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Here's a fascinating interview with fashion design guru Paul Smith, who talks about many aspects of growing a business in the creative industries, including:
- How he succeeds as a creative entrepreneur by saying no to many potential clients, choosing only those projects which fit his brand and excite his creativity. He has (politely) rejected the opportunity to design 3 hotels, 5 mobile phones and 2 cars - and that's just in the last year!
- How he manages his company's finances and business growth in such a way that he can be selective. He avoids the pressure to constantly grow his creative business. Crucially, he manages cash flow carefully so that he has never needed to borrow money from a bank.
- How he became 'big in Japan' by being respectful of Japanese people and culture (when others were being brash), and took his time to build solid business relationships.
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Designer fashion icon Paul Smith was interviewed on the London Eye by Francine Lacqua for Bloomsberg TV's 'Eye to Eye' programme.
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Discuss the points made by Paul Smith with other creative entrepreneurs on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
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Keep it personal when using social media. That was one of the key messages from DK of MediaSnackers, who gave a very impressive talk in Aberdeen where we were both keynote speakers at the launch of the Cultivating Creativity project to develop creative businesses in Scotland. I learnt a lot (and yes, still have a lot to learn).
Now MediaSnackers have publshed their Top 50 Blog Posts about using social media, which I recommend as essential reading to creative, digital and cultural enterprises.
One important point emphasised by DK is that when using social media you should imagine you are in a room full of people, interacting with them on a personal level. Sounds obvious, but in a face to face situation you wouldn't introduce yourself with your company name, you'd use your real name. You wouldn't just talk, you'd listen too. You wouldn't just say your mission statement like a robot, you'd tell stories about what you do. In other words, you'd be real, with opinions, stories, personality and humour.
Read the MediaSnackers blogs, including the ones about 'The Business of Being Human' and 'Why Social Media Shouldn't Be Outsourced'. These messages link in with a point I often make when advising creative businesses about marketing - your potential customers want to do business with real people, not with a "info@abc.com", or a slick corporate website, or a salesperson working on your behalf. For more about why it's important to show your personality, not just your products or services, see the blog 'Don't hide your people!'.
So when using social media in the creative industries, keep it social, not 'corporate'.
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DK from MediaSnacker with David Parrish at the 'Cultivating Creativity' launch at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
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Share your experience and opinions about using social media in the creative industries on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network. It's free to join and easy to promote your creative/digital business and share cool business ideas with creative entrepreneurs world-wide.
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You can use crowd-funding platforms to test the market for a new product, service or project, in parallel with raising finance to fund new creative initiatives.
This was one of the many interesting points made by Slava Rubin, Chief Executive Officer of the crowd-funding platform Indiegogo, where we were both speakers at a creative industries conference in Santiago de Chile.
Market research can be expensive but it's crucial to be able to test the market to minimise risks. Feedback from potential customers can help improve products or services at an early stage of development. Posting a project on Indiegogo or another crowd-financing platform provides an opportuntiy to test the potential popularity of a new product.
Even better, creators can establish an online dialogue with potential investors who are also likely to be customers and consumers of the product.
Don't just think 'crowd-funding', think 'crowd-testing'.
Slava Rubin, Chief Executive Officer of Indiegogo, with David Parrish, at the Cultura y Economia conference in Santiago de Chile.
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Discuss crowd-funding on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
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In this short video, David Parrish talks about:
- How Creativity and Business can be combined intelligently and sensitively to achieve business and creative success in a way which is consistent with our values and objectives.
- Being Creative in Business: How creative people can be creative in the office as well as the studio. In other words, how creativity can also be applied to the 'business system' or business model. We need to apply our creativity not only to working 'in' the business but also 'on' the business.
- How creative entrepreneurs have raised finance for projects in unconventional ways, applying their creativity to business issues, including 'crowd-financing' or 'crowd-funding'.
- How to Achieve Your Own Version of Success. Advice on being clear about your objectives and personal definition of "success". Don't just follow the crowd or develop your business in the way others suggest. Decide what you mean by Success - and then go and achieve it!
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This is a video of excerpts of the keynote speech by David Parrish about 'Creativity and Business' at the Shropshire Creative Business Conference in Shrewsbury in 2011. Click for more information about David's experience and expertise as a speaker.
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Embed this video in your own website or blog from Vimeo or YouTube.This video is published using a Creative Commons licence which allows you to republish it.
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Discuss the comments made in this video - and add your own experience and advice about how to succeed in creative business - on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
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In this 'How to Succeed in Creative Business' video, David Parrish offers five pieces of advice about how creative entrepreneurs can make their creative and digital businesses even more successful.
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1. Define Success - in your own terms, with your own specific and unique definition of success for your creative enterprise.
2. Understand your Strengths - especially your strengths in relation to competitors. Identify what you can do better than everyone else, or at least most of your rivals. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses.
3. Choose your Customers. Not all customers are good customers. Choose customers that fit your objectives, your ethos, and your financial aims.
4. Manage your intellectual property. Use copyright, design right, trade marks and patents not only to protect your rights but also to generate income through sales and licensing.
5. Business growth. Be clear about what you want to grow. Grow your business in the right way. Grow the right things. Size isn't everything. Small enterprises can generate large profits and have a big impact.
Clearly, there are many more things to consider when growing a business in the creative industries, but these are five important things to think about. Enough for now!
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Embed this video in your own website or blog from Vimeo or YouTube.This video is published using a Creative Commons licence which allows you to republish it.
