Creative Enterprise Network

Creative businesses and cultural enterprises can promote their organisations, products and services through this online network.

This free network for creative people in business can be found at:
www.creative-enterprise-network.com  

This creative entrepreneurs' network features videos and photos from creative enterprises and allows creative entrepreneurs to interact to publicise events and share smart business ideas through discussion groups, blogs and even live chat.

An international creative industries network, CEN was launched as "T-Shirts and Suits (Creativity and Business)" by David Parrish, author of the book 'T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity'.

There are other T-Shirts and Suits networks for creative entrepreneurs, including a group on Facebook, and T-Shirts and Suits Coffee Club events, which are also free to join and open to everyone involved in (or interested in) creative businesses, cultural organisations and the creative industries.

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Three Top Tips

I was asked to give "three top tips" to creative entrepreneurs in an interview about how to successfully blend creativity and business.

Ellie Stevenson interviewed me, along with Nick Williams of 'Inspired Entrepreneur'.
Read the full interview on the ArtsHub website.

Here's an extract:

Can you give us three top tips for running your own successful creative business, David?

1. Firstly, define what you mean by success – it could be a mixture of financial success, creative challenges, recognition, job satisfaction, quality of life, etc, and that formula will be different for everyone. Define what you mean by success, don’t let others define it for you, and know where you want to go.

2. Be clear about your market and don’t try to sell to everyone. Choose your customers. Choose customers that fit your objectives and your ethos and that deliver the financial results you want. Don’t have a scattergun approach, looking for any old customer. Choose the customers that work best for your business strategy.

3. Understand intellectual property (IP), because IP is at the core of the creative industries. It’s important to make sure you don’t get ripped off by other people, so it’s about defending and protecting intellectual property; but just as importantly, it’s also about how to commercialise that IP so you can make money from it, through sales and licensing, for example. Given that IP is so central, I think most creative businesses could do with knowing a bit more, and learning how to use it.

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Note: This is an extract from an article by Ellie Stevenson, first published on ArtsHub UK.

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Share your own Top Tips with other creative people in business on the Creative Enterprise Network

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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 Guide to the Business of Creativity'.

The 48 page publication covers a range of issues relevant to enterprises in the creative, cultural and digital sectors.

Sections include:
 - Strategic Planning
 - Understanding your Customers
 - Profiting from your Ideas
 - Organisational Structures
 - People and Skills
 - Promoting your Products / Services
 - Financial Management
 - Legal and other issues
 - Links to useful organisations and resources for creative enterprises

There are also four case studies featuring creative enterprises from the West Midlands region: 383 Project, Stan's Cafe, Gas Street Works, and Capsule.

Download PDF:
Creative, Cultural and Digital Industries Guide (PDF) [3.2 MB]

Businesses in the West Midlands region of England can obtain a hard copy of the Guide.
Contact Business Link West Midlands on 0845 113 1234.

The creative industries guide was designed by iDM Design, Wolverhampton

This creative business guide was written by David Parish of TShirts and Suits.
David Parish retains copyright in this material and other writing about the business of creativity, as published in the book 'T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity', the publication 'Designing Your Creative Business' and a series of other articles, blogs and 'Ideas in Action' features.

Similar creative business guides can be written for other organisations in the creative, cultural and digital sectors.
Contact David Parrish to discuss options and possibilities for your own version of this creative industries guide.

 

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