START UP

STARTING UP A BUSINESS

As a professional working in the arts and creative businesses, you often have to create your work through your practice. You develop and run your business yourself – you are self-employed.

Whatever your motivation is to establish a working life as self-employed, it is important that you are in control of both form and content of your business. As such, it is not just about the artistic or creative content of your practice, but also about the organizational framework surrounding your working life. And it is about the economy of your practice and your business as a whole.

There are several ways to organize a professional working life, and both business plans and business models can take many different shapes and forms. A business plan or business model is not static – it constantly evolves as you develop your professional practice. A working life is an ongoing process of gaining new knowledge, meeting and work with new people, getting new experiences and having new opportunities presenting themselves to you.

Professionally, there is a big difference whether you are establishing your working life as a sculptor or an actor, or if you are starting a film production company or a working community such as a theatre company or design office. To figure out which business type is right for you, we recommend that you start by making a business plan for yourself. In the plan you describe your visions and ambitions for your professional working life, and how you intend to work towards realizing these ambitions. You also address the question of how to build up a sustainable economy in your professional life, with the aim of building up an economically viable working life.

In spite of the fact that there is no facet list or correct answer to how a good business plan should look, there are some general questions you can ask yourself and answer based on your specific practice. The answers can guide you in the direction of the business plan and business model you can use as the foundation for your business.

In the box to the right you can download a template for a business plan, a list of the most common business types, and the CAKI Handbook Startup (in Danish).