Category: Business Skills

APP OF THE MONTH: ADOBE BRIDGE

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Administration, Business Skills
Name Adobe Bridge
Product Description A companion product to Adobe Photoshop designed for file management and cataloguing your digital photo collection
Availability Through Browser at https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/download/bridge
Key Features A Digital Assets Management (DAM) or Desktop Media Browser Programme allowing you store and sort your images professionally and easily on your desktop or laptop computer:

·         Highlight your favourite photos and hide the ones you don’t like as much

·         Add keywords to the metadata (basically background digital copy) of your photos to easily find the perfect image you need on search and improve your SEO if you upload your images online.

·         Upload your images directly through Bridge to have them automatically renamed to match your filing system.

·         Add Star ratings 1-5 to your images

·         Use the filter system to search through your images

·         Creating Collections (kind of like music playlists) to regroup your photos into different albums without creating doubles on your hard drive.

·         Preview your images without having to open them in another programme through numerous different ways.

·         Completely customisable workspace/dashboard so you can prioritise quick access to the features and files you use the most
Prices and Plans It is completely free regardless of whether you purchase the rest of the Creative Cloud from Adobe.
Biggest Pro It’s quick and easy freeing up a massive amount of time in the long run, making it easier to track your existing images.  It lowers the chance of losing or accidently deleting images.
Biggest Con At present they don’t have any ability to access the app from your phone which is where most people take majority of their pictures so their isn’t really an option to file your images on the go from your mobile.

 

Find the Perfect Idea to Start your Arts Business

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Business Skills, Creative Industries, Start Ups

Why Start an Arts Business?

 

It’s terrifying putting yourself out there and letting out your artistic endeavours in the world.

 

I hear excuses almost daily about why brilliant artists and entrepreneurs shouldn’t start businesses in the Creative Industries.  Generally, these people are amongst the most hard-working, inventive and organised individuals but they are scared of the risks often entailed with starting a new enterprise.

 

But, there are numerous reasons to set up a new arts business:

 

  • Creating (or manufacturing) new work (products or services) which can be seen and directly sold, whether that is a new piece of art for someone’s mantelpiece or a performance that you want to be seen by the right audiences.  This type of business can be taken directly to the customer.

 

  • The want to distribute others work – you could be a gallery owner, a receiving house, a fringe venue, a music academy, a poetry publisher, a producer, the list goes on.  You can take this work either straight to the audience or to other businesses so there are two avenues you can go down.

 

  • Running events or finding a product you think someone else will benefit from. Think your Theatre in Education (TIE), art workshops and school holiday activities.  Not for profit organisations or charities come with plenty of perks to like claiming Gift Aid on donations and the ability to claim back VAT.

 

  • Some people are simply on the lookout for business opportunities where an investment, either monetary help (funding or equipment) or through giving time and advice to help others start a business, or in many cases in the Arts run themselves as a business, is traded for a return on their outlays later.  This is the agents and producers of the industry or opportunities like residencies provided by galleries.

 

Most Arts Organisations start out in one of these categories and then quickly diversify in order to turn over profit to drive the main organisation aim. Once you have thought of your initial idea then you can branch out:

 

As an example think of a specialist antique shop that collect their stock and run their business in different ways:

  • Some stock they buy in from markets and sell on
  • Some shelves or sections they rent to clients and sell the stock on their behalf
  • Some products they display for free and split the profits with the owner
  • Some articles are faux vintage bought in new to sell on at a more substantial margin
  • Some items are handmade from recycled antiques
  • Some run a café alongside their shop
  • Some host specialist auctions at weekends
  • Some run courses to teach hobbyists more about antiques

You get the idea.  There are always multiple strings on their bow to help sustain their business and, more importantly, their passion.  So, think about your passion and how it can be funded.

 

Have you come up with your great idea but don’t know where to start?  Or maybe you’ve diversified your portfolio to fund your passion.  Tell us in the comments below!

