How To Start a Creative Business

Book excerpt: This book is an invaluable resource for any creative with a great business idea. Starting your own business does not need to be a complicated and daunting process and serial entrepreneur, Dragon's Den investor and business educator Doug Richard, shows you how. He sets out a ten-point plan teaching creatives how to shape their startup business into a success. Written in plain English, without the dense text and technical jargon of other business books, and illustrated with visual cues to help the message stick, Doug's practical advice is accessible to all. Real-life case studies are interspersed throughout from successful creative startups that include, Tatty Devine, Paul Smith, Time Out and LoveFilm, which expand upon the theory and bring it to life. In 10 chapters, Doug asks the fundamental questions any aspiring creative entrepreneur must answer. By following the questions from start to finish, and working through the get your hands dirty activities, you will get the theory first and then apply that theory in a practical way to the real world and your own business. By the time you reach the last question, you will have the foundation of a very solid creative business. You will answer: What do we do or need that people need or want? Who is our customer? Who is our competition? What is our pricing model? And more! Doug walks you through the process for researching, answering and, ultimately, overcoming the challenges posed by these questions for your own business plan. Whether you are passionate about craft, design, advertising, antiques, film and video, music, performing arts, or any other creative field, this fantastic guide will help you start your business today!