Services

1. Development and delivery of training programmes and workshops

My natural style of training is highly interactive and makes use of the expertise within the group, as well as my own. But having lectured to groups of up to 200, I can deliver a more direct talk where appropriate. Examples:

Make It Happen I developed this bespoke programme for Banks Mill Studios in response to a demand for a ‘different kind of business course – one that really speaks to creatives and their concerns’. It was delivered seven times between 2005 and 2008 and has now been further developed as Making Creativity Pay.

Activate was an Arts Council funded project to raise the skill levels and capacities of artists and creatives working with education. I wrote the business and professional development module and delivered it within the five counties of the east midlands.

Moving On was commissioned as a pilot for the ECIF project, aimed to help graduates and redundant professional through the economic downturn, and presented a range of stimulating content to an audience facing difficult circumstances.

Examples of  individual workshops:

You Can’t Photograph Here QUAD commissioned me to write and deliver a workshop to address the growing confusion about public photography in the UK in the light of child protection and national security issues.

Making The Web Work For You My experience with businesses, and creative ones in particular, is that most of them go about ‘getting a website’ the wrong way, and I wrote this workshop to address that.

2. Development and production of learning materials

I wrote my first online learning materials in 1999 at the University of Derby, when we decided to deliver a carer development module to undergraduates on another continent through online learning. At that time, online learning was mostly text-based, but the availability of new media has opened up richer possibilities. For the past year I’ve been experimenting with the use of new media within learning. Examples:

CHEA Working with a flash developer and videographer, I created interactive content for touchscreen kiosks to encourage take-up of higher education opportunities by non-traditional groups.

Career Development Centre I created three podcasts (one audio, one screencast, one video) on professional practice for creative undergraduates.

Mentoring Resource – Learning Through Work I wrote a learning resource for workplace mentoring for Learning Through Work, which has been used as part of training with many employers.

3. Speaking and conferences

Examples:

Creative Question Time, The Greenhouse I was part of a panel, along with Lynne Holllingsworth, Jeanne Booth and Ryan O’Meara, skilfully MC’d by Rob Pittam, who discussed questions raised by an audience of creative businesses. The main topics raised were online business, marketing and the economic downturn.

No Time To Be Creative? Ingenuity Programme At this event, I argued that the economic situation is more complex than a blanket downturn, and that it offers opportunities as well as threats. I gave examples based on my own experience with creative businesses.

Derby Talent Conference In this keynote speech, ‘Talent – and what else?’, I outlined the professional skills that creative students need in order to succeed in the world of work.

4. Writing and content development

I’ve written content for print and online, including work published about some of my interests beyond work – music and flyfishing. Examples:

Applied Artists Toolkit, Banks Mill This toolkit addressed every business challenge faced by applied artists, including specific professional information such as preparing for and making use of trade shows.

Graduate Prospects/AGCAS I wrote more than twenty publications for graduates, many on creative employment and self-employment, including a guide – Create Your Own Career.

Areas of Expertise

1. Creative, graduate and knowledge-based business startup

Including: Mission, purpose and value, marketing and branding, pricing, selling, legalities, finance and funding, intellectual property, networking, time management, the online world, business planning, premises, presenting yourself and your work, confidence for creatives.

Professional practice in creative disciplines: project management, client manangement. Specialist knowledge in photography.

2. Career choice, development and management

Including: How to make career choices, professional development, creative and pro-active jobhunting, applications, CVs, psychometric tests, interviews, theories of career manangement, coping with redundancy, self-employment, flexible working, international working, remote working, portfolio working.

3. The online world in business and career development

Including: Commissioning, developing and managing websites; blogging; podcasting; web video; social networking; social media.

Available programmes and workshops

All the following have been developed, piloted and delivered at least once and are available at short notice, ‘off-the-peg’

  • Making Creativity Pay (12 x half-days)
  • Developing an Educational Practice (2-4 days)
  • Reaching New Audiences Through Social Media (3 days)
  • Making The Web Work For you (1 day)
  • All My Own Pixels (1 day)
  • Licensing Your Intellectual Property (1 day)
  • Getting Your Blog Up And Running (1 day)
  • Developing A Website For Your Business (1 day)
  • Building An Online Business (1 day)
  • Promoting Your Website (1 day)
  • You Can’t Photograph Here (2 hours)
  • How Not To Be An Art Teacher (2 hours)
  • Your Creative Personality: How What You Are Like Contributes To Your Success  (2 hours)
  • Legal, Decent and Honest (2 hours)