Steve Messam is a talented artist – and a shrewd creative entrepreneur. Steve was approached by Cumbria Tourism in the UK to create an art installation to help publicise the launch of their campaign for cultural tourism. The budget offered was modest, so Steve put together a business case for a bigger budget. He knew …
Tag: start-up
The Business of Culture
For many people, the words ‘business’ and ‘culture’ don’t sit comfortably side by side. Some people assume that culture has to be non-commercial to be valid, and therefore to apply commercial thinking to cultural endeavour is to pervert it. But even charities and ‘non-for-profit’ organisations in the arts and cultural sector need to be business-like, …
Creative Business Guide
A useful and readable ‘Creative, Cultural and Digital Industries Guide’ has been published by Business Link West Midlands It is available in hardcopy from Business Link West Midlands and downloadable as a free eBook in PDF format below. This creative business guide was written by David Parrish, author of the book ‘T-Shirts and Suits: A …
Winning in Hard Times
How will creative businesses cope in the economic downturn? That’s a question that I have been asked many times recently, both in the UK and overseas. In response, I make the following points: Though the general economic situation is difficult, the recession will not affect all businesses equally. It is not inevitable that all businesses …
Business Growth: Does Size Matter?
Part of my job as a business adviser in the creative sector is to ask questions – sometimes awkward or unexpected questions. So when entrepreneurs ask my advice about how to grow their businesses, my first questions are: “Why do you want to grow?” and: “What do you want to grow?” Why grow? There is …
… and what we didn’t do
The most focused creative enterprises are clear about where they want to go and have a clear vision of the future and exactly what ‘Success’ means. In a ‘Designing Your Creative Business’ workshop for creative entrepreneurs in Taipei, sponsored by the British Council in Taiwan and the Taiwan Design Centre, I suggested a technique to …
Don’t be a ‘Poor Pioneer’: create Barriers to Entry
I often advise creative entrepreneurs who have innovative products or services. Sometimes it’s a completely new idea and they are planning to open up a new market for it. Someone asked me whether I’m ever tempted to ‘steal’ the ideas people tell me about when I’m advising them. My answer was firmly No, for two …
3,14 or 50 Kinds of ‘Free’
Thanks to Hannah Rudman for sending me a link to an article on Chris Anderson’s ‘Long Tail’ website about ’14 Free Business Models’, which is based on a paper entitled ‘Copying and Copyright’ by Google’s economist, Hal Varian. The 14 business models which involve giving things away free include: ‘Sell Physical Complements’, ‘Advertise Yourself’, ‘Sell …
Passion in business
“Do you have to abandon your creative passion to become more businesslike?” is a question I am sometimes asked when I’m talking with creative people in business. My answer is that passion is essential in a creative business. We need to harness it, not deny it. And we must stay true to our values as …
Chase one rabbit (Chinese proverb)
Here’s some ancient wisdom from a Chinese proverb: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” A useful thought for all creative entrepreneurs. It can be applied to: deciding which creative speciality to choose, from all the creative things you can do. deciding which particular market segment to focus on, rather than trying to appeal …