To get myself out there a little more.. 

I have started advertising my graphic design in with my wedding photography.
I have done this through facebook, twitter, networking event with 'build your own business' conventions with business links.

This works quite well as I then earn more through the opportunity to design wedding stationary; such as the place settings, invites and anything else they may want.

Also in aid to get myself out there and to show design companies my work, I have a cargo collective webpage which allows me to create a clean simple online portfolio of which I can add the link to on the bottom of my emails to companies.

Also more about getting myself out there..

Along with my twitter I have linked my Tumblr. This allows me to post my designs and designers I like onto, this then comes up on my twitter. Both working hand in hand to show companies on twitter the kind of work I want to create in the future and what I am interested in along with the work I am doing now.

Twitter!

I am now hooked!
Through being on twitter I know what the design companies I love are doing.
Also new things/news within the design companies, and also job opportunities advertised on there.

My Twitter is also linked to my tumblr. So any work that I am to do and upload onto my tumblr is published on twitter for the design companies to see.

Perfect for advertising my work and getting it out there.

Mmm what to do??

I already have a photography business which is named 'kimberley jayne' but as I am also going into graphic design do i:

a. design another logo called 'kimberley jayne' of which would work over both graphics and photography.

or

b. do I create my own logo for my graphics and keep the same logo i have now for my photography and keep the two separate?

I quite like this little number:

without the lines??

Think ill stick to using the I'm kim thing for my graphics and use this kimberley jayne for my photography.

Enterprise Evaluation.

At the beginning of this module I was really excited to learn some practical skills of which I knew would be hugely beneficial to me. Although I am running my own photography business at the moment it would be very silly and naive of me to think I know everything there is to know about running a business.

Through the lectures and seminars I have learnt a great deal about different aspects of running a business. From thinking more in depth about promotion and getting yourself out their, to the legal side of setting up. It has also benefitted my existing business as well as focussing me more into the future and if in the future I do indeed want to set up a successful graphic design business I have much more knowledge about the considerations. Also as well as learning more about actually setting up a business it has also benefitted me with getting placements over summer, they way in which you speak to people and contact them along with keeping yourself informed with what that studio is doing on a day to day basis. Making me a better candidate going into a job interview and also at networking events.

I also believe that the tasks have helped me a great deal by forcing me to thinking more about the profession I want to go into and what kind of designer I actually am. Whilst I know that the decisions and companies on my tasks will change as I do through the design process I now have a starting point of which I can build on. Furthermore I think the last task of creating a realistic group business in a group of four was very informative. It forced us into researching in depth what is required to be a successful business and what actually needs to be considered in the process of setting up.  I also believe that we worked really well as a group as we split up an shared out the criteria and subjects between us and met up on a weekly basis to feedback to the others on our findings.

Overall I think i have a greater knowledge of what is needed to be considered when setting up and running a successful business. Also a more structured and focussed idea of where I want to be in the graphic design profession and my ambitions within this creative industry.

Final pieces of the presentation.. 


Deciding on the way in which it will be presented, in what order and who would like to talk about what in the presentation, 8 minutes doesn't seem very long anymore!

Promoting our business..

As a sustainable and environmentally aware design studio we wanted to come up with a good campaign way of targeting out target market of the high end fashion retailers.

There are many ways of promotion:

Instead of sending out designs and printing, wasting a lot of paper of which will just end up in the bin, we decided upon doing our promo work digitally.

Create a website and promote the website and designs on as many networking sights as possible, directed at our target audience specifically!

We also thought about sending out a USB stick in a small package or possible business card design. Then on this USB stick we would have all the information of which would be on a poster/flyer but saves on printing.

This also works out pretty cheap as USB sticks can be purchased quite cheaply these days and would save on printing, ink and paper costs.

As a group we decided we would firstly go into the industry ourselves for around 3 years then create the group business after the three years after having our own experiences and knowledge along with saving £5000 each to put into the business. 

However obviously it will cost much more to get a business fully up and running on this money especially when we are hoping to set up in London. Therefore we need to look into funding.. 

Government grants

You will need to apply for grants through your local council, which will have a list of what’s available. The typical amounts up for grabs are from £500 to £1,000, but in some cases businesses can apply for multiple grants.

There are three main factors that will determine your eligibility for a grant:

Location: if the business is based in an area that is undergoing regeneration, there is likely to be more money available for start-ups. Areas in East London undergoing Olympic development and parts of the North of England have more money set aside for grants.

Size: generally, grants only tend to be available for businesses starting up. Getting a grant as an established company in London, for example, is near impossible, says Andy Berrow from Business Link in London.

