Mission/ Vision statement and Core values

Vision statement- To become a local safe haven for people of all ages.

Mission statement- Using the performing arts and certain key philosophical ideas we give every student the confidence and knowledge to tackle their struggling mental health.

Core values-  

Compassion

Remedy

Enthusiasm

Art

Teamwork

Empathy

Cultural Policies and how they effect my business

Cultural policies are the government's way of regulating the creative industries. They often financially aid and promote creative business', but also set laws and rules which your business must follow.

In basic terms, Cultural policy is following rules and guidance given out by the government.

Recently, in 2020 and 2021, the government has been updating and changing laws for companies during this pandemic. For a good while, most business' were made to completely close until further notice, then they opened with new rules such as masks and social distancing, and then with the tier system some business' were made to close again and some were fortunate enough to stay open. Unfortunately, now we are in another full lockdown and the creative industries has taken a massive hit especially on the smaller business' with some even having to permanently close up. Places such as theatres and cinemas are forced to shut down for the time being, and made to survive on Furlough pay which is 80% of their usual wage. Lockdown has certainly beaten down on the creative industries, and it is clear how my business will be effected. 

So, due to lockdown and current laws, I am unable to run my Theatre business. This is due to my business only really being able to operate properly with physically being with my students, as well as the general rule that all theatres must shut, even schooling ones. For the time being I will be able to start up my business, things such as setting up social media accounts, business accounts, websites and such. I can promote my business and even apply for funding from companies such as 'The Arts Council' besides from that there isn't much else I can do. If there is a demand for it, I am willing to set up online lessons for a lower cost than my normal ones would be - this would be my business' way of surviving during lockdown, but I would have to make sure people want it and are willing to pay for it.

There are many beneficial cultural policies, such as funds which are made available to creative business'. As previously mentioned, the Arts Council features a lot of grants, such as National lottery Project funds and Culture recovery Fund. Currently, I am uncertain of the exact figures they offer, but I'd assume it depends on how big the business is. 

Brexit is one of the biggest hitting things that has effected the creative industries, as it has changed a lot of laws and on top of confusing people and companies, it has also made some things worse. Things such as;

- Travelling in EU will now be more difficult and expensive.

- If you had a website set somewhere in the EU you now have to base it in UK, i.e. '.co.uk'.

- We lose EU funding, which means a lot less funding options for companies as well as taking away some companies funding a whole.

Fortunately, for me, as I am a small business with near to no needs of anything abroad, I'll hopefully not be affected too much by Brexit.

Once lockdown is lifted, I plan on perhaps filming a performance with my students, so as a result of that I will need to get talent/location releases. 

A talent release is, for example, what an actor would have to sign before beginning to star in a film or show. It essentially gives the producer and all who are associated with the film legal rights to use that said actors appearance, voice and such. 

A location release is very similar to a talent release except for the fact that it focuses on the legal use of land and location, rather than a person. These releases must be signed by the legal owner of the land, or a legal representative of the property. And can then be Legally used for filming in the times agreed upon.

Welfare social media + analysis

I always intended on making social media accounts for my business, this is because I want to use it as my platform to advertise my company on. I will also be using it to make my students feel special and as though they are part of a family. I'd often post with pictures of them all performing together, as well as some generic group photos, hence making any person who is considering joining more likely to want to as they will see the family-like bond and want to become a part of it. 

Here is my Instagram-

 

Here is my Twitter- 

Welfare website + analysis

When I initially came up with my idea for a business, I never believed I would need a website... but after researching and discovering how beneficial one is for any business no matter how small or large - I decided that I must make one in order to get the most out of my business. 

My website is strongly inspired by other performing art school websites, including the ones in my 'Website comparisons/ inspiration' post. 

I wanted to have two main, dominant colours through out my website which mix well together. That being blue and yellow.

My website allows you to scroll down instead of clicking on the tabs on the top right to access the other pages.

Originally, my website was quite different as shown below-

The feedback I received was;

- The colours don't blend very well

- The background image is a bit low quality and isn't very eye catching

- That I need to finish the rest of my website

Here is how I acted on that-

I updated with a background image which I believe is more eye-catching and also better quality. I also changed the text colour to yellow, which is a theme in my website when you look on other pages. I received feedback on this as well, and was told it was a big improvement and doesn't need to be changed. 

I then finished off the rest of my website-

Website link: 

https://owenleach525.wixsite.com/my-site

Professional feedback

I have received feedback from the performing arts school 'FABBA'. They are very similar to my business in that they offer weekly performing art classes for a specific audience, there's being disabled people. 

Here is the feedback- 

And, here is my original business plan as reference for what I will change- 

So, overall I have two key things I need to change - that being my sales and marketing and my finances. 

Fortunately, when it comes to finances I have already made an income and outcome sheet - with the prices of everything and how much of a profit I predict to make. So, for that I will simply copy and write down a lot of the stuff I have already done, just more concisely for the business plan. 

Then, there is the sales and marketing. Which similarly, I have already completed some of the work she has suggested I do, such as making a website. I will write this down on my business plan now, and also about LinkedIn.

Here are the changes I made-

Press Release

Aspiring teen launches a Performing Arts school which puts mental health as a priority.

In order to fill out the gap in the market, Welfare, successfully uses the performing arts to boost it's students overall well-being, while also giving them a safe-haven to look forward to in the week. The CEO, Owen Leach, aims to give each student affordable personal care and help, with ideas such as Stoicism and Taoism being broadly taught to improve his students life-style and mental state. 

