Start Up Wednesday's - First Session

Business: Do you have what it takes?

• As a sector, the creative industry only has a few 'large' companies - roughly 6%. The other 94% are small and micro businesses. This means that there aren't huge companies completely dominating the market - generally jobs have higher value.

• Business structures tend to be more relaxed and informal.

• Not driven by the market - creatives tend to make the market.

• Personality and values can make your product/business more desirable - this is why it's so important to find your voice. 

• Reputation is everything. People need to know that you are trustworthy and produce high quality work. 

• It's really important to show that not everybody can do what you've trained to do - never let anyone devalue your practice. 

• Conceptual thinking is important! Even if your idea isn't practical or feasible yet! Keep dreaming.

Commercial Aptitude:
- To identify and seize opportunities that might not be obvious to others.
- Thinking on your feet
- Business savvy

Project Management:
- Being able to oversee multiple tasks
- Managing links between people, ideas, resources etc.
- Understanding how to negotiate (especially important if you're working with people you're close to)

Risk Taking
- It is important to manage the possibility of something going wrong
- If you don't put safety measures in place, you could end up being really demotivated by any small failures.

Customer Sensitivity:
- Important to build long term relationships of trust
- Generate expectation of high level of customer service which you aim to exceed

Networking:
- Key to business. It won't survive if you don't get out there, make connections, tell people about your brand etc.
- Plan/prepare conversations to have with people. Using websites like Linked In is a good way of finding out what people are working on
- People like to talk about themselves, so ask them lots of questions

Leadership:
- Confidence is key - even if you're blagging it.
- Need to achieve a balance between risk taking and being practical.

Technical Skills:
- Know what you know
- What do you know you'll need help with?
- What can you learn and who do you need to help?

Marketing:
- Who is the audience?
- Find out as much as possible about the audience so that you could imagine what it's like to be them.
- Brand and reputation - strive for consistency.
- If you're ever feeling nervous, remember that you know more about your practice than who you're talking to (probably)

Good ways to find networks:
- Ask close friends or family if they could help with a project/idea
- If not, do they know anyone who could?
- Do they have a friend of a friend who you should talk to?