APP OF THE MONTH: Etsy

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in App of the Month, Business Skills, E-Commerse
Name Etsy
Product Description A specialised selling (e-commerce) platform/online shop tailored to vintage and handmade products and craft supplies.
Availability Through Browser at https://www.etsy.com/ and as an app especially designed for sellers from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store
Key Features Unique items sold by small, independent businesses and individuals worldwide through a secure payment system.

The app consists of:

·         A Dashboard in which you can easily see your Shop Overview and any News and Activity from your shop.

·         A Stats (or analytics) section to see your views and visits along with information of where your traffic is coming from and a list displaying the order of your best performing products.

·         An Orders tab where you can see both open and completed orders

·         Conversations (or messages) where you can talk to other members and customers – a great feature of this is that Etsy will save ‘Snippets’ or your personal commonly used phrases to add to your conversations.

·         A place to view listings, your shop, reviews and finances.

·         The ability to shout out about your shop items across all your Social Media Platforms.

·         Etsy Ads in which you can budget what to spend each day in order to rank higher in both Google and Etsy.

·         Links to educational videos and articles about how to get the best out of your Etsy store.
Prices and Plans The app itself is free.  To list an item on Etsy is $0.20 (which with the current exchange rate is around £0.17).  Your listings will be active on Etsy for 4 months or until that item is sold.  When sold Etsy will take a 5% commission and charge a processing payment of 4% plus £0.20 per transaction.  So, if you sell an item for £10.00 Etsy would receive around £1.27.

They now offer Etsy Plus for £8.30 a month which includes 15 free listings, £4.20 to spend on Etsy Ads, a custom web address, email stock alerts for customers and new personalisation options for your store.

Later in the year they will be launching ‘Etsy Premium’ although pricing plans a full spec are yet to be announced.
Biggest Pro Unlike Amazon and eBay on which you can buy anything and everything Etsy is specifically targeted towards sellers of vintage and handcrafted things meaning this is where designers and makers can find their target audience immediately.
Biggest Con Of course, this can also be a con as there is a lot of competition on Etsy.  There is also no way to ‘patent’ your ideas, so to speak, which means similar designs to yours may appear and there is little you can do about it.

 

Set SMART Edinburgh Fringe Objectives

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Business Skills, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Start Ups

All businesses in the creative industries need objectives.  These are, simply stated, stuff your business wants to achieve.

 

They’re generally pretty straightforward especially considering most artistic organisations have existing mission statements, visions and values in place to adhere to.

 

But when coming up with your objectives it’s important to think SMART:

 

Specific If you are too vague in your statements no one will know where to start.  Most of Edinburgh have the same objective to ‘Sell more tickets’, so instead think ‘Sell a minimum of 10 tickets per day’.  This makes your goals both clearer and more achievable.
Measurable You have to find some way to measure your outcomes so that you know if you have achieved them for example ‘Increase daily website views by 10%’ is a measurable goal whereas ‘improve website’ is not.
Agreeable Make sure everyone who is associated with the objective knows about it and supports it.  It is especially important at the fringe to keep everyone on the same page and ensure your team is on board with all decisions.  It improves team morale when the whole company is beating to the rhythm of the same drum.
Realistic Don’t be over ambitious.  If you are a first time, one-woman musician in a 10-seat venue you probably aren’t going to set a goal of an international stadium tour within a year.  It’s great to dream big but set achievable aims which motivate you to continue and make you feel great about your accomplishments.
Timely Set a time frame for your objectives otherwise they won’t be deemed as ‘urgent’ and will slip by the wayside.  If your objective is ‘Get 200 social media followers before the end of the festival’ your company has a common goal and will get to work on it straight away.

 

 

Once these are in place it is much easy to develop strategies!  Basically, once you know where you want to go, it is much easier to plan the route.

 

Share your objectives in the comments below!

Make Fringe Friends, Romans and Countrymen!