Sector: the grants that you are eligible for will depend upon your industry, and which sectors are in favour depends, in turn, depends on your location. In London, privileged sectors include hospitality and tourism, restaurants and the creative industries.

Before applying for a grant, you should prepare a business plan working out how much money you need to start and whether there is a market for what you are doing. For more information go theBusiness Link website.

Community Development Finance Initiatives (CDFI)

There are more than 60 of these organisations in the country, which provide loans and support to businesses and individuals.

Nicholas Nicolaou, managing director of GLE oneLondon, a CDFI, says the initiatives are designed to help viable businesses in need of funding.

The sorts of loans accessible will vary depending on the region and CDFI. So you will need to go to theCommunity Development Finance Association website to view what’s available where you are. In London, for example, there are various loans for small businesses, such as through the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Loan Fund, which provides sums of between £10,000 and £50,000, at a rate of 7.85 per cent, with an additional one per cent arrangement fee.
The other major advantage of using money available through the CDFIs is that they don’t take into account credit history, will look at applications on a case-by-case basis and tend to cover all sizes of business from the sole trader looking to boost cash flow to a multimillion pound concern set on expansion.

R&D grants

Grants for research and development are for introducing technological innovation in your business. The amount you are eligible for will depend on the size of your business and the project you are undertaking. Grants are available for projects worth between £5,000 and £500,000 and will cover a percentage of the total cost of project (usually between 35 to 65 per cent). For more information click here.

The Prince’s Trust

The Prince’s Trust is open to 18 to 30-year-olds who are unemployed or working fewer than 16 hours a week. In addition to business training schemes, the programme provides funding of up to £4,000 (or £5,000 for partnerships), along with support for your business idea.

The typical amount of funding businesses usually receive from the Trust is £2,500. Interest on the loan is three per cent (to cover administration charges) and the repayment scheme requires that you only hand over £20 for the first six months, with the remainder spread out over a period of two to five years.

The Carbon Trust

If you are looking to cut down on your overheads by using more energy-efficient equipment, you can get zero-interest loans of between £3,000 to £400,000 at 0 per cent with The Carbon Trust. There’s no arrangement fee and loans are repayable over a four-year period. For more information visit The Carbon Trust website.

Invoice discounting

Through this facility, you can get an advance onmoney owed to you by customers. Essentially it acts as an overdraft, with the payment due acting as your security. Both banks and specialist financeproviders offer invoice discounting but terms will vary, so it’s worth shopping around.

John Benner, director at commercial financial company IGF Group, says this option tends to be relevant for companies that trade in the B2B market, have a turnover of more than £50,000 and are seeking money against overdrafts worth between £100 and £100,0000. ‘The amount we provide will depend upon the company, but it will typically be 80 per cent of the value of invoices discounted. We then take a cut of between three to six per cent,’ he says.

For companies concerned about late payment, there are also factoring services available. They do cost more than invoice discounting, but also provide you with a debt collection service. For more information go to the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA).

Regarding our business with HSBC we do get 10% off for banking with them.

Our insurance includes:

- Personal Accident
- Covers the equipment up to 20,000
- Public Liability
- Proffessional Indemnity up to £1M

For 12 months it will cost: £88.32 

Accountants within the EC1 area. Perlin Franco seem to be quite a trustworthy accountants, within a lot of positive feedback from clients. It also offers the chance to train staff up so in the future if we were to earn enough and wanted to we could employ someone to control and organise the accounting and book keeping.

After deciding upon using HSBC Bank Account it also provides a deal with the insurance, with also 18 months free banking.
For creating a business account with them you get 10% off the insurance which includes:

Our little list of costs for our equipment.. 

When we first calculated what we would need to buy it came to: £16220.21!

Which was a bit much, although we did say we would each go into graphic design industry for several years then later create this business therefore we could put some of our own money into it. 

We then realised the place is fully furnished! And took out all the equipment with the stars next to it.. Which then came to: £15032.12 which is much better!

Also Maya was looking into funding. 

Filing Cabinets

For the studio I also found filing cabinets in Ikea which turned out at pretty good price! For the start up of the business we would probably only need one as we wouldn't have any paper work/ or very little.

I think this white cabinet below is really nice for on the wall of the office! However for start up costs, we would probably look at the cheaper version, however maybe in the future these would be a good buy!

Bins.. Yes bins!!

Ikea seemed the perfect place to go after i'd had a look at Argos and other retail stores there didn't seem to be any relevant for a studio. 

£1.62! Can't fall off! Although we would need several, yet it is still cheaper than a lot of bins. 

 I quite like this white one! As far as bins go! It looks pretty sweet! And would also hold a lot!

