After Leeds College of Art

Thinking ahead – initial considerations

Options:
- Freelance
- Work for a studio
- Go into a partnership
- Set up a company/studio

Plan for potential future:
Where will I work from?
Where do clients come from?
How much do I charge?
Will I get paid?
What will I need – laptop/wifi/insurance?
Tax & VAT? – get an accountant

MUST GET PAID

GET DUCKS IN A ROW

TASK:

Set up a potential; viable business
- Work as a small enterprise
- Teams of 4/5

In these groups:
- Give business a name
- Apportion tasks to each member
- Have regular meetings
- Set internal deadlines
- Agree on a plan of action
- PPP pitch

John will supply all the relevant information and we can contact him if we have any queries or questions.

(BusinessLeeds/LeedsArt)

All individual work needs to be blogged as well as a copy of the final presentation.

Group:
- Need to elect a manager to control the whole exercise.

RESEARCH IS KEY

Plan the presentations, as they need to be as professional as possible.
Must be serious – done as professionals.
Consider tone of voice of the company.

ENJOY THE PROCESS

All based on investigation and research.

ENGAGE WITH IT

Need to have a written agreement.

Can work as a sole trader but this means 4X the amount of work.

Roles may vary.

Need an accountant who knows about your business
Expenses account.

Must meet deadlines.

Limited Company:
- Registered company
- Have to appoint positions
- Have to report all information
- Pay tax as you earn it

ALWAYS TAKE PAPER TO MEETINGS AND DRAW/NOTE MAKE

Freelancer & Partnership:
- Assessed twice as year for tax calculation.

Company Cars/Suits
- As long as you have the knowledge and experience

If your company fails, partners can bankrupt you.
This cannot happen in a Limited Company or a LLC.

Must be careful setting up partnerships as wealth recovery can be piled on you.

SHOULD ALWAYS CARY BUSINESS CARDS WITH YOU

Work out how much you need to live & work on a week – break down to an hourly rate.

Business planning is important.Getting clients is difficult – can always buy clients

If the presentation is built on facts and evidence you will be fine.

Form a group – people you really want to work with