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Business Skills, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Networking

One of the best things about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the shear number of artists, practioners and generally like-minded people who are all in the same place at the same time!

 

Do you think they can find a freelance lampie in London? NO! They’re all in Edinburgh!  What about up and coming poets for your open mic night? Edinburgh! An audience in general? EDINBURGH!

 

In fact, the population of Edinburgh triples from 500 thousand to 1.5 million!  That’s 1,499,999 potential friends to make.  I know what that sounds like but people inherently like to work with people who they know a little bit about, both in regards to their work and on a personal level.

 

So, run a meet up.

 

So simple! So effective!

 

Get in touch with fellow minded companies and individuals and invite them out.  If you’ve got a bit of budget to spare you could take a group out for a meal and a show. Less budget? How about cocktails at Cabaret Voltaire. Shoestring? Go for a picnic in the park.  No money? Throw a party at your digs!

 

With or without seducing people with food and booze the key selling point is the good company.  Although this is essentially a networking event you are organising for yourself or your company it is sure to benefit all parties who attend so let them know who you’re inviting and why.

 

How do you invite them? If you find their show on the Edinburgh Fringe site you’ll find links to their social media and websites so send them a message on facebook or Instagram, drop them an email or, old school, give them a ring.

 

Keep your eye on the numbers at gatherings like this, too small and it can be awkward, too big and there is no way you can have a personal conversation with people.  You’ll find a sweet spot between 10-20.

 

And that’s all there is to it!

 

For one month a year you can find similar minded individuals, with similar ideals and similar goals, to raise awareness of their show.  So, take advantage of it!  And you’re bound to meet all kinds of interesting people from all over the world!

 

 

Thinking of running a meet and greet?!  Why yes, I’d love to come!  You only need to ask. 

 

Have you run a successful Meet Up in Edinburgh! How did it go? Let us know in the comments below!

Props and Costume Solutions in Edinburgh

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Budget, Business Skills, Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Spilt coffee down your only white shirt?

Halfway through the run and your only costume getting stanky?

Broken that priceless antique lamp which is central to your show? 

Have no idea where to go to replace it and don’t wanna spend all your petty cash in one go?

And no time in your day to travel too far from the City Centre?  

Don’t panic!  Here’s a list of the places you should hit up for all your props and costume needs!

 

W. Armstrong & Son

The Best Vintage Shop in Edinburgh, nay the world!  For all your costume needs!  Find everything through the decades and specialist costumes as well.  As I’m sure you can imagine it gets pretty rammed during the Fringe and they go through stock incredibly fast, but don’t worry.  They have 3 different stores around town so if you can’t find what you’re looking for in one simply hit up the others.  The real vintage stuff can be expensive but there’s plenty of faux vintage to.  The main problem with costume shopping here is that your personal budget is bound to take a serious hit to.

81-83 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2HJ – 0131 220 5557

14 Teviot Pl, Edinburgh EH1 2QZ – 0131 226 4634

64-66 Clerk St, Edinburgh EH8 9JB – 0131 667 3056

 

Nicholson Street, Clerk Street, South Clerk Street Charity Shops

There are so many charity/thrift shops on the walk from South Bridge out towards Cameron Toll you could easily while away an afternoon perusing them.  Despite being in the centre of town they are all reasonably cheap and cheerful and fantastic places to look for both costume and props.

 

Stockbridge Charity Shops

Slightly further out of town (although not hugely, I’m a firm believer that to walk anywhere in Edinburgh only takes a maximum of 20 minutes) a more bespoke range of thrift shops can be found on Stockbridge High Street.  Although they can be a little more expensive than others, they tend to have a more diverse stock due to the fact that they are a little out of the way.

 

Primark

If your based in the UK then you will know Primark only too well!  The Target of the UK, it’s by far the cheapest place to buy basics or fashion clothes in Edinburgh.  They have a pretty great range including womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, accessories, shoes and a home section.  So, if you’re just looking for a couple of spare t shirts to make it through the run this is your place! You could always get some t-shirt transfer paper from the nearest Poundland and iron on your show details!  Or write it on in Sharpie.