Finances

I'm quite lucky, as from the looks of it, I will only need to take out £3,000 from my own money to start my business - no loans or borrowing required. Most my profits will of course come from my weekly lessons, where each student will be charged £15 for the 6 hour duration, as well as being offered a lunch for £5. The way I came up with the £1,500 monthly profit is via a simple average I assume to get in terms of students attending my class and paying for a lunch. It was 20 students every lesson - with each lesson costing £15, resulting in £300 made a week, then x4 makes it £1,200. With the lunches - each costing £5, I assumed that 15 students would pay for one, so 5 x 15 is 75, then x4 is 300. Hence, £1,200 + £300 = £1,500

At the end of the year, putting aside the £3,000.00 I put in the business to start it up - I end with a profit of £4,560.00. 

Website comparisons/ inspiration

The Bridge Theatre Training Company's website is very similar to the idea I have for my website. With the large, good quality picture in the middle which demonstrates the schools dominance and confidence, as well as being eye catching. The picture also follows the purple font underneath it, creating a professional, well-thought out look. One which I intend to mimic.

Then, there is the DPA's website, which is one of the performing art schools I done a case study on. Again, similar to' 'The Bridge Theatre Training Company' above, in the middle the main focus is a large, good quality image. This seems to be a common trope of all performing art school websites. Also, for both websites, they put their logo in the top towards the left in almost the exact same position, which I think may be something I will do too.

Lastly, there is The Garage Norwich, which has a very unique website in comparison to the previous two. It doesn't have a large image featured in the middle, instead it is a bright, blue background with text in it about the course the school offers. A similarity between the others and this one is that the logo is also in the top left, but more towards the corner than the others. Personally, I prefer the previous two websites, mainly due to the boldness and confidence it shows in its large pictures. Nonetheless, this one is still excellent and features the most bright, bold colours compared to the others.

Welfare: other considerations for my business

Welfare: regulatory frameworks

 Unfortunately, none of the given regulatory bodies related to my business, but I have found a couple which do! Firstly:

Teaching Regulation Agency- Being a school, I must ensure I follow all the rules and keep to the guidelines when it comes to the regulatory framework. Things such as safeguarding responsibilities and maintaining and the standard of professional behavior are the main aims of the framework, as well as ensuring an optional 30 minute break for students under 18 every 3 hours. 

Care Quality Commission- Due to my unique selling point being the fact that my school focuses on mental health, I must follow all the ‘care quality’ regulatory frameworks. This includes, Ensuring that I do not diagnose anyone with any mental health issue, as it should be done by a professional doctor. Also, I must be held to very high standard and be kind at all times, things such as personalized lessons are allowed where I can take a student 1 on 1 and try to help him, but I can not, of course, offer or give any medical supplies to the student even if they may help, this, again, must be done by a doctor.

Food Standards Agency- As I will sell food during lunches/ breaks, I must ensure I follow all food standards set on the regulatory framework. Currently, I’m unsure if I will make the food myself or buy it from another source, but either way all the rules still apply. Thing such as making sure all the food is clean and the ingredients are up to a good standard. I also must state all the ingredients, calories and clearly state any ingredients such as nuts which are common allergens.

Welfare: legislation

 Intellectual property- the idea of a weekly performing arts club for people with mental health issues was my idea, but I’m unsure if I have ‘intellectual property’ over the idea. As previously mentioned before, I don’t think any other performing arts school does what I will do so I may be entitled to take legal ownership of the idea. Either way I honestly don’t care much at all about anyone taking my idea, as long as they aren’t too local and take some of my possible customers.

Copyright: shouldn’t be an issue as no one has taken legal ownership of my businesses idea.

Trademark: I have my businesses logo which I can trademark. Other than that there’s nothing else for me to trademark. The name ‘Welfare’ has been used in other businesses but with it being a common word to use, no one has trademarked it!

Talent/ Location releases: these may become necessary if my business decides to film any media for the lessons, as I will need to make sure everyone signs their talent releases if they are to be in the film, and if I decide to film outside the building I do lessons in then I will need to get location releases signed. They would likely be in public areas such as parks. I will also, of course, make sure I follow all the rules when it comes to filming and acting in the public.

Welfare: my brand

 Mission statement: Welfare is a performing arts school which focuses on bringing its students more confidence, and aiding their mental health - tackling things such as anxiety and depression. It is run by one person, me (Owen Leach), and I do not intend on having any employees for the foreseeable future unless absolutely necessary. This business is a safe haven, and a day in which students and myself, and possible employees can look forward to!

Brand positioning- as far as I can see, no other performing arts school within the local area, or in the world as a matter of fact, seem to focus on mental health and brining up peoples self confidence. Hence, this results in my business being very distinguished from others and hopefully having a positive appeal to customers and even common people who have no use for the school as it has a good cause.

How I will market my business- I will use a fair few ways to get my businesses name heard. One of which I have already done, which is my businesses name ‘Welfare’ and my logo. Firstly, I would tell my family and friends about it and get them to spread the word of my business which should hopefully peak some interest. Then, I would create online presences on social media, such as a Facebook and Instagram account where I will explain everything to do with my business. For now, that is as far as I would like to go as I intend on my business being fairly small, but if it was to grow, I would of course branch out to other advertising and marketing techniques such as creating a website or even partnering up with a bigger business so they can freely advertise mine and expand Welfare.

Blueprints- I will of course set timelines and have goals in my business. The obvious one being money, I’m currently unsure on how much money I would like to make, not much, but an amount which makes the business venture worth while. On my businesses first couple months, I will set an 8 week period with a goal of a certain amount of money, with the means on how I will also achieve that goal (setting up my lessons and teaching). This relates to customers because I am relying on them to hopefully fill up my classes which will bring in the profit.