Creative Business Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

During the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses around the world are responding creatively, finding new opportunities and adding value in imaginative ways. This page empowers and inspires Creative Business Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis.

A new ‘COVID-19 Business Strategies’  tookit plus several other online toolkits and courses are now available as part of extensive online business support, along with other products and books, special discounts, and free business advice sessions on Zoom.

David is collaborating with individuals, businesses and organisations around the world, to find and share creative responses, to foster new collaborations, to create new content online. David is working in partnership with a range of organisations, creative hubs, business support agencies and creative enterprises to provide online webinars, workshops, presentations, events etc – and to create new content to share freely worldwide. Online events are usually recorded and published as videos. This is part of his ongoing mission to empower creative entrepreneurs.

David said: “At this time, ‘business as usual’ is difficult or even impossible. That applies to my own business as well as the creative enterprises in my network all around the world. Right now, I want to be useful. That’s why I’m collaborating to provide webinars, videos and deliver other projects. I’m also offering more online business support and publishing new online toolkits, as my creative responses to the COVID-19 crisis. And I’m offering even more free resources than before, to empower creative entrepreneurs.”

Contact David if you would like to collaborate to provide a webinar, training workshop, discussion group or to create new content to help businesses to devise and implement creative responses to the COVID-19 Crisis.
Sign up to the mailing list for news of other projects to empower creative enterprises worldwide, plus new products and special offers.


COVID-19 Business Strategies: Creativity, Diversification and TransformationDiscounts and Free Access to Online Toolkits for Creative BusinessesDiscounts and Free Access to Online Toolkits for Creative BusinessesDiscounts and Free Access to Online Toolkits for Creative Businesses


Below are a few recent examples and more are added frequently. These examples include partnerships with business support organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Nigeria, the Philippines, Estonia, Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom.
Contact David about online business support services, to collaborate to create a new event or project.

 – Online Toolkit: “COVID-19 Business Strategies: Creativity, Diversification and Transformation” – video-based online toolkit/course- online now

 – Online Toolkit: “RE-Design Your Creative Business” [for COVID-19 and beyond] – video-based online toolkit/course – online now

Workshop. Creative Scale Up Programme. “How to Maintain Creativity in a Scale Up Environment” for selected creative, cultural and digital businesses involved in a a tailored business growth programme (more…)

Webinar. “Three Dimensions of Profitable Pricing” for creative enterprises in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A collaboration with Foundation 787 in Sarajevo, supported by Swiss EP at Swisscontact online here.

 – Webinar: “The Art of Virtual Pitching”. Hosted by GEN Nigeria and the Enterprise Development Centre, Nigeria. More details online here.

 – Online Toolkit. “Business Diversification Essentials” – Key Strategies and Techniques for rapid and successful business diversification – online now

 – Online Toolkit. “Smart Marketing” online now

 – Online Toolkit. “How to Increase Prices”online now

 – Online Toolkit. “Cash Flow Planning” [including spreadsheet] online now

– Workshop. Diversification Workshop: “COVID-19 Business Strategies: Creativity, Diversification and Transformation”. A new Interactive online workshop, focused on helping creative and digital businesses to increase their creativity and innovation during the COVID-19 crisis. More details online here.

– Webinar: “The Post COVID-19 World: What it will look like and how you should prepare for it.” Presentation and discussion at a webinar hosted by Havila Business School, Nigeria.

– Webinar: “Maximising the Monetisation of Creativity”. An interactive webinar for creative businesses in Albania, in partnership with Swiss EP Albania. (more…)

– Webinar: “Business Strategies for the New Normal” in partnership with GEN Philippines (more…)

Presentation: “Better Online Pitching” for Creatives International as part of a Pre Mission Briefing for a Virtual Trade Mission to Germany for APFI (Audiovisual Producers Finland) (more…)

– Interview: “Grow Your Creative Business in Uncertain Times”. David Parrish interviewed online by Patricia van den Akker of the Design Trust (more…)

– Interview: “Culture and Creativity in Times of Crisis”. David Parrish interviewed by Ragnar Siil of the Cultural Policy Designers Network (video…)

– Interview: “Creative Business Responses: A Conversation.” David Parrish with Zulfiya Abdukhalikova. An Instagram Live event, hosted by Impact Hub Almaty, Kazakhstan. More details and video online here.

