Evaluation

Since the beginning of this course, the main aim of every lesson was to discover and learn more about creative enterprises - how they are set up, funded and run. With that, we were also tasked with setting up our own creative business, mine being a performing arts school which focuses on mental health. This gave me and my fellow classmates a first hand experience of what it is truly like to start and run a creative enterprise, as we would use the knowledge we gained from lessons about creating a business, then we'd put it into action. On top of this, we also done some work experience in order to gain more knowledge and skills in the creative field.

When it came to the task of creating my own creative enterprise, I had very few ideas of what kind of business I wanted to create. Due to my passion for Philosophy, I wanted to find ways to express that interest in the creative field, but I struggled to come up with any good ideas to begin with. So, I temporarily scrapped the idea and went a more traditional way and came up with the idea of a business which creates posters for movies, games and such... but I wasn't that interested, this was due to the idea not really being something I feel passionate about, and I only came up with it because I knew it was classed as creative.

After pitching my 'poster' business idea to my class, I got a lot of neutral feedback; such as it being a safe idea, but wasn't that innovative, and didn't show off my creative ideas very much. So, I decided to go down the philosophy path again. I quickly realized that philosophy is essentially a lot of peoples way of improving their lives, looking at philosophers ideas and acting on them - hence improving their mental health. So, I then began to think about what helped improve my mental health, which was the performing arts as it helped me boost my confidence. So, with all this - it helped me come up with the idea of a performing arts school which focuses on mental health, with the use of philosophical ideas. 

Now, coming up with the business idea was the easy part. After that I then needed to do a decent amount of research into my idea, looking into other similar businesses and seeing how they conduct themselves (case studies). I done this so it'd give me some inspiration and help when it came to starting up my business, thing such as how much income I can expect to make and how I should advertise myself. This then led onto the true development of my business. I would go onto make a business plan and model - which would go to really solidify my business idea as it tell me and others exactly what my business is and how I expect to conduct that business. Again, this then led to more developments such as branding, and even taking action on advertising - I made my own website, social medias and such. 

Through the year, I learnt a lot about just how difficult it really is to start up a business, especially a profitable one, I know this because my business idea would likely struggle on the profit side even on a good day - this was due to me making a finance sheet which gave me a rough estimate of my profits. With this being said, I never aimed to make my business because of profits and money - it was purely passion. I also learnt some things about myself, how I struggle to work with other people and that I'd prefer to be solo in running a business, this is due to myself often being easily outspoken and sometimes lacking passion, so it was unhealthy for me to let someone else run the business with me as I would likely take a step-back and lose my passion in the business. I enjoyed the more creative side of starting up a business, things such as the website and branding as it allowed me to be more artistic and, well... creative.

A key part of this course was sending our business plans and branding to an industry professional in order to get some feedback on it. I received feedback from 'FABBA', which is a performing arts school which focuses on aiding the disabled - a similar idea to my own. The feedback I received wasn't too in-depth, but was benefitial for what it was. Essentially advising me to flesh out my finances, in-terms of coming up with how much I will make and lose in a 3 month peroid. Also, to add more to my marketing section, with the use of a website and Indeed, where I would be able to find industry professionals who may help me out and advertise my business for me. FABBA also commented on my branding by saying it looks great already, especially with the use of bright colours. Overall, it was decent feedback which I acted upon.

When it comes to work experience, there was my 'Football Documentary', 'Games Dev interviews' and 'Pavilion play', which all offered individual key skills. One of which, stood out the most from them which was the 'Pavilion play'. In which me and two other classmates were tasked with filming a live performance during lockdown, in order for the show to be broadcasted online, this was the Pavilion theatres way of doing shows during the restrictions. This benefited me because my idea for my business is a performing arts school, so I was able to witness and help with backstage theatre work, learning how to set up lighting and such which is hugely beneficial for when I decide to put on plays with my class. Also, it taught me how I can stay-a-float during the pandemic, this of course being online and virtual performances and even perhaps lessons.