Photography Equipment

To create things for retail design and products that are printed we will need a small/mini studio.
In this studio we would need: Backdrop and lighting to begin with.

I found a website warehouse express that does these features for cheaper yet is recommended in quality and has good rates.

LASTOLITE 2.72X11M PAPER ROLL - BLACK - £42.99

COLORAMA 2.72X11M - ARCTIC WHITE - £53.99 

If we did want to do in house photography and take the photoshoots ourselves when we had the funds we could invest in a vinyl backdrop 

LASTOLITE SUPERWHITE VINYL BACKGROUND - £194.99

Vinyl is good for fashion photography and would last a lot longer than the paper rolls yet is much more expensive.

Lighting

Continous lighting used to product shots and also fashion photographs:

INTERFIT EZ LITE KIT - £122.99

These lights also have a 5* rating from customers.

Solicitors

I looked through quite a few solicitors of which specialised in marriage settlements, family affairs and other personal ideas. Whereas W H Matthews & Co seemed to be reliable and had a list of clients, along with specialising in small businesses, employment and company&commercial subjects. 

Accountants in the EC1 area..

This group allow you to contact them when needed and deal with small business needs, such as book keeping and declaring earnings to be taxed.

Jefferys Henry Solicitors seem to be quite an established accountants and quite a few clients which suggests they are a good company.

Carbon Accountants caught my eye because they have a lot of good online feedback from clients! Which always looks good.

Solicitors in the EC1 area.. 

I have found these two solicitors through the Yellow pages online. These two solicitors specialise in business matters and also tax! They were both highly recommended with a list of clients and also good reviews from past clients.

1. Go to networking and other community events

   From a chamber of commerce business card exchange, to a town fair—going out and directly meeting new people is hands down the most effective way to spread the word about a small business. Some business cards, a nice smile, and a confident hand shake are all you need to make it in this venue.

2. Generate referrals from current clients

   Sometimes spreading the word starts right back at your own door. If you have a big enough client base, you can entice them to refer friends and family. With a little effort, each one of your clients could become your very own personal sales rep. Read this article about getting more referrals if you want to know more.

3. Give a free class or presentation

   Schools, chambers of commerce, and many other groups often run regular programs and presentations that are put on by local businesses and members of the community. You can usually get involved just by sending in a proposal; though, I recommend first looking at some of the things they've run in the past.

4. Write an article for a newspaper or magazine

   While it may cost thousands to get a half-page ad in a newspaper, you can often times secure an entire page by writing a good article. The trick to getting published is to make sure the article is of value to your customers, and not just an advertisement for your business.

5. Host a networking event at your business

   There are dozens of groups that do monthly business card exchanges, why not invite them to your store or office? Hosting an event is a quick way to introduce your company to 50 or more people without paying a dime.

6. Put an ad in the yellow pages

   This might be the most expensive suggestion in the bunch; but, as some small business owners will tell you, a well placed yellow pages ad can literally put dinner on the table. You might also put one in the online yellow pages too, just for good measure.

7. Start a blog and use the power of social media

   I can attest to this one personally. Our blog has been an excellent way to build traffic, gain credibility, and make new relationships. You can start one for your business for $0, and begin making new connections immediately. For more information, check out our other article about social media marketing.

8. Place booklets or fliers in strategic locations

   A friend of mine just told me a story about how he typed up several pages of home repair tips and placed them around town in various hair salons. Even with only a single logo and contact number on the entire collection, he was receiving calls within hours. Sometimes a little helpful information can go a long way.

9. Go to trade shows and table-top mixers

   I know that trade shows can be expensive, but if you look carefully you might be able to find a mixer at your local chamber of commerce where you can secure a booth for a few hundred dollars. I've seen these shows help skyrocket some small businesses into the limelight. Just make sure you have a plan for engaging and following-up with people at the event.

10. Bonus Tip: Partner with another business

    Partnering with another business is a great way to combine and leverage the resources of two companies. You can share contact lists, split marketing costs, and give referrals back and forth. You'll want to make sure you partner with a company that shares the same target market as you.

M - London.

I contacted John Young at M and I was then passed onto Ellen who kindly informed me that there was a placement oppourtunity for me for 3 weeks!! I was over the moon!! So I have now got a placement starting on the 18th of July for 3 weeks! Woo!! 

Shock the Senses is a graphic design company based in my hometown of which I have been talking to for a while, so I thought Aaron would kindly give me some feedback of what he thought about my samples of work.. and he did! Thanks Aaron! 

Effective.

Greig at Effective was hugely helpful and I was grateful for him to take out time to reply and offer some advice from his professional point of view.

Emails out..

I contacted The Consult and Un.titled for the Creative Directors contact details. However I have not heard back from them.