choose dark at the same time. I also feel very strongly that you can embrace contradictory things if you’re kind and considerate and you’re doing the right thing. I like to see everything from every angle.

CM: What motivates you day to day?

Rachael:  Everybody around me in the Creative Entrepreneurs Club inspires me. I find that I have a privileged position where I get to spend my time with extraordinary people, and extraordinary people inspire me. And very often, those extraordinary people don’t know how brilliant they are. 

I love to see the potential in people, and I get excited by the fact that I can help and support and engage with them. I’m inspired by people that get stuff done. I think there’s so many people in the world that care and have the ability to be kind and have the resources to do different things and make things possible. And I’m really motivated by that. I like spending time with people that just get shit done and get shit done for the right reasons. 

I think given the fact I’ve had a cancer journey, I’ve been incredibly inspired by the care and attention that people in the NHS have given over to their lives, the dedicated lives of service. I’m impressed by that. 

I get inspired by people that make a choice to be good and kind and interesting, who are focused and selfless, and they deliver that. 

CM: What’s a typical day like for you?

Rachael: I don’t have a typical day. I think most people that work in the creative industries or are entrepreneurial work this way. I do have a routine, though. That helps me get organised because I have various things to contend with. 

Every morning I get up at six and I spend a couple of hours getting organised for the day ahead. I live on a beach – which is amazing – so I always go for a walk on the beach. I make sure my children and I have a good breakfast (I eat 150 grams of protein a day so I’m very specific about breakfast!)

I also tend to be very specific about what days I have meetings. Typically I’ll have two days full of meetings alternating with three no-meeting days. I’m somebody who doesn’t like structure, believe it or not. That’s all my ADHD-neuro-spicy-dyslexia coming in. But I do like knowing what I’m doing – I like to have a plan.

I can jump between many different things. I could be talking to young people about the complexities and the inspiring parts of the creative industries. I could then jump to speaking to the Scottish or UK government at ministerial level about why arts, creativity, culture is important. I could then jump to a business that might not be in the creative space: I work with a lot of commercial businesses, helping them be more creative and social. 

I could then be doing one-to-one support sessions with composers, dancers, studio engineers, actors or other musical theatre professionals in my role as Creative Entrepreneur in Residence at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

So a typical day for me starts with routine, but the most important thing is that my head is clear so that every single person I’m having an interaction with gets the best version of me. 

CM: Tunnocks Tea Cakes or Caramel Wafers?

Rachael: Caramel wafers all day long, and in fact, I’d steal to get caramel wafers!

CM: Lastly, if you could describe Glasgow in one word, what would it be?

Rachael: Audacious. 

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Rachael will be our speaker on Friday, March 28th at 8:30am at ALT’s offices at McLellan Works on Sauchiehall Street. Tickets include breakfast and are free but space is limited. Get yours here!