91 – 93 Princes St, Edinburgh EH2 2ER

 

Unicorn Antiques

Looking for specific antique items, look no further than Unicorn Antiques in New Town.  It’s crammed full with so much stock that on sunny days (or at least in dry weather) it spills out onto the streets so it’s impossible to miss.

65 Dundas St, Edinburgh EH3 6RS

 

Ali’s Cave

A treasure trove of anything and everything you could ever ask for in New Town! Never a more random selection of items have you ever seen in one place, but they are almost guaranteed to have anything you could possibly need for your show along with a load you never knew you needed!

139-145 Lothian Rd, Edinburgh EH3 9AD

 

Poundsavers

It may look like a tacky souvenir shop from the outside, but inside you will find an enormous supply anything and everything from homewares to collectables at rock bottom prices and just round the corner from Assembly Gardens and Teviot Square.

37-41 Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9BE

 

Edinburgh Bargain Stores

Similar to Ali’s Cave but based in Old Town.  It has the added bonus of having Party Zone, the costume shop, and Edinburgh Fabrics, a great haberdashery, just next door.

5-9 St Patrick Square, Edinburgh EH8 9EZ

 

Theatre Stuff

A specialist props and costume hire house down in Leith, a little further to travel but generally they will have exactly what you need or at least know where you can find it.  Worth giving them a ring or dropping them an email before making the journey down to the shore.

22 West Harbour Road, Edinburgh, EH5 1PN – 07734 693534 – Visit their Facebook page

 

The Lyceum and The Traverse

The two major producing houses in the city the Lyceum is Edinburgh’s REP Theatre and the Traverse specialises in new writing shows.  They’re tech teams obviously tend to be super busy in the fringe but they do have excellent props stores in City and are generally more than willing to support fellow artists, especially in an emergency, so drop them a phonecall or an email if you are really struggling to find what you need!

Royal Lyceum Theatre, 30b Grindlay Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9AX – Administration Department: 0131 248 4800 / info@lyceum.org.uk

Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh EH1 2ED – Administration Department: 0131 228 3223.

 

Amazon Prime

Yes, prime will work! Either get it delivered to your digs or have a chat to the box office at your venue and ask if they can accept a parcel for you.  They are always in so probably a better shout than leaving one of your team at home waiting in for the delivery whilst everyone else is out having fun.  Unfortunately Edinburgh is yet to be on Prime Now so you will have to wait 24 hours rather than 2, but maybe next year!

www.amazon.co.uk

 

Ask your venue

A lot of venues around Edinburgh are in crazy old buildings filled with unfathomable amounts of weird and wonderful items.  I once worked in a café in which we found an elephant foot made into a chair in the basement!  I know it’s a longshot if you’re looking for something specific but if there is a small chance they have something you need it beats having to traipse around the city looking for it!

 

Ask other companies

Is there a show on at the Fringe similar to yours who you could potentially borrow props from?  Maybe even in your venue?  Just ask if you can borrow them.  The worst thing that could happen is they say no.  The best?  They agree to lend it you!  Just be sure to reward their kindness with some co-promotion through your social networks or a round at the bar!

 

So, save your budget by shopping smart! 

 

Remember the fringe philosophy: BEG, BORROW AND STEAL!

 

Tried all of these options and still looking?  Get in touch!  We’d love to help!

Welcome to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Business Skills, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Marketing

Welcome to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019.

 Welcome to the largest Arts Festival in the world.

Welcome to the Jungle!

With thousands of companies and tens of thousands of performances it is difficult to understand what works.  How do you stand out from the crowd?

Well, NEVER FEAR! The Arts Business is here!

All this month we will be exploring different types of shows and how to sell them out, from flyering to Facebook, PR to TwitteR and ideas to Instagram.

Ready to make 2019 the best Edinburgh Fringe Festival yet?

Join us for the Ride as we embark on our first co-production: A Little R and R, with Show Up Productions.

 

We’d love to include you in our articles, so let us know if you have any unique marketing or business techniques you’re using to promote your show at: info@theartsbusiness.com or in the comments below!

After all! What is art without a little collaboration!

So get in touch! We can’t wait!

What is Your Target Audience? The Checklist

Posted RuthEJWestLeave a commentPosted in Business Skills, Marketing

Whenever I begin a marketing plan I always start with what the target audience is. Who exactly is this show or exhibition for?  And are there any products and merchandise I could develop to go with the it that my audience would also enjoy?

 

Earlier today whilst trying to figure out the target audience of a large-scale dance company I thought to myself, do you know what would be really useful? A checklist!

 

So here it is:

 

 

  1. Demographics – defined as the statistical characteristics of the population, think about equal opportunities forms, basically everything you fill out on there relates to your personal demographic.  Obviously you don’t need to filter everyone of these down to one answer but you do need to consider each one.

 

  • Age – simply how old is the intended audience
  • Gender – Is your work more predominantly targeted towards men or women or unisex?
  • Sexuality – Heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual?
  • Marital status – Single, Widowed, Married, Separated, Divorced?
  • Nationality – not simply where they are from but how your audience refer to their nationality
  • Education – what level of education they have attended and what qualifications were obtained
  • Income – simply how much is earned whether weekly, monthly or annual.  You may also be interested in what kind of expendable income they have
  • Occupation – what is their job?
  • Religion
  • Social Class – working class, middle class, upper class.  I also like to include aspiring upper class.
  • Number of Children

 

 

  1. Geographics – pretty simply where the audience is located, but there is a little more to think about than that.

 

  • Location – where do they live?
  • Area Type – city centres to the middle of the countryside?  What is in their area? What amenities do they have access to?
  • Climate – what is the weather like there at a specific time of year? Particularly important when considering international touring.  Think about the temperature when your going.  Think about any potential extreme weather conditions.  This will prevent you touring an outdoor theatre show around India during monsoon season.
  • Cultural behaviours – What are the local laws? Are there any traditions to be respected? What is the culture like? I.e. Don’t take Magic Mike on tour to Morocco or Ru Paul’s Drag Race to Dubai.
  • Available resources – What do they have available? What kind of community spaces are there?  How do they live?  You’d be unlikely to take a piece revolved around telling stories on facetime to the Scottish Highlands where you wouldn’t be guaranteed mobile signal.

 

 

  1. Psychographics – This is where we begin to understand the target audience’s personal preferences, how are they living their life?

 

  • Lifestyle – how people live their lives
  • Interests – your target audience’s likes and dislikes
  • Hobbies – what do they enjoy doing in their spare time?
  • Beliefs – what are there politics? Left or Right wing? Are they environmentally conscious?
  • Personality – what they are like.  Introvert or extrovert? Analytical? Sociable? Relaxed? Easy going? Lover of Sarcasm? Bit of a hipster?

 

 

  1. Behavioural Patterns – this is analysis of the decision-making process which goes on when making purchases.

 

  • What do they buy and when?
  • How often?
  • What leads to purchasing decisions?
  • How do they use their purchases?
  • Responses and attitude to purchases

 

 

So now you have your checklist it’s easy to create a profile for your target audience:

 

Women aged 25-35 from UK educated to degree level (demographic), sociable extroverts who have a healthy lifestyle and like painting (psychographic) lives in 20 mile radius of Birmingham, West Midlands (geographic) and attends galleries and specialist exhibitions at least once a month, frequent theatre and cinema goers (behavioural)

 

You’ll soon discover with a detailed checklist like this one it’ll be much easier to create bespoke marketing campaigns tailored to appeal to the exact group you’re looking for!  Why not give it a go? Let me know what your next project is and who you think your target audience is.

 

If you think I’ve missed anything then let me know in the comments below and I’ll update as necessary!