Conversation: Online event about the Business of Creativity in relation to Islamic Art and Culture (more…)

– Workshop: “IP and Copyright: Making it Work.” Online workshop for  creative entrepreneurs, designed and delivered by David Parrish, in association with the Future’s Venture Foundation (more…)

“How leaders can inspire creativity for business success”. An online lecture at Leadership School Armenia (more…)

Webinar: “Creative Strategies for Survival in a Crisis”. Hosted by the Tunisian Startups Association (more…)

– Article: “African Creativity Responds to the COVID-19 Crisis”. Published in The Good Business Festival Journal (more…)

Webinar: “Fundraising for GEN Namibia Startups”. In partnership with Global Entrepreneurship Network, Namibia (more…)

Online creative business advice sessions on Zoom. These are follow ups for workshop participants, for people who have accessed David’s online toolkits and courses, and Open Forum sessions for participants in recent webinars and other online events (more…)

Free Business Resources and Information for creative and other enterprises. These include a free eBook, guides, videos, online courses and other information online here.

COVID-19 Business Strategy for Creative, Cultural and Digital Businesses. Emergency measures, pivoting in a crisis, rebuilding an enterprise, redesigning your creative business, plus other approaches, techniques approaches and information. Read more here.

– A new ‘COVID-19 Diversification Matrix’ that can be used to generate new ideas and options, then used to devise a business strategy for the crisis (more…)

RE-Design Your Creative Business. Now is the perfect time to change your business formula (Crisis = Danger + Opportunity).
Use the ‘Designing Your Creative Business’ Toolkit publication to devise a strategy to deal with COVID-19 and achieve both commercial and lifestyle success with a new business model.

– Business Advice Consultancy for the COVID-19 Crisis
David continues to support creative entrepreneurs through one-to-one confidential business advice sessions online. Contact David about business advice online.

– Creativity Loves A Crisis. Especially at times of crisis we need creativity. Indeed some of the most creative solutions in human endeavour have come about because of a crisis. See TEDx Napoli talk on “a-Creativity : i-Creativity”. Watch video or download article.

COVID-19: It’s time to follow the love. A section of my marketing book, republished free of charge during the COVID-19 crisis (read article).

Creative Entrepreneurship Essentials. A starting point for devising new strategies in the creative, digital and cultural industries (more…)

Work-Life Integration. Redesigning your business and lifestyle in a new configuration. Read more here.


COMING SOON! Several more projects are in the pipeline and will be announced when confirmed:

Potential projects are currently under discussion with organisations and businesses in Australia, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Nigeria, New Zealand, Namibia, Botswana, the United Arab Emirates, Estonia, Brazil, Colombia, Kenya and the UK.


“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
– Sun Tzu. The Art of War.

“Crisis doesn’t change people; it reveals them.”
– Eric Walters.


Contact David with your stories about creative business responses to the COVID-19 crisis.


Creativity can be found in enterprises in the creative industries sector and also in other sectors. Creativity is not exclusive to the “creative sector”! (See my TEDx Napoli talk about a-Creativity and i-Creativity). Creativity happens both in the studio AND in the business office. We can apply creativity to our business models, marketing, financial management, collaborations, intellectual property,  and many other aspects of running a creative business.


Creative Business Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

Creative Business Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

Creative Business Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis


“In order to mark 2020 World Arts Day, Foundation 787 launched campaign celebrating women in creative industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina and providing them with content and tools to thrive. One of the important elements of the campaign was webinar held with David Parrish on pricing in this industry. In this interactive session, David elaborated on three important dimensions of pricing while giving a number of relatable examples. Over 50 participants engaged in fruitful discussion, which went significantly over the envisioned time-frame depicting in the best manner sparked interest and relevance of inputs, especially in the times of crisis caused by COVID-19. It was true pleasure collaborate with David in a thorough preparation process and the implementations itself. We are looking forward to collaborating again.”
– Dajana Dzindo, Executive Director, Foundation 787, Bosnia and Herzegovina


David has developed a range of interactive creative business training workshops which he has successfully delivered around the world. These can be adapted for webinars, virtual events, lectures and presentations during the Coronavirus COVID-19 crisis. Check out the workshops here. Contact David to discuss ideas for collaborations, events and new content.

TEDx Speaker David Parrish