Entrepreneurship for the Creative and Cultural Industries

Citation

Oliver Mallett (2016), "Entrepreneurship for the Creative and Cultural Industries", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 177-179. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-10-2015-0213

Educational institutions are increasingly being encouraged to teach and support the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. However, while such aspirations may build on existing provision in a relatively straight-forward manner in some disciplines and departments, the introduction of such ideas may need greater degrees of revision or rethinking in others. Bonita Kolb’s new book aims to provide a practical grounding in entrepreneurship for those in the creative and cultural industries. The book is written with a broad definition of an entrepreneur as a “person who organizes, manages and assumes the risk of a business” (p. 1). So, fundamentally, the book focuses on the practical questions of self-employment and is divided into three parts: inspiration; start-up; and growth.

The first part of the book is focused on the idea of how to create a business, utilising creative skills and ambitions. Chapter 1, for example, opens this discussion by engaging with foundational questions such as the relation between art and commerce and the role of “art intermediaries” (p. 11) as well as defining different types of organisation. Chapters 2 and 3 then provide advice on developing an initial idea, such as looking at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) and conducting customer and competitor research.

Part 2 focuses on the creation of a business in the creative and cultural industries. It includes Chapters 4-9 which offer advice on a range of areas from packaging the product to market segmentation. This includes advice for specific areas of creative work such as, in the case of distribution, the challenges of homeworking for visual artists and of choosing appropriate venues for performers. Chapter 8 provides a detailed look at promotion and is supplemented by the devotion of the following chapter to social media, including an interesting discussion of creating a community.

The final part of the book discusses growth. Importantly, growth is not suggested as a necessity for all businesses, although for some this may differentiate the book’s focus on self-employment rather than the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. However, acknowledging the value of lifestyle businesses and, for example discussing the formation of a non-profit, are warranted because the book pays valuable attention to the nature of some creative work which may resist concerns with business growth or profit maximisation. Nonetheless, this section of the book is important as it engages with the challenges for a large number of businesses in the creative and cultural industries that do embrace growth, for example those who hire an additional workforce for whom the book provides a discussion of outsourcing and recruitment in Chapter 11. The final chapter considers some of the legal and management issues in business growth, for example including some clear, structured advice on contracts.

Each chapter of Entrepreneurship for the Creative and Cultural Industries includes brief case studies from self-employed creatives, other practical examples and questions for reflection. The chapters then conclude with tasks to complete and “visualisation exercises”, for example “draw a picture of someone enjoying your product” (p. 23). These visualisation tasks are an interesting idea, presumably in place to engage more creative learners. Some are useful, for example “Write a tweet explaining why your product is best” (p. 78), but at times they add less apparent value, for example the suggestion to “Draw dollar signs over [the customers’] heads to show how much money they will spend on your product” (p. 96). Reference lists for each chapter provide signposts for key topics but these features all ensure that the book is a starter guide with a very practical focus.

This practical focus is supported by the coverage of basic material such as SWOT analysis for those new to business education. The book also concludes with an appendix providing a business plan template and is structured as a resource that can be followed as someone with an interest in starting their own business moves from step to step. Kolb covers this material at a fairly brisk pace, giving a good overview but lacking detailed discussion or critical engagement with areas such as the range of pressures, risks or challenging working arrangements that can face those engaging in self-employment. The brevity does, however, ensure that the book covers a lot of material and this concision is to be admired for the way it ties closely to a practical focus and is consistently well-written and accessible, offering clear guidance. In this way, the book largely meets its aim to provide a practical grounding in self-employment that is particularly targeted at those in the creative and cultural industries and can be confidently recommended as an introductory text.