Starting a Creative Business is a one-day workshop for artists/creative professionals from all artistic disciplines thinking about starting a business. It provides the basic tools of creating, developing and putting together a solid creative business idea that will shape the business plan.

Through interactive, reflective, and writing activities that correlate with a workbook, participants get to step into the business mind frame and leave with the key components of their business more clearly defined.

Requirements:
Registrants are required to come ready to explore their existing creative business idea

Takeaways for participants

• Step into the business mind frame
• Build a bridge from creative professional to creative business
• Clarify your business idea, direction & create the base of your business plan
• Get to know your local business and creative sector supports and community

Guest speakers:

Michael Barber, mixed media artist

Deb Beard, General Manager and curator of the Station Arts Centre

Sue Goossens, watercolour painter

Rachel Palach, Small Business Owner

Facilitator:

Snjezana Pruginic is a creative business professional and facilitator with over 10 years of experience in the creative sector as a dancer, producer, writer, community art facilitator and art manager. She is also the co-founder and facilitator of "Business of Arts", an art entrepreneurship workshop for visual artists.

“Starting a Creative Business” is an initiative of WorkInCulture to support creative professionals of diverse artistic disciplines who are thinking about building a creative enterprise.

Agenda for the day

Introductions, Welcoming and Logistics

Getting into the business mind frame

• Defining your skills, strengths and passions
• Finding the sweet spot (your business)

Mapping your idea / business (and building the frame of the business plan)

• Your business vision
• Your business goals
• Business Analysis

The Heart of Your Business

• The problem
• The value
• The purpose

Who are your clients?

• Creating your client avatar

Putting it all together (Business Plan Structure)

Next Steps and Action points

Your Community (including guest speakers)

Workshop includes a workbook handout to prepare you for your next steps.
Morning coffee & muffins, lunch and refreshments are included.

"Starting a Creative Business - in Tillsonburg" would not be possible without the following partners.

Community Futures Oxford is one of 60 Community Futures Development Corporations in Ontario and 269 across Canada. With financial assistance from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, we create and preserve jobs throughout Oxford County. This is achieved by supporting small business development, entrepreneurship and skills training and by fostering community economic development. Community Futures Oxford also providers alternative financing options for small businesses as well as grants for non profit projects supporting community economic development activities.

www.cfoxford.ca

The Station Arts Centre is a charitable organization with a mission 'To promote the arts within the community'

The Station is a local historical site that houses 2 art galleries, arts and crafts programming for children youth and adults. We have various in house groups where members share and develop their creativity. The artisan gift shop features works by local and regional members.

As a community art centre, our volunteer organization offers opportunities for people of all ages- youth earning their 40 hours for high school, local agencies looking for work training placements, and members of the community looking to give back.

www.stationarts.ca

Funder:

An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities.