We’re happy to be able to offer extra support for creative businesses – we’ve been helped by others before, and now we’re passing on that generosity. Plus, the more we understand business and feel confident in our craft, the better off our whole creative industry will be.
Business Plan and Mini-Quiz
Business planning is super important for creative business, but a gigantic Plan can be a little overwhelming. We have a couple of choices to help! First the Mini-Business-Plan Quiz, a shortened version of a plan, is designed to help you get started without too much trouble. It asks you questions about what you’re offering, how your business will run, your marketing strategy, and some financial basics. The Business Plan for Creative People template is much bigger, and helps you work through your business idea in more detail.
Both are packed with additional resources and links – and completely free!
If you need a more traditional business plan, visit the government’s Business Planning pages.
Marketing Plan
Where is your creative business going? How exactly are you going to make money? This marketing plan template can help you identify your business goals and understand your competition, and it offers you a range of promotional strategies you can implement to help build your freelance business.
If you need a more traditional marketing plan, visit the government’s Marketing Plan Template. Also check out the Social Media Marketing Plan template available.
130 Tips to Kickstart your Marketing
Run out of ideas to market your creative business? Or just looking for some interesting new strategies to try? This resource literally offers 130 ideas to try out, including industry-specific sections and links to external articles on the subject of marketing for creative and freelance.
Time Management for Creative People
Manage the mundane, create the extraordinary! Mark McGuinness has given us permission to reproduce his wonderful eBook here. It covers getting organised, creating priorities, “ring-fencing” your creative time and freeing yourself of the endless to-do list.
This book is released under a Creative Commons license, so feel free to copy and distribute as long as you keep the original format intact and credit the original author.
Small Business webinars, presented by the Australian Tax Office
It may not be the funnest thing you’ll do with 45 minutes (by a VERY long shot), but these webinars are personal, comprehensive and completely free. They include an introduction to small business, a guide to tax deductions and working from home, tax concessions for small business, GST, record keeping and superannuation.
Click here to register your spot!
There are also some comprehensive videos to watch on the ATO website here.
Hobby or Business?
The Australian Government has released a new to help artists, creatives or makers who are unsure about their government obligations? The tool is for people who are getting money or intend to get money from creating things, performing, making music or films, or generally being creative. They’ll ask a few questions about what you do when you’re making your creative works. and give you guidance about where to proceed.
T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the Business of Creativity 
This highly-acclaimed book was written for creative and digital enterprises by British business adviser and UK creative industries consultant David Parrish.
This free eBook for creative enterprises and other free resources are made available by David Parrish to help creative people become even more successful by combining their creative passion with smart business methods that fit with their objectives and values. That’s what ‘T-Shirts and Suits’ is all about!
Copyright © David Parrish. Some Rights Reserved.
Seth Godin’s ShipIt Journal 
From the marvellous Seth Godin (we’re fans) – the famous ShipIt Journal. A fantastic resource to help you manage the delivery of a project, especially if you work with a team.
Here’s the thing: If all you do is read this on the screen, IT WON’T WORK. You need to print it and write in it. The audio will help. Good luck. Go ship. Make something happen.
This journal is free to print, free to share. Don’t sell or modify.
Out of the Box
Each week, FBi Radio features a show called Out of The Box, where a guest shares their record collection and talks about the music they love, the life they lead and how the two interact. Monica appeared on the show in 2009.
If you can’t see the audio player, you can listen here (or to download, right click the link and select ‘Save Link As’ or similar)
Work Choices
Perspective was a five minute segment on ABC National Radio, featuring a commentary from experts and opinion-makers on a range of topics. In 2007 Monica was asked to share her thoughts on the ‘Work Choices’ industrial regulations legislation, from the freelance point of view. Read the full transcript here.
