Creative people aren't always credited with being business-minded and it can be an issue to start and business and not be able to fulfil your potential if you are slightly woolly in the grass roots. That is what is so good about the book. It provides you with exactly the kind of information you should acquaint yourself with when planning your business, but not in a business-manual kind of way. It is totally accessible for people who are doing what they love and taking it one step further. But it will also clarify what you are doing and the issues you need to be mindful of in order to succeed.
The book is divided into 10 sections.: The Proposition, The Customer and the Market, The Competition, The Industry, The Channel, The Relationship, The Pricing Model, The Key Partner, The Asset and The Key Competency. These all sound quite daunting and corporate, but actually, once you start reading them, they make good sense. I found that I was thinking of a lot of things that I hadn't really considered before (the order of the chapters is key - you really need to work through one at a time and then move onto the next). Areas such as doing Market Research to find out why people are buying your product and which ones (if you provide more than one) so you don't waste time producing something that customers don't want. Also identifying your target customer and gearing marketing considerations in that direction.
Coupled with the event that was on at Somerset House in March, I found that this and the book together provided an excellent starting point, should you not be disposed to do the course. When I went to the Showcase for Creative Startups, I was struck by how many people commented on how the course was great for motivating and pushing them to make decisions, rather than bowing to procrastination. A lot of the business decisions had to be made by them and then they had to go out and make it work. This was not something they had a lot of hand-holding for - it was up to them to get on and do it. It made me think that if you want to get out and run a business, you might need to just knuckle down and get it done. If you need to find a factory in China to make your products, you could start by Googling it! Yes, that was how some of the people we spoke to had got things moving. By the mighty Google.
Some of the Alumni we met on the day were lovely. I particularly enjoyed the work of Brompton Finch, who used a love of flowers as a starting point for an interiors company. They use digital photography which is then manipulated and printed as wonderful fabric.
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| I love this footstool. The picture doesn't do the design or colours justice. |
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| Brompton Finch |
I would certainly check out their website: http://bromptonfinch.com/
We also spoke to the lovely Tina of Tobyboo who creates wonderful machine embroidery of London landmarks and has them printed onto china, fabric, and sticky tape amongst other things. I loved her thread drawing done on the sewing machine, and she spent a lot of time talking to us about the course and what she had achieved by doing it. I am definitely keeping an eye out for what's new here.
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| The Freak Show circus figures. These showed wonderful machining skills! |
All in all, it was a really inspiring day, and I will be going through the book and adopting the advice given (maybe whilst sitting in the sunshine, while it lasts). The Showcase in on in May next year, so I am definitely going to go along. There are workshops and talks that are all included in the entry price, and covers all areas of business - from pricing to starting up a crafts business, to cashflow. It will certainly get you moving with any of your creative ideas!
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