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Discuss the comments made in this video - and add your own experience and advice about how to succeed in creative business - on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
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The other day I was advising a client about a trading name for a new creative enterprise. There was a danger that the name she had chosen could infringe the trade mark rights of another business - so she decided to choose a different word for her new brand.
Using a trading name without first checking that it is not already in use by another business offering similar goods or services can lead to a lot of hassle in the future. I know of several cases where businesses have been forced to change their name because of a legal challenge, which is embarrassing, to say the least. The worst thing is that the challenge tends to happen once the new business has become established, simply because the challenger simply doesn't notice in the early days when your new company's profile is still 'under the radar'.
This is not just about registered trade marks, which are relatively easy to search using official registers (for example in the UK Intellectual Property Office online register of trademarks). A trading name can be regarded as an 'unregistered trade mark' and defended by its owner against other people using it. You could be accused of 'passing off' your business as theirs: in other words, trading on its reputation and/or taking business away from them because the public could be confused into thinking that your business is connected to theirs.
Now BSkyB is trying to stop Skype from continuing to use its name because the first three letters spell "sky" according to this article.
It's a reminder that trading names and trade marks can be a complex legal area, so it's best to take professional advice from a trade mark attorney if in doubt.
As a general rule though, the safest trading names to use are totally new words because nobody has used them before - in any context. The KODAK® trade mark is often quoted as a great example of this because the word 'KODAK' was invented, its pronunciation is unambiguous, it has no meaning in English (and, as far as I know, doesn't mean anything silly or offensive in other languages!).
So if you are choosing a trading name for a new business venture, think creatively!
If Google can't find any references whatsoever to your proposed name then it's a good start!
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Let us know how and why you chose your own brand name - and share your experience and expertise with other creative entrepreneurs - on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
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A Facebook friend called Phil sent me a message asking for advice about creating
an effective business model for his creative enterprise. I didn't have
much time - but I didn't want to ignore it either - so I sent a quick
answer. This is what I wrote: ---
Here's the starting point of a business model:
1.
Identify
what you excel at in relation to the competition. In other words,
pinpoint what you are especially good at that most others aren't.
2. Focus on the type of customers who want that thing you do really well.
Hope this helps!
--- I think this summarises the essence of any successful creative enterprise, so it's a good starting point when devising a new business. It
can also be used as a 'reality check' to keep an established enterprise
on track as things constantly change: rivals are improving their offerings, new firms are
entering the market, client requirements develop and new customer
segments emerge. These two questions also act as an effective
'acid test' to use when evaluating a lengthy business plan. In other
words, they ask whether or not the fundamental assumptions are valid
before going into further detail. --- See also the article 'Create your own Business Formula' on the T-Shirts and Suits iPhone App. P.S. For a more detailed answer, and a process to work through, get a copy of 'Designing Your Creative Businesss' --- Discuss this on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network. ---
Thanks to Leslie Burns for
highlighting this
article in the MIT Sloan Management Review about pricing.
All
of the issues it raises about pricing strategies and pricing mistakes are relevant to the creative industries,
whether you are selling products or services, even though the examples
are from big manufacturing firms.
The article underlines and
expands on various advice published in the book 'T-Shirts and
Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity', connects with some
posts on this blog, and links in with discussions on the T-Shirts
and Suits Creative Enterprise Network.
I think some of the
most important points are:
1. Look at your offerings from the
customers' point of view and understand how they see value in your
products and services. This new perspective may allow you to increase
prices.
(See also: 'What
are you selling, really?')
2. Set prices according to what the
customer gets out of it, not what you put into it.
(See also: 'Art is
not what you see...'.)
3. Instead of competing on price with
lots of competitors who do much the same as you, focus on what you can
do that they can't. In other words, focus on the areas of the
marketplace where you have a competitive advantage. This will lead you
to particular types of customers who need and value the things that you
excel at in relation to competitors. These customers are more likely to
pay higher prices because they recognise you are the best in your field.
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Discuss
this with creative entrepreneurs world-wide on the Creative Enterprise
Network.
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Here's a great way to multiply the number of commercial competitors you're up against - if you really want to! (OK, maybe the word 'enemies' is a bit strong.)
Many early stage businesses that
haven’t yet
found their specialist niche sometimes offer a very wide range of creative services (or products). This
approach is often a desperate attempt to find work by 'offering everything to everybody'. Unfortunately, the 'jack of all trades and master of none' will
generally lose out to a 'master' in each competitive field. This ‘jack of
all
trades’ tactic instantly creates a multitude of rivals as the enterprise announces its entry into many different competitive fields. It also slams
the door
in the face of partnership working at a stage when the company can least
afford
to do so. On the other hand, many of the most successful creative enterprises don't try to do everything - they specialise and become excellent at a few things. They then work in partnership with other businesses, devising creative collaborations that suit the client's needs. There's more about partnership working and creative collaborations on my guest blog for Vision and Media, with examples of how businesses have worked in partnership to win work - including making TV programmes for the BBC and major international projects such as the design of the Liverpool Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
--- Join the discussion about Profitable Collaborations on the T-Shirts and Suits Creative Enterprise Network. ---
Here's a fascinating article in Wired magazine about the graphic design of restaurant menus. And here's another menu analysed in terms of design and pricing. These are essential reading not only for graphic designers but for anyone in the creative industries interested in marketing and pricing. So that's everyone then. Amongst other things it includes interesting insights about the psychology of pricing. For example, a very expensive item makes other expensive ones look reasonable in comparison. This 'extremeness aversion' means that people avoid the most expensive - and the least expensive items. This approach can be used in selling any range of good or services. ---
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