Creative Entrepreneurship
Running or thinking of setting up a creative business? Learn everything there is to know via 26 modules delivered via presenter-driven video, Flash graphics, animation and voice. Includes comprehensive set of downloadable course notes.
Course overview
Creative Entrepreneurship Course
This training course is designed to help you start up your own business. Perhaps you're thinking of starting a design agency or just setting up a small business? Our aim is equip you with insights, knowledge and experience which will allow you to be successful from the get-go. To further enhance your learning, we've spoken to creative business owners from all over the world who've offered us key insights and pointers to help you start up your own business. This fantastic course includes mini-quizzes and exercises to reinforce key learning points, downloadable course notes and a final knowledge test. A Certificate of Completion is automatically generated when you complete the course.
Course contents:
- The DNA of the successful creative business owner
- Planning & proof of concept
- The business of creativity
- Marketing your business
- Getting down to business
- Legal matters
- Understanding finance
- Staffing and HR
Training benefits
This training course will allow you to understand how to:
- Understand the DNA required for successful creative business owners.
- Develop a business plan for your new creative business.
- Generate new business, win pitches, earn referrals and attract profitable accounts.
- Set up and manage your business profitably, whilst avoiding the typical pitfalls one encounters along the way.
- Gain an understanding of key financial and legal principles that act as the framework for setting up a small business and to reduce your risks from the get-go!
Who should take this course?
This course if for those individuals who are looking to go beyond setting up a freelance business or becoming self employed. It’s designed for people who might want to start their own creative business servicing more than one client and are looking to employ more than one person.
Perhaps you’ve got a few years experience and you’re keen on starting a creative agency? You might have been recently retrenched and considering setting up your own creative business? Or you might have had enough of making someone else wealthy and keen to enjoy the freedom and lifestyle that running your own business can offer?
Modules
Let's work out if you've got what it takes... A look at business owner DNA.
It all starts with a business plan
- What's your plan?
- The formal business plan check list
- The 'walk away' plan
- Seeking opinions
- Supporting documentation and evidence
- Income and Expenditure statement
- Proof of concept
- Real-world case study – www.returnmyphone.com
- Financing your start-up
- A shape-shifting industry
- A quick look at industry figures
- Selling widgets vs. selling ideas
- Risks vs. rewards
- This could be your day…
- Working 'IN' vs. 'ON' your business
- Insight: Vivianne Jaeger - SquidLondon
- Mini quiz 1
- Self promotion 101
- Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP)
- The elevator pitch
- Old-fashioned networking
- Tips on how to 'work' the room
- Social networking
- Marketing yourself on the internet
- Case study – istockphoto
- Case study – ideabounty
- Search engine marketing (SEM)
- Organic SEO
- Pay-Per-Click or 'paid-for' SEO
- Trade organisations, Clubs and Bodies
- Do-it-yourself
- Testimonials
- Referrals
- Mini quiz 2
- Managing your finances
- Company structures
- Sole trader
- Partnerships
- Limited company
- All systems go!
- The financial system Financial system check list
- Job numbers
- Invoicing / billing
- Job expenses / out-of-pocket expenses
- Fixed & variable costs
- Purchase orders
- Purchase order check list
- Mini quiz 3
- Financial system checklist continued
- Expenses payments
- Reconciliations
- Forecasting
- Tax doesn't have to be taxing…
- Developing good habits
- Tips to keep in shape
- Keeping track of it all
- Setting hourly/daily rates
- Charge bands
- Charging project management fees
- Time management
- Insight: Asa Moshowitz - Keyframe Studios, London
- Quotes vs. cost estimates
- Mark-ups on external costs
- Fixed fee vs. hourly/daily rate
- Working on a retainer
- Charging for additional revisions, weekend working etc.
- Mini quiz 4
- Cost of sales vs. overheads
- Getting paid (and getting paid on time...)
- Using templates
- Manuals and guidelines
- Setting up supplier rosters
- Maintaining a talent / supplier network
- Establish routine
- Q&A with Anita Brightley-Hodges, MD Still Waters Run Deep, London
- Introduction
- Formal business documentation
- General Terms & Conditions
- The contract
- Intellectual Property (IP)
- Copyright
- Trademark
- Mini quiz 5
- Transferring, assigning or licensing your rights
- Rights transfer
- Rights transfer check list
- Retention of title / licensing
- Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
- Simple steps to protect your IP
- Useful links
- Shareholding
- Allotment of shares
- Authorized share capital
- Agreements
- Shareholder's Agreement
- Director's Service Agreement
- Contractors Agreements
- Confidentiality and Business Protection Agreement
- Contractor Compliant Agreement
- Understanding finance – the basics
- The tools of the trade
- Income and expenditure statement
- Balance sheet
- Management accounts
- Mini quiz 6
- Creative industry margins
- Financial ratios
- Profitability ratios
- Liquidity ratios
- Efficiency ratios
- Credit checking and analyzing company accounts
- Self-based exercise – Design Bridge Limited
- Start-up capital
- Protect your business!
- Professional insurance
- Professional liability
- Employer liability
- Public / products liability
- Professional indemnity
- Business interruption
- Property loss and damage
- Personal insurance
- Key person
- Critical illness
- Private health
- Petty Cash
- Payroll
- Calculating staff costs and overheads
- Calculating your charge out fees
- Insight: Jiri Toman -Toman Design, Prague, Czech Republic
- Mini quiz 7
- Hiring staff
- Feasibility
- The job description
- The package
- The recruitment process
- The interview
- The Job Offer
- The Employment Contract
- Discretionary effort
- Incentivizing staff
- Career development
- Goal setting
- Setting office protocols
- Privacy and confidential information
- Staff handbook
- Hiring students and graduates
- Top 10 Tips: Simon Arenhold MD, Switch Design & Branding
- Final knowledge test
Skills Online Group is fully accredited by the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing and are licensed partners of Total Training Inc. We launched in June 2010 in response to the sheer lack of job opportunities for creative graduates in the UK. Our goal is to equip graduates with the core skills that Art Colleges and Universities don't necessarily teach. i.e. Creative Entrepreneurship, Freelancing, Digital skills or simply how to unlock the unlimited potential offered via typical software.
Fraser Black, Founder and MD of Skills Online Group, has over 10 years’ experience in setting up and building award-winning London-based creative agencies. In a career spanning 15 years, Fraser has previously managed high-profile top 100 UK agencies and been responsible for managing campaigns on behalf of Smirnoff, J&B, Johnson & Johnson, BBC, Deutsche Bank, 888.com, Phillips, Sony Ericsson, Sony Europe, AstraZeneca and Virgin to name but a few.
Fraser and his team of Instructional Designers has now concentrated their efforts, experience and industry knowledge and packaged it into exciting 'bite-size' tutorials that offer an intuitive online learning experience.
Testimonials
Setting Up Biz course testimonial |
Here's a video testimonial offered by a satisfied customer who recently completed our 'Setting up Your Own Creative Biz